Mechatronics: Fundamentals and Applications

An Up-To-Date Reference on the Latest Developments of Mechatronics

Geared toward engineers, designers, researchers, educators, and students, Mechatronics: Fundamentals and Applications focuses on integrating practice with theory relevant to electromechanical and multidomain systems. A result of the Distinguished Visiting Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK, held by Clarence W. de Silva, the book contains 15 chapters written by individual contributors, many of whom were speakers at the workshop.

What Are Mechatronic Systems?

Divided into two sections, this book covers the fundamentals and applications of mechatronic devices and systems and emphasizes specific topics that include: modeling and analytical formulations, simulation methods, design approaches, control techniques, practical tools, and cutting-edge systems and applications. The book highlights methodologies that encompass modeling, analysis, design, control, monitoring, diagnosis of mechatronic systems, and mechatronic systems and technologies. In addition, it illustrates topics by using numerous examples and various case studies from real implementations and incorporates analytical methods, practical considerations, design issues, and experimental techniques throughout the book. The text also covers some state-of-the-art technologies such as Bio-MEMS, self-powered systems and biologically inspired systems.

A broad introduction to the subject of mechatronic engineering, this book:

• Presents the concepts of mechatronic design quotient (MDQ) and design evolution through modeling, health monitoring, design expert system, and evolutionary optimization
• Outlines the evolution of the discipline of mechatronics from its early days leading up to the present
• Includes the fundamental theory of mechanics of materials, which can be employed for application in mechatronics
• Explores how signals can be measured to avoid common pitfalls in signal acquisition and processing
• Introduces and demonstrates reinforcement learning or Q learning in physical robotic tasks, and more

Mechatronics: Fundamentals and Applications presents the relevance of modeling, design, and instrumentation in the development of a mechatronic system or product and serves as a reference tool and informational resource for engineers in industry, as well as researchers and students in the field of mechatronics.

Clarence W. de Silva, PhD, is a professor of mechanical engineering and occupies the Senior Canada Research Chair Professorship in Mechatronics & Industrial Automation at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver. He is also a fellow of ASME, IEEE, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society of Canada. His awards include the Paynter Outstanding Investigator Award and the Takahashi Education Award of ASME; Killam Research Prize; and Outstanding Engineering Educator Award of IEEE Canada. He has served as editor/associate editor of 14 journals and is the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Control and Intelligent Systems.

Farbod Khoshnoud, PhD, is a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Brunel University, London, UK. He was a lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire before joining Brunel. He was a visiting scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the industrial automation laboratory, department of mechanical engineering, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, during 2007-2012. He was a visiting researcher at the California Institute of Technology during 2009-2011. He has carried out postdoctoral research in the department of civil engineering at UBC during 2005-2007. He received his PhD in mechanical engineering from Brunel University, London, in 2005.

Maoqing Li is professor of control science and engineering and system engineering in the School of Information Science and Technology, Xiamen University, China. He graduated from Xiamen University in 1978 and joined its faculty that same year. He served as the president of the International Conference on Control and Automation in 2002 and 2010, chairman of the organizing committee of the 10th Conference on Manufacturing and Management, chairman of the organizing committee of the International Conference on Environment and Information in 2005, and chairman of the organizing committee of the First International Conference on Computer Science and Education in 2006.

Saman K. Halgamuge, PhD, is a professor of the department of mechanical engineering and the school-wide initiative on biomedical engineering, The University of Melbourne. He graduated with Dipl.-Ing and PhD degrees in electrical engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, and with a BSc in electronic and telecommunication engineering at University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. His interests are in big data analytics and optimization and in particular bio-inspired methods focused on applications in mechanical/mechatronic engineering and bioengineering. He has published in over 250 outlets including journal and conference papers and book chapters. He is a founding chief editor of Frontiers Journal on Mechanical Engineering - Mechatronics Specialty Section, and associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II, Applied Mathematics and BMC Bioinformatics.