11 engineering education for mechatronics

8/12/2019 11 Engineering Education for Mechatronics

1/7

106 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 43, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 1996

Memig Acar and Robert M. Parkin, Member, IEEE

Abstract This paper defines mechatronics, explains mecha-tronics philosophy, and describes characteristics of mechatronicsproducts and systems. It reviews some aspects of education andtraining for mechatronics and compares the two different ap-proaches to engineering education: generalist engineering versusspecialist engineering. It also examines the Japanese approachto product development strategies and mechatronics educationand training. It also gives a birds eye view of the mechatronicseducation in higher education institutions across the world witha specific reference to a typical mechatronics engineering degreeprogram. Finally it concludes that, there will be an increasingneed in the futu re for discipline-based mechatronics engineers.

I. INTRODUCTIONONV ENTIONA L com binational design philosophies are,in many cases, proving inadequate for the sophisticatedproducts and speed of response dem anded by todays markets.In many cases the Mechanical and the Electronic DesignDepartments of companies may even be in different cities oreven countries. If, perchance, they are in the same buildingthen they do not tend to communicate with each other withan inevitable effect on product design. Often the mechanicalengineers design a m achine; when finished they throw it overthe wall to the electricaVelectronic engineers to design andfit the control systems and they, in turn, throw it ov r thewall to the software engineers to write the control programs.Mechatronics is a trans disciplinary approach, based on opencommunication systems and concurrent practices, to designbetter engineering products.Mechatronic design philosophies and concurrent practicesfor achieving the physical embodiment of those designs areseen as an appropriate response to the challenge. The adoptionof such philosophies requires engineers with a new range ofskills and attitudes, sometimes tagged as Renaissance Men,with a concomitant stimulus to the providers of training andeducation. Universities and colleges have not been slow toreact to this challenge. The Japanese university educationalsystem tends to foster engineers with a transdisciplinary ap-proach w hile in recent years, mechatronic engineering coursesat undergraduate and postgraduate levels as well as voca-tional training courses, have been rapidly increasing in bothEuropean and the UK higher education institutions. Morerecent trends have seen a growing ado ption of the mechatronicphilosophy in the United States.

Manuscript received April 24, 1994; revised Decem ber 1, 1994.The authors are with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, TheUniversity of Technology, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE1 1 3TU, UnitedKingdomPublisher Item Identifier S 0278-0046(96)01378-0.

In all cases it is of paramount importance that the adoptionof a mechatronic approach should have some added value.This may either be in terms of added functionality for thesame price or a reduced price for similar functionality to thatproduced by a more conventional approach. In many casesit is arguable that the adoption of mechatronic principles hasproduced an artefact which could not have been designed byany other means and is thus pu shing the design process beyondthe current horizons.

II. MECHATRON~CSHILOSOPHYMechatronics has been defined in several ways. In fact thereare as many d efinitions as there are w orkers in the field. It isarguable that the sem antics of the definition are unimportant.A common consensus would be to describe mechatronics as anintegrative discipline utilizing the technologies of mechanics,electronics and information technology to provide enhancedproducts, processes and systems. It integrates the classicalfields of mechanical engineering, electronic engineering andcomputer sciencefinformation technology at the design stage

of a product or a system. Mechatronics is therefore not anew branch of engineering, but a newly developed conceptthat underlines the necessity for integration and intensiveinteraction between different branches of engineering.The core disciplines of the mechatronics are undoubtedlyset by the name, i.e., mechanics and electronics. This shouldnot be taken literally as fixing the boundaries of mechatronics;mecha should be understood as the w idest aspects of the phys-ical embodimen ts of mechanical engineering, including opticalelements, whilst tronics should be understood to embraceall aspects of microelectronics and information technologyincluding control.

Most engineered products or processes have moving partsand require manipulation and control of their dynamic con-structions to a required accuracy. This may involve the useof enabling technologies such as sensors, actuators, software,commun ications, optics, electronics, structural mechanics, andcontrol engineering. A key factor in the m echatronics philos-ophy is the integration of microelectronics and informationtechnology into mechanical systems, so as to obtain the bestpossible solution. Design of such products and processes,therefore, has to be the outcome of a m ulti- or transdisciplinaryactivity rather than an interdisciplinary one and must addressother factors such as appropriateness. Hence mechatronicschallenges traditional engineering thinking because the selec-tion of means to the contemplated functional ends must involvecrossing the boundaries between traditional engineering disci-plines. O pponents of the M echatronic Philosophy argue that it

02784046/96$05.00 996 IEEE

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on January 22, 2009 at 03:57 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.


2/7

ACAR AND PARKIN: ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR MECHATRONICS 107

is justsystems engineering with a fancy new name. This caneasily be refuted by considering examples where a mechatronicdesign has replaced products that were previously engineeredusing a systems approach with a resultant cost saving ofsignificant proportions [11.We may now re fer to the definition of m echatro nics by theEECDRDAC working party [2]: mechatronics is the synergeticcombination of precision mechanical engineering, electroniccontrol and systems thinking in the design o products andprocesses. There are, of cou rse, many o ther versions of thisdefinition but this one clearly underlines that mechatronics isfocused on applications and design.

111. MECHATRONICSRODUCTS AND SYSTEMSA typical mechatronic system picks up signals, processesthem, and, as an output, generates forces and motions. Me-chanical systems are extended and integrated with sensors,microprocessors and controllers. The fact that such a systemdetects environmental or param etrical changes by sensors and,

after suitably processing this information, reacts to them,makes it quite different from conventional machines andmechanical systems. For example, robots, digitally controlledengines, automated guided vehicles, electronic cameras, tele-fax machines, and photocopiers can be m entioned as typicalmechatronics products.The characteristics of mechatronic products and systems,according to Buur [3], are as follows: functional interactionbetween m echanic al, electronic, and inform ation techno logies;spatial integration of subsystems in one physical unit; intel-ligence related to the control functions of the mechatronicsystem; jlexibility, the ease with w hich mechatronic productscan be modified to fit changing requirements and situations;multifunctionality attributed to the so ftware defined functionsof the microprocessor; nvisiblefunctions,perform ed by m icro-electronics and hard to see and understand by the customers;and technology dependence, closely interlinked with availablemanufacturing technologies.Increas ed flexibility, versatility, intelligence level of prod-ucts, safety, and reliability as well as lower energy con-sumption and cost are the gains achieved through applyingmechatronics concepts to product design. These advantagestranslate into a product with more customer appeal, producedquickly at reduced cost and serving larger markets.

IV. GENERALISMERSUS PECIALISMKing [4] argued in his inaugural lecture that virtuallyall engineering was once the province of m illwrights, whosecraft had become wide reaching. He continued to say theprofessions of the m echanical and civil engineers had not yetbeen defined or differentiated, the millwright was the closestapproximation to both. M illwrights of the 18th century wereresponsible for developing the new machines on which theindustrial revolution was founded.Since then millwrights divided and fragmented into themyriad specializations that we recognize today. King arguedthat the fragme ntation of all these disciplin es has s eriousconsequences for design activities, where the creativity of the

designer can be limited by the narrower perspective affordedby a high degree of specialism. He concluded that inthe closing decades of the 20th century there has been amove to return to m ore integrated production techniques and,with the developm ent of microprocessors and microprocessorcontrolled systems and products, a need for integration inengineering design and education.The arguments regarding generalization rage on. It isclaimed that academics tend to favor narrow and deepspecialization for its own sake. For many years companiesexisted with small enclaves of highly specialized engineersand d iscussions about products involving several technologiesinevitably became protracted. The modern com mercial climateis causing com panies to rationalize their operations to adoptbest practice or to go to the wall. Industry is now demandingengine ers with both great de pth and breadth (genius es ). Ifgeneralism is taken too far then the engineers have covered awide range of topics in insufficient depth to be of use. Thusthe education and training of mechatronic engineers is verydifficult. In any cas e it is not sufficient to educate over a widerange of topics and call the product a mechatronic engineer;the thorny problem of integration must be properly addressed.There is some evidence that many courses in mechatronicsare simply a gluing together of mechanical and electroniccomponents lacking a coherent integrative theme; in somecases departments are merely renaming their old systemsengineering course.Several course providers feel that a suitable mechatronicscourse should have four years of study (e.g., M.Eng. pro-grams). Others accept the normal UK restriction of 3 years fora first degree and offer a m echatronics program. Opp onents ofthis approach feel that it is not possible to give the requiredbreadth and depth in three years and only offer mechatronics asa post g raduate masters course and concentrate on giving morebreadth and appreciation to single discipline graduates. Therecent UK proposals for two-year degree courses are especiallyworrying for the providers of generalist courses.The Massachusetts Institute of Technology conv ened a com -missio n to study the productivity and perform ance of the USAindustry [ 5 ] .The Com mission also studied various sectors ofhigher education, including the engineering curriculum andmade some recomm endations. These include the following:

i)

ii)

iii)

A new cadre of studen ts and faculty cha racterized bythe ab ility to o perate effectively beyon d the confin es ofa single discipline needs to b e created.Emphasis on real-world, hands-on experience shouldbe given and the students in the engineering schoolsshould be exposed to real problems that go beyondthe idealized abstractions that have dominated texts andhomework since the 1950s.The importance of teamwork should be em phasized byintroducing a p ractical team p roject that could sub stitutethe undergraduate thesis.

The Com mission has also recommen ded that the MIT Schoolof Engin eering should offer as an alternativ e path to theexisting four-year curriculum a broader u ndergraduateprogramof instruction, followed by a professional degree program,



3/7

108 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 43, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 1996

without reducing the depth of the subjects studied. The profes-sional undergraduate program would be discipline-based , but itwould be broader than the current undergraduate programs. Itwas recommended that expanding breadth but preserving depthcan only be achieved by increasing the number of years for abasic engineering education. The M IT Comm issions recom-mendations reflect on the need for a new nucleus of engineerswho h ave broader backgrounds but with specialist knowledgeof a discipline and abilities to operate in a multidisciplinaryproject team. This proposition agrees with the concept of themechatronic engineer, who may b e seen as the inheritor of thespirit of the 18th Century millwrights, who were the g eneralistengineers of their time.Both in Europe and the USA the current engineering educa-tion system is oriented toward producing specialist engineers.Although many engineering departments in the U K universi-ties were conceived initially as departments of engineering,with only a very few notable exceptions they have developedinto specialist departments, churning out specialist engineers.Even those which have maintained the broad ideals of generalengineering promote final year specialization. There is someevidence, in the UK at least, that the move toward specialistdepartments is recognized as divisive, and there is a swingtoward a return to the school-based structure which is inline with a closer working relationship of the professionalengineering institutions.

V. THE JAPANESEARADIGMThe success of Japanese industry in designing, developing,and marketing mechatronics products and systems may beattributed to the Japanese approach to product developmentstrategies, their engineering education, and training system.

A. Product Development StrategiesSince mechatronic products and systems are characteristi-cally different than those of traditional machines and electronicproducts, their development demands special methods andstrategies, which Japanese co mpan ies seem to master far betterthan their European and Am erican competitors.Buur [3] argues that there are four particular patterns whichcharacterize the product development practice of the most suc-cessful Japanese corporations: The Japanese react quickly tochanges in competition, shorten the product cycle, emphasizethe competitive product properties, and plan carefully for newmarkets.Reduction in produ ct lead times is difficult to achieve by the

traditional compartmentalized sequential-product-developmentstrategy, in which too much crucial information is lost atevery transition from one department to another, resulting inloss of valuable time. To be internationally competitive, theproduct design and development activity must be performedconcurrently, to ensure that a multidisciplinary design teamconsiders all aspects of the product design and also sufficientattention is paid to market needs and manufacturing technolo-gies [6]. Mechatronic design activity requires the operationand communication of engineering designers from differentdisciplines.

B. Mechatronic Education and TrainingJapanese machinery companies are rapidly moving towardmechatronics and information technology, hence there is pres-sure on universities to produce the required graduates. Mostof the engineering departments in Japanese universities teachelements of mechatronics within their courses, and conductresearch in this field [7] Since 1983 Toyohashi Universityruns a regular ME course in Mechatronic Engineering andTohoku University changed the nam e of its Precision Engineer-ing Department to Mechatronic and Precision Engineering.Postgraduate education is considered as both necessary anda good investment.Japanese educationalists see the mechatronics engineer asa broader based mechanical engineer who has a good handson knowledge and ability in microprocessor hardware andsoftware, electronics, actuators, and control. The Japanesenational university system aids the formation of mechatronicengineers with good R&D skills of benefit to industry [8].Undergraduate programs are four years in length with the

entire final year spent full time on a laboratory-based researchproject; the final year of the two year masters programs is alsospent on such a project. The laboratory stmcture is typicallycentered around the professor, an associate, probably tworesearch assistants, 2 or 3 Ph.D. students, 4 masters students,and 6 final year undergraduates. The students learn theirresearch and develop ment skills from the other mem bers of theteam in a manner not unlike apprenticeships. The proximityand concentration on a single subject promotes good teamwork and integration. There would appear to be very littlecooperation outside of the laboratory personnel, thus it isnot unusual for the lab to be involved in a multidisciplinaryprogram without any in-depth skill in particular facets andso a willingness to transfer into other areas is a necessity.While many universities, notably Nagoya, Tokyo Institute ofTechnology, Tohoku, etc., are conducting good mechatronicresearch, there is evidence of duplication of effort and manysimilar, if not identical, projects may be found at otheruniversities and the government laboratories such as MEL atTsukuba.

The maturity of mechatronics in Japan is perhaps exem-plified by the fact that research is subdividing and formingfragmentary specializations (e.g., optomechatronics) with in-stitutions such as Gifu University having piezo-mechatronics,the F u h d a labs at Nagoya University having medimecha-tronics and micromechatronics, and Ibaraki University havingbiomechatronics [SI.Most Japanese companies assume that design is learned onthe job, backed by in-house training. In addition to formaltraining the best way of creating engineers with generalskills is to operate in-company education and job rotationschemes. The need for mechatronic engineers will depend onthe company; some feel that generalist engineering trainingproduces suitable engineers for mechatronics project teams,hence they rely upon generalist education and cooperationwithin the project team for the development of mechatronicproducts and processes. Others think that special programsfor mechatronics are necessary as they have identified a


4/7

ACAR AND PARKIN: ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR MECHATRONICS 109

University MSc Course

TABLE IMECHATRONICSN EUROPEANNIVERSITIES

Austria Johannes Kepler Univ

of Leuvenof DenmarkTamoere UnivFinland Tech Univ Helsinki

Research Professor

Hull Univ. 6Kings College LondonLancaster Univ.Loughborough Univ. of Techn.Birmingham Univ.Cranfield Univ.

I I IDe MontfoR Univ.Dundee Univ. I I

NetherlandsSwitzerlandSwedenTurkey

OUI; Univ.Twente Univ.ETH ZurichKTH Stocholm (New)Bosphorous Univ. J(unesco)METU VII. MECHATRONICSN THE UKIn recent years, mechatronics has gained an increasinglyprominent place in the UK scene. This is clearly visible fromthe activities of a number of higher education institutions,IMechE and IEE, as well as publications and conferences.

requirement for Renaissance Man and feel that they can onlybe trained in house.VI. MECHATRONICSN EUROPE

Although the majority of the practising European engineershave little or no knowledge of the mechatronics concept andphilosophy, higher education institutions and some sectors ofthe industry in Europe seem to have embraced the subject ofmechatronics more actively and there are encouraging signsthat mechatronics is becoming recognized.In Denmark, the establishment some ten years ago of theDanish Mechatronic Association has provided a firm footholdfor the concept of mec hatronics as an element of the engineer-ing design process. Much of the focus for the Danish workin mechatronics lies in the Institute fo r Engineering Design(ZED) and the Institute o Product Development (IPU) at theTechnical University o Denmark (DTH ) n Lyngby [9].In 1985 a Mechatronics Group was formed in Finland withthe intention of improving productivity in various sectors ofindustry. Furthermore the term mechatronics appeared in var-ious E.U. research programs and several journals have sprungup to satisfy the need for focused organs of dissemination.There is a healthy participation in research with notablecentres at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and theUniversity of Aachen in Germany and significant activity fromthe University of Coimbra (Portugal), he Scuola SuperioreSanta Anna (Italy), Halmstad and Chalmers Universities inSweden and the Middle Eastern T echnical University (Turkey).Table I shows those universities that are active in bothresearch and the provision of courses at Undergraduate orMasters levels. Recent developments have seen the creationof Chairs in Mechatronics at Linz (Austria), KTH (Sweden),and Bosphorous (Turkey) Universities.Activities in the Eastern sector have been gaining impetusas economies embrace the free market philosophy and looktoward grass roots SME companies with transdisciplinaryflexible engineering skills to replace inefficient, ailing, single-skill, large industrial units. University activities in researchare largely leading the way with notable activity at WarsawUniversity (Poland)and Kaunas Technical University (Lithua-nia) while the most advanced are probably the Hungarianactivities at the Technical University of Budapest, Universityof Miskolc, and Banki Donat College. There is considerablesupport in information dissemination from Mechatroninfo, theHungarian Mechatronics Association.

A. Research and PG CoursesSeveral universities are active in research, but the majorcenters are undoubtedly those offering a Masters program to

disseminate the research activities to industry in the shortestpossible time. Table I1 shows the universities involved.Lancaster University was one of the earliest involved whilethe M.Sc. at Dundee is notable in that it involves cooperationbetween Dundee University and Dundee Institute of Technol-ogy. The course at De M ontfort has a considerable emphasis ona m ultinational student body and E uropean student exchangeand emphasizes the business environment [101. The Universityof Technology at Loughborough is one of the most advancedproviders with a nov el delivery suited to the attendan ce of parttime industrially based students. This mode of provision hasbeen used as the model for a proposed collaborative IntegratedGraduate Development Scheme (IGDS) from Loughborough,Leicester, and De Montfort Universities. The course at theUniversity of Hull follows a week-lon g-mod ule pattern similarto the Loughborough course.The Institutions o Mechanical Engineers (IM echE ) andElectrical Engineers (IEE) have established the UK Mecha-tronics Forum. The primary aim of the Forum is to foster,promote, and advance the subject of mechatronics throughmeetings, visits, publications, conferences, and other activities.B. Mechatronics UG Education

Lancaster University has established the first undergraduatedegree course in mechatronics as a specialist option of theirelectronic and mechanical engineering courses. The Universityof Hull and Leeds University have followed soon after. Manyothers have appeared on the scene (Table 111) and it should benoted that some providers are doing little more than renamingtheir systems engineering courses and paying scant attentionto the fundamental issue of integration.Several other universities and colleges have also embracedthe subject to the extent of offering mechatronics coursesat various levels. These include Kings College London,Staffordshire University, Manchester Metropolitan University,Middlesex University, De Montfort University, University ofAbertay Dundee, Glamorgan University, Swansea Institute ofHigher Education, and Sussex University offering courses at


5/7

110 IEEE TRAN

UniversityDe Montfort Univ.Univ. of Ahertay Dundee

SkCTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 43, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 1996

BEng MERgBW@sf

TABLE I11MECHATRONICSNDERGRADUATECOURSES IN TKE UK

TABLE IVMECHATRONICCTIVITIESN THE R ST F WORLDCountrv Universitv Degree course ~ e s e a r ~ h hfe ssor

South Queensland

USA StanfordRensselaerOhio State

degree level. Numerous universities and colleges of highereducations also offer courses at HND level. Furthennore, theOpen University also offers a course entitled Mechatronics:Designing Intelligent Machines.VIII. RESTOF THE WORLD

Activity in the rest of the world is mainly to be found inAustralia, Hong Kong and the USA. It should be noted thatthere is a tremendous growth in interest in the Pacific Rim butthat it is usual for most of the educational provision, at thisstage, to be made overseas (mainly Australia and the UK).Table IV shows the major centers.A recent workshop on Mechatronics Education [111 hadmany, mainly North American institutions, claiming to teachmechatronics, but these were mainly offering a module (orunit) in microproce ssor or microcon troller applications, usuallyat the senior year level. Among these institutions, ColoradoState University, University of South Carolina, Rose-HulmanInstitute of Technology (Indiana), Iowa State University, Uni-versity of Delaware, Purdue University (Indiana), GeorgiaInstitute of Technology, University of Washington, and Con-cordia University (Montreal) can b e m entioned.In some instances there were actually modules in mecha-tronics design, but no coherent total degree course, or certifi-cate, in the subject other than those listed. This is sometimesdue to the structure and rules of the institution (e.g., in somecases to offer a degree program it would be necessary tohave a Department of Mechatronics). The examples of suchMechatronic System Design or Smart Product Designcan be seen at the Rensselaer Polytyhnic Institute (NY) andStanford University (CA). These cdurses are usually offeredto senior or masters level students and require projects to bedesigned, built and tested and sometimes contested betweengroups.

Ohio State University offers an interdepartmental curricu-lum leading to Certificate of Study in ElectromechanicalEngineering Design in addition to the B.S. degree in eitherelectrical or mechanical engineering. Students completing thedesignated courses qualify for the Certificate of Study.An exciting development on the Australian scene is that, inaddition to the four-year undergraduate degree in mechatronicswhich was initiated in 1990 by the Department of Mechanicaland Mechatronics Engineering, the first permanent Chair inMechatronics has been newly created at the University ofSydney.City Polytechnic of Hong Kong has recently introduceda degree level mechatronics engineering program based onthe present and future needs of the Hong Kongs industry[12]. This four-year B.Eng. course emphasizes the design ofmechatronics products and processes. An important featuresof this course is that it has a significant proportion of timedevoted to active learning through doing as opposed topassive learning through attending lectures.

IX A TYPICAL M ECH ATR ON ICSEG RE E URRICULUMMost mechatronics undergraduate programs are largelybased upon students taking existing mechanical and electronicengineering courses together with a specialized mechatronicsoption in the final year, such as an industrially linked teamproject [13]. This approach could not adequately addressthe different educational objectives that the mechatronicsdemanded.In October 1992, the University of Hull introduced under-graduate course in Mechatronics which has evolved with closecollaboration of a group of leading UK companies is housed

in the School of E ngineering and Computing. The course hasa novel structure that uses project-based teaching methods,combined with supporting lectures and tutorials, in the earlyyears [14].It is claimed that, by so structuring the course, studentsi) develop simultaneously practical and theoretical undstanding of underlying technical disciplines constitut-ing mechatronics;ii) develop interpersonal and communication skills andbusiness awareness necessary to work in a multidis-ciplinary field; andiii) develop and understanding of the process of engineer-ing design.

The course philosophy is to teach the underlying principlesinvolved in designing mechatronics artifacts whilst also ad-dressing the human and business skills necessary to translatea design into a manufactured product [14]. It was claimed thatappropriate project work would have the following benefits:i) address issues which are virtually impossible to conveyin the lecture environment; for example the importanceof team wo rk, the need for a total quality approach, thecompromise nature of engineering, the role of projectplanning and the necessity for good communicationskills;


6/7

ACAR AND PARKIN ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR MECHATRONlCS 111

r IYEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEARProjects (50 ) Projects (50 ) Individual projectLecture ToDics (50 ) :Principles of D esignComputer Systems andProgrammingMaterialsMechanical SystemsProject PlanningManagementElectronic DesignControlDrives and Sensors

Lecture ToDics (50 ) :Business FinanceTransducer TechnologyMicroprocessor SystemsProject ManagementControlPrinciples ofManufacturingDesig n for ManufactureInformation Systems

Lecture Tonics:SoftwareEngineeringManufacturing SystemsComputer Aided Eng.Industrial and ProductionManagementAutomatic ControlDigital SystemsLog ic ProgrammingTechniques in Design forManufacture

Six to select from:Automated AssemblySystemsDesign AnalysisFlexible Man. Systemsh d . Control SystemsKnowledge-based Eng.Robotic EngineeringCADAdvanced Techniques inControlReport Writing I

Degree: MEng in Mechatronics

ii) allow students to apply theory to real engineering Engineering. S tudents are also required to undertake asubstantial individual project that may either be researchbased or a mechatronic product/process design problem.problems and thus better appreciate the relevance oflecture courses;iii) enable students to appreciate how specific topics andtechnologies can be integrated to form the basis of X . CONCLUSIONmechatronic product or systems;iv) improve student motivation.If the projects were appropriately chosen, with objectiveswell designed and structured and with regular assessmenttargets, then they could provide the integrating mechanismfor teaching. Such work would also provide the essentialexperience in design issues, project planning, and manag ementand communication skills.From this central philosophy the structure of a four-year

program, as detailed in Table V, was devised.The first year addresses the fundamentals of mechatronicproduct design via individual and group projects lasting10 weeks and 15 weeks, respectively. Many of the thoughtmodu les are provided in the form of intensive modules in orderto supply theoretical input to the project at the appropriatestages. Regular gro up discussions, progress reports and studentpresentations are an integral part of the course. The projectwork accounts for 50 of the end-of-year marking.The second-year group project requires students not onlyto design and build a product to meet a specific need, but toconsider also the manufacturing processes involved to makethe product in volume. The project work accounts for 50of the end-of-year marking. The basis of the project idea issupplied by industry.The third year is aimed at strengthening and wideningthe academic base of students. The year is therefore lectureintensive, which expands students knowledge, concepts, andtheoretical grasp of key mechatronics disciplines.The emphasis in the final year is to reinforce the system-based approach to modern-day engineering practice. Studentsspecialize in mechatronic topics of their choice. Lecturecourses are chosen from either the Departments of ComputerScience, Engineering Design and Manufacture, or Electronic

The m echatronic engineer of the future is the rare individualwho is able to work across the boundaries of constituent disci-plines to identify and use the right com bination of technologieswhich will provide the optimum solution to the problem inhand. He/she should also be a good communicator who isable work in and lead a design team which may consist ofspecialist engineers as well as generalists.If the West is to survive the fierce international competitionin design and developm ent of mech atronic products, significantattention has to be given to mechatronics education and raisingthe awareness of mechatronic approach to design of productsand processes. The initial urgent task of the engineeringeducationalist should be to make engineers at all levels awareof the mechatronics concepts applied to product design andits significance to industry. The importance of mechatronicsdesign must be stressed at all levels in the teaching ofengineering, particularly in mechanical engineering.The educational systems in the West will have to m ove orreturn to discipline-based generalist courses at undergraduatelevel with the ability to gain further specialism at eitherpostgraduate level or by in-house training in industry. Thismay require an extension of the courses from three-year tofour-year or from four-year to five-year, as proposed by theMIT Commission. It is perhaps not possible nor desirableto convert every mechanical engineer into a mechatronicengineer, but the point is that traditional engineers mustlearn to appreciate the other specialist disciplines and henceto communicate with them at the product design stage. Ifmechatronics education is to succeed in playing a significantrole in the formation of the engineers of the future and inthe development of engineering education then it is essentialthat industry plays its part in that development. Indeed it isimportant that industry adopts a leading role in the setting



7/7

11 engineering education for mechatronics

Documents