Page 81 - The Mechatronics Handbook

basic foundations have been developed, some urgent areas have been downgraded, less emphasized,
and researched. The mechatronic systems synthesis reported guarantees an eventual consensus
between behavioral and structural domains, as well as ensures descriptive and integrative features in
the design. These were achieved applying the mechatronic paradigm which allows one to extend and
augment the results of classical mechanics, electromagnetics, electric machinery, power electronics,
microelectronics, informatics, and control theories, as well as to apply advanced integrated hardware
and software.
To acquire and expand the engineering core, there is the need to augment interdisciplinary areas as
well as to link and place the multidisciplinary perspectives integrating actuators–sensors–power elec-
tronics–ICs–DSPs to attain actuation, sensing, control, decision making, intelligence, signal processing,
and data acquisition. New developments are needed. The theory and engineering practice of high-
performance electromechanical systems should be considered as the unified cornerstone of the engineering
curriculum through mechatronics. The unified analysis of actuators and sensors (e.g., electromechanical
motion devices), power electronics and ICs, microprocessors and DSPs, and advanced hardware and
software, have barely been introduced into the engineering curriculum. Mechatronics, as the break-
through concept in the design and analysis of conventional-, mini-, micro- and nano-scale electro-
mechanical systems, was introduced to attack, integrate, and solve a great variety of emerging problems.

6.5 Mechatronic System Components

Mechatronics integrates electromechanical systems design, modeling, simulation, analysis, software-
hardware developments and co-design, intelligence, decision making, advanced control (including self-
adaptive, robust, and intelligent motion control), signal/image processing, and virtual prototyping.
The mechatronic paradigm utilizes the fundamentals of electrical, mechanical, and computer engi-
neering with the ultimate objective to guarantee the synergistic combination of precision engineering,
electronic control, and intelligence in the design, analysis, and optimization of electromechanical
systems. Electromechanical systems (robots, electric drives, servomechanisms, pointing systems, assem-
blers) are highly nonlinear systems, and their accurate actuation, sensing, and control are very chal-
lenging problems. Actuators and sensors must be designed and integrated with the corresponding
power electronic subsystems. The principles of matching and compliance are general design principles,
which require that the electromechanical system architectures should be synthesized integrating all
subsystems and components. The matching conditions have to be determined and guaranteed, and
actuators– sensors–power electronics compliance must be satisfied. Electromechanical systems must
be controlled, and controllers should be designed. Robust, adaptive, and intelligent control laws must
be designed, examined, verified, and implemented. The research in control of electromechanical systems
aims to find methods for devising intelligent and motion controllers, system architecture synthesis,
deriving feedback maps, and obtaining gains. To implement these controllers, microprocessors and
DSPs with ICs (input-output devices, A/D and D/A converters, optocouplers, transistor drivers) must
be used. Other problems are to design, optimize, and verify the analysis, control, execution, emulation,
and evaluation software.
It was emphasized that the design of high-performance mechatronic systems implies the subsystems
and components developments. One of the major components of mechatronic systems are electric
machines used as actuators and sensors. The following problems are usually emphasized: characterization
of electric machines, actuators, and sensors according to their applications and overall systems require-
ments by means of specific computer-aided-design software; design of high-performance electric
machines, actuators, and sensors for specific applications; integration of electric motors and actuators
with sensors, power electronics, and ICs; control and diagnostic of electric machines, actuators, and
sensors using microprocessors and DSPs.

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