What is mechatronics?
Quick answer
Mechatronics is the engineering discipline that combines mechanical design, electronics, control systems and software into a single working machine.
Senior and college-level students take on control systems, motor selection and full machine builds.
In context
It is the discipline behind almost every modern automated system, from a printer to a production line.
For senior students it is where mathematics stops being abstract, because control problems demand it.
In a NASCA classroom
Senior and college-level students take on control systems, motor selection and full machine builds.
Related terms
Robotics
Robotics is the design and programming of machines that sense their environment, decide what to do and act on it, combining mechanics, electronics and code.
Sensors and actuators
Sensors convert something physical, such as light or distance, into data a computer can read. Actuators do the reverse, turning a computer's decision into movement or output.
Electronics
Electronics is the study of circuits that control the flow of electricity, covering components, measurement and the safe design of working boards.