Mechatronic Integration Research Articles

Curriculum teaching of mechatronics in the information age

Abstract: In the wave of digital education, the teaching design and practice of mechatronics integration courses in the information age become the key to innovative education. The course combines online teaching, virtual experiments and remote control techniques to break the limitations of a traditional classroom. Through multimedia courseware, real-time interactive platform and virtual simulation laboratory, students can not only master theoretical knowledge flexibly, but also conduct practical training online. Remote control technology enables students to operate practical equipment in real time and enhance their practical skills. The preliminary practice shows that this mixed teaching mode effectively improves students' interest in learning and practical ability, and provides a new direction and opportunity for mechatronics education.

Integration and Innovation of Renewable Energy Technology in International Cooperation Projects

In the tide of global energy transformation, the application of mechatronics technology in the new energy sector has become a pivotal force in advancing sustainable development. This paper thoroughly explores the integration of mechatronics with new energy sources such as solar and wind energy, aiming to enhance energy conversion efficiency, reduce costs, and stimulate technological innovation. By examining the current state of mechatronics technology in the research, development, manufacturing, and promotion of new energy equipment, this paper proposes a range of strategies and recommendations. These are designed to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, foster technological innovation, and enhance international cooperation to achieve sustainable global energy development.

A hybrid prognostic & health management framework across multi-level engineering systems with scalable convolution neural networks and adjustable functional regression models

With the rapid development of sensor technology and mechatronics integration, there are emerging demands for achieving prognostic and health management (PHM) within a general framework across multi-level engineering systems. However, current PHM frameworks are mainly supported either by field data or degradation models, which are always limited in inadequate robustness to systematically increase operational availability and reduce maintenance costs. For extending the scalability and flexibility of PHM services, this paper proposes a novel hybrid framework that integrates the scalable convolution neural network (SCNN) with the adjustable functional regression model (AFRM) through a modified linear filter. This proposed framework first establishes a data-driven SCNN with scalable time sequences and kernel sizes to enhance the remaining useful life (RUL) generalization. Then, enabled by an adjustable semi-parametric degradation process model, AFRM with flexible lifetime distributions is designed to evaluate time-to-failure (TTF) in real time. Finally, a modified Kalman filter has been explored to coordinate data-driven RUL results with model-based TTF values to schedule predictive maintenance (PdM). High-accuracy prediction, multi-level systems, high-flexibility evaluation are thus encompassed within the hybrid progressive modification. The proposed framework has been practically validated through multi-level studies including the component-level bearings, subsystem-level engines, and system-level machines. Results demonstrate that our hybrid PHM framework achieves significant improvements in prediction accuracy, evaluation adaptability, and scheduling effectiveness.

A deep-sea in-situ chemical laboratory for cabled seafloor observatories

A deep-sea in-situ chemical laboratory (DICL) is proposed for new insight into ocean chemical evolution. The DICL integrates a deep-sea in-situ anion analyzer (DIAA) and several chemical sensors connected to cabled seafloor observatories via a science instrument interface module (SIIM). It can measure the concentrations of seawater anions (e.g., Fˉ, Clˉ, Brˉ, NO3ˉ, SO4 2ˉ, PO4 3ˉ), chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, and methane, as well as pH value. The system operation status can be monitored remotely on the shore, and the science data can be acquired in real-time. After water pressure tests and shallow sea trials, the DICL was tested in the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) deep-sea observatory and collected high-resolution time-series chemical parameters. The experimental results demonstrated that the DICL's mechatronics integration design is reasonable and feasible.

Analysis of robot joint rotation error for manufacturing and mechatronics integration

Analysis of robot joint rotation error for manufacturing and mechatronics integration

ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ МЕХАТРОНИКИ В ПРОИЗВОДСТВЕ И АВТОМАТИЗАЦИИ

The article is devoted to the study of the application of mechatronics in production and automation. The main principles of mechatronic systems, their integration into production processes, the use of robotics, sensor technologies and adaptive control systems are considered. Methods for increasing the energy efficiency and sustainability of mechatronic systems are analyzed, including the introduction of renewable energy sources and heat recovery technologies. Modern innovations such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing and the Internet of Things are discussed. Examples of successful application and forecasts for the development of technologies are given, and the economic and practical benefits and challenges associated with the integration of mechatronics into production are assessed.

Recent Technological Progress of Fiber-Optical Sensors for Bio-Mechatronics Applications

Bio-mechatronics is an interdisciplinary scientific field that emphasizes the integration of biology and mechatronics to discover innovative solutions for numerous biomedical applications. The broad application spectrum of bio-mechatronics consists of minimally invasive surgeries, rehabilitation, development of prosthetics, and soft wearables to find engineering solutions for the human body. Fiber-optic-based sensors have recently become an indispensable part of bio-mechatronics systems, which are essential for position detection and control, monitoring measurements, compliance control, and various feedback applications. As a result, significant advancements have been introduced for designing and developing fiber-optic-based sensors in the past decade. This review discusses recent technological advancements in fiber-optical sensors, which have been potentially adapted for numerous bio-mechatronic applications. It also encompasses fundamental principles, different types of fiber-optical sensors based on recent development strategies, and characterizations of fiber Bragg gratings, optical fiber force myography, polymer optical fibers, optical tactile sensors, and Fabry–Perot interferometric applications. Hence, robust knowledge can be obtained regarding the technological enhancements in fiber-optical sensors for bio-mechatronics-based interdisciplinary developments. Therefore, this review offers a comprehensive exploration of recent technological advances in fiber-optical sensors for bio-mechatronics. It provides insights into their potential to revolutionize biomedical and bio-mechatronics applications, ultimately contributing to improved patient outcomes and healthcare innovation.

Reform and Exploration of Modular Teaching Methods in Higher Vocational Education

In the deepening of modular teaching talent cultivation mode, the traditional teaching concepts in vocational colleges are challenged. It is necessary to integrate the theoretical content, practical skills, and professional qualities of traditional teaching, emphasizing the shift from cultivating students' adaptability to cultivating students' participation ability, and emphasizing the cultivation of students' independent innovation ability. This puts higher requirements on the curriculum system that emphasizes application ability as the standard. This article takes the mechatronics integration major as an example, and combines the work tasks and processes of the relevant job groups in the professional enterprise. Through typical work tasks, the original course system has been reconstructed into 13 modules. Taking one of the modules as an example, this paper deeply analyzes the advantages and characteristics of the theoretical level, practical level and professional quality level, and integrates the three levels into each other to infiltrate, connect and match, and organically combine, ultimately achieving the development and improvement of students' comprehensive ability and quality.

Analysis of Tempering Effects on LDS-MID and PCB Substrates for HF Applications

Mechatronic Integrated Devices or Molded Interconnect Devices (MID) are three-dimensional (3D) circuit carriers. They are mainly fabricated by laser direct structuring (LDS) and subsequent electroless copper plating of an injection molded 3D substrate. Such LDS-MID are used in many applications today, especially antennas. However, in high frequency (HF) systems in 5G and radar applications, the demand on 3D circuit carriers and antennas increases. Electroless copper, widely used in MID, has significantly lower electrical conductivity compared to pure copper. Its lower conductivity increases electrical loss, especially at higher frequencies, where signal budget is critical. Heat treatment of electroless copper deposits can improve their conductivity and adhesion to the 3D substrates. This paper investigates the effects induced by tempering processes on the metallization of LDS-MID substrates. As a reference, HF Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) substrates are also considered. Adhesion strength and conductivity measurements, as well as permittivity and loss angle measurements up to 1 GHz, were carried out before and after tempering processes. The main influencing factors on the tempering results were found to be tempering temperature, atmosphere, and time. Process parameters like the heating rate or applied surface finishes had only a minor impact on the results. It was found that tempering LDS-MID substrates can improve the copper adhesion and lower their electrical resistance significantly, especially for plastics with a high melting temperature. Both improvements could improve the reliability of LDS-MID, especially in high frequency applications. Firstly, because increased copper adhesion can prevent delamination and, secondly, because the lowered electrical resistance indicates, in accordance with the available literature, a more ductile copper metallization and thus a lower risk of microcracks.

Design of Digital-Twin Human-Machine Interface Sensor with Intelligent Finger Gesture Recognition

In this study, the design of a Digital-twin human-machine interface sensor (DT-HMIS) is proposed. This is a digital-twin sensor (DT-Sensor) that can meet the demands of human-machine automation collaboration in Industry 5.0. The DT-HMIS allows users/patients to add, modify, delete, query, and restore their previously memorized DT finger gesture mapping model and programmable logic controller (PLC) logic program, enabling the operation or access of the programmable controller input-output (I/O) interface and achieving the extended limb collaboration capability of users/patients. The system has two main functions: the first is gesture-encoded virtual manipulation, which indirectly accesses the PLC through the DT mapping model to complete control of electronic peripherals for extension-limbs ability by executing logic control program instructions. The second is gesture-based virtual manipulation to help non-verbal individuals create special verbal sentences through gesture commands to improve their expression ability. The design method uses primitive image processing and eight-way dual-bit signal processing algorithms to capture the movement of human finger gestures and convert them into digital signals. The system service maps control instructions by observing the digital signals of the DT-HMIS and drives motion control through mechatronics integration or speech synthesis feedback to express the operation requirements of inconvenient work or complex handheld physical tools. Based on the human-machine interface sensor of DT computer vision, it can reflect the user's command status without the need for additional wearable devices and promote interaction with the virtual world. When used for patients, the system ensures that the user's virtual control is mapped to physical device control, providing the convenience of independent operation while reducing caregiver fatigue. This study shows that the recognition accuracy can reach 99%, demonstrating practicality and application prospects. In future applications, users/patients can interact virtually with other peripheral devices through the DT-HMIS to meet their own interaction needs and promote industry progress.

Design and Optimization of Mechatronic Integrated Control System

Design and Optimization of Mechatronic Integrated Control System

Development of a Novel Dynamic Modeling Approach for a Three-Axis Machine Tool in Mechatronic Integration

This paper proposes a novel, fast, and automatic modeling method to build a virtual model with minimum degrees of freedom (DOFs) without the need for FE models or human judgment. The proposed program uses the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm to analyze the mode shape vector of structural dynamic characteristics to define the position and DOFs of the joints between structural components. After the multi-body dynamics model was developed in software, it was converted into an SSM to connect the servo loop model. Then, the mechatronic integration analysis was performed to verify the dynamic characteristics of the tool center point (TCP) and the workbench in the experiment and simulation. The model created by the proposed identification process has a small DOF and can accurately simulate the dynamic characteristics of a machine. This model can be used for dynamic testing and control strategy development in mechatronic integration.

Research on the Integration of Intelligent Technology and Mechatronics in Mechanical Manufacturing

With the arrival of the era of technological revolution, the speed of scientific and technological development has been gradually accelerated, which has effectively promoted the integration of electromechanical equipment as soon as possible and further strengthened the production level. In short, at present, we are in the era of industrial informatization, and electromechanical integration technology has also developed, which has effectively promoted the perfect combination of machinery and electronics. Over time, it has developed into electromechanical integration technology, which can intelligently control various mechanical equipment. For mechatronics technology, the intelligent manufacturing technology can interact closely with the system during the specific use, build an all-round and multi-level intelligent manufacturing, and effectively promote the development of industrial production in the direction of humanization and scientization.

The Future of City Squares: Robotics in the Urban Design of Tomorrow

Technological development generates social changes while providing new tools that can be implemented in the fields of architecture and urban design. It creates the need to enrich architects’ competencies with knowledge and experience, enabling the conscious use of technology in designing future functional solutions for responsive space and the optimization of accessibility for various groups of users. This paper presents a teaching method developed to study the integration of architecture, urban planning and mechatronics to create a dynamic common space, responding to changing user needs and environmental conditions. Four experimental projects for a chosen public space were designed by students in order to investigate research by design and as an agenda for further design research. In the final part of the article, we present predictions for the future development of kinetic and responsive architecture in public spaces, including potential opportunities and challenges.

Overview of the Kakenhi Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas: Science of Soft Robots

Since 2018, a project of MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas, titled “Science of Soft Robots: Interdisciplinary integration of mechatronics, material science, and bio-computing” has been in progress. This major research project on soft robotics in Japan has a research period of 5 years. An outline of the project is presented herein.

Observer design for a single mast stacker crane

Abstract This contribution is concerned with the design of observers for a single mast stacker crane, which is used, e. g., for storage and removal of loads in automated warehouses. As the mast of such stacker cranes is typically a lightweight construction, the system under consideration is described by ordinary as well as partial differential equations, i. e., the system exhibits a mixed finite-/infinite-dimensional character. We will present two different observer designs, an Extended Kalman Filter based on a finite-dimensional system approximation, using the Rayleigh-Ritz method and an approach exploiting the port-Hamiltonian system representation for the mixed finite-/infinite-dimensional scenario where in particular the observer-error system should be formulated in the port-Hamiltonian framework. The mixed-dimensional observer and the Kalman Filter are employed to estimate the deflection of the beam based on signals acquired by an inertial measurement unit at the beam tip. Such an approach considerably simplifies mechatronic integration as it renders strain-gauges at the base of the mast obsolete. Finally, measurement results demonstrate the capability of these approaches for monitoring and vibration-rejection purposes.

Towards generative design in the development of mechatronic integrated devices (MID)

The spatial integration of mechanical and electrical components is a key enabler for the development of innovative cyber-physical systems. These Mechatronic Integrated Devices (MID) are necessary to meet the increased demands for miniaturization and functional integration. At the same time, the development complexity of these products as well as the dependencies of the production technologies increase. Product and production process must be developed integratively from the outset. The development of MIDs is supported by cross-domain development methods (e.g. VDI2206). However, the generation of solutions is often accompanied by individual solutions such as construction tools for 3D geometry design, routing on spatial surfaces and 2D logic planning for the topology of the mechanics. On the basis of initial domain-specific solutions, a complex, highly iterative optimization process takes place, in which the MID components are adapted to geometric and production-specific conditions. Generative Design offers a promising approach for the automation of design tasks. However, this approach is used outside of architecture only in mechanical designs and does not allow the automation of design aspects of complex multi-domain components like MID. This paper presents an initial approach towards the use of Generative Design in the development of Mechatronic Integrated Devices. The focus is to develop a hybrid design systematic that allows the (partially) automated evolvement of MID components based on a product specification and solution elements to be integrated. The Generative Design process is initiated by the specification of product requirements and constraints (e.g. existing mechanical solution elements). A knowledge base formalized via ontology is used to create a principle solution. Based on an initially generated population the biological-inspired evolution is triggered. Design variants are first synthesized together with 3D routing and then selected based on fitting functions. Satisfactorily evaluated MID variants are continuously mutated and recombined until the final design is created.

Autonomous Underwater Intervention: Experimental Results of the MARIS Project

Autonomous underwater vehicles are frequently used for survey missions and monitoring tasks, however, manipulation and intervention tasks are still largely performed with a human in the loop. Employing autonomous vehicles for these tasks has received a growing interest in the last ten years, and few pioneering projects have been funded on this topic. Among these projects, the Italian MARIS project had the goal of developing technologies and methodologies for the use of autonomous underwater vehicle manipulator systems in underwater manipulation and transportation tasks. This work presents the developed control framework, the mechatronic integration, and the project's final experimental results on floating underwater intervention.

A hybrid flattening method for roller-leveling of flexible magnetic medium

Mechanics modeling of roller leveling process is presented in this work with aim placed on the manufacturing of flexible magnetic medium in linear magnetic encoders. Roller leveling process is a complex forming process that utilizes bending moments to achieve flattening of the process material. In the manufacturing of magnetic encoding medium, the release of residual stress is a crucial step since it is directly related to the mechanical flatness of the medium, which will significantly affect the performance of the magnetic encoder. In this paper, mechatronics integration of a roller leveler is developed for flattening of magnetic medium. A hybrid modeling of magnetic medium flattening method is established through analytical model to predict and analyze its residual curvature and stress with given design parameters. The relationship between leveling roller indentation and curvature of magnetic medium are investigated, followed by validation which is carried out using the proposed model, the magnetic medium and the roller leveler. The presented work can be implemented toward flattening and forming of common media.

Preliminary Study on the Manufacturing Process of a Membrane Filtration for Protein Concentration from the Recycled Materials

Jatropha curcas oil has become an important raw material in manufacturing biodiesel fuel because of its non-edible and rich-oil characteristics. After oil pressing, the recycled press cake of Jatropha curcas seed residue exhibited ample protein, and could be applied in bio-medical, bio-resources, or food industrial products. Protein concentration process using membrane module system combined with the control design has a significant advantage on energy saving compared to the heat drying of protein solution. However, fouling, large membrane area and frequent membrane cleaning will increase the energy consumption and operation cost for the protein concentration process with filter membrane. In this study, the membrane filtration for protein concentration will be conducted. The discussion of control factors, membrane pore size (X1), pH value (X2) and transmembrane pressure (X3), for protein concentration process with response surface methodology (RSM) were discussed. The results showed that R2R2 value for each model was close to one. Future investigation on the mechatronics integration of the membrane separation and purification system will be needed for commercial applications.