Mechatronic futures revisited—an introduction

Since the concept of mechatronics was first proposed, it has been subject to a continuous process of change as it adapts to developments in technology. Nevertheless, the underlying concepts of integration at the component, device and system levels associated with a transfer of functionality from the physical to the software domain remain essentially the same. Here, in the introduction to this revised edition of Mechatronic Futures, written some 7 years after the initial version, some of the issues and challenges now facing mechatronics engineers and designers are considered to give context ahead of the more detailed analysis provided by the individual chapters. These chapters include both updated versions, in areas such as home systems, healthcare, manufacturing technologies and the Internet of Things, plus new material covering areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, issues of sustainability, system complexity and lifecycle monitoring which have evolved and developed in recent years and which impact significantly on the mechatronic concept. Many of these new ideas overlap with existing issues, and while this introduction sets out to provide an overall context, they are of necessity and, importantly, reflected in the individual chapters in different ways and with differing emphases. The changes and challenges identified through the various chapters also impact on the ways in which mechatronics education is developing and the resulting links into project management. The final chapters of the book reflect on these issues. Finally, it is becoming apparent that mechatronics engineers and designers are increasingly required to take into consideration not only the technical issues that lie at the core of mechatronics but also social, and indeed political, factors, as for instance in respect of individual privacy, into their thinking. The introduction seeks to point out some of these issues and concerns.