OPTICS AND MECHATRONICS

Definition: What is Mechatronics ?

Mechatronics was formerly called "Precision Engineering, Instrumentation and Control". As this name was much
too long and was often misunderstood, the subject was renamed to Mechatronics.

Mechatronics comprises today almost any field of instrumentation, from optical and medical technology through to
domestic appliances, metrology, automatic control engineering, office automation and systems engineering.

A typical type of problem in Mechatronics combines precision mechanics, optics, electromechanics, electronics,
data processing and applied computer science and requires a very high standart of precision, reliability and
miniturization. In accordance with this interdisciplinary character of precision engineering, the course at the FH
Aalen is tightly structured and broad based.

Mechatronics products are in general devices or instruments that are used for production, transference or

Processing of signals.

Mechatronics products are found almost everywhere in technique in great variances. Here is an (incomplete) list of
examples:

• Office Appliances telephone, fax, copier, printers, magnetic and optical data storage.
• Medical Technology: cardiac pacemaker, hearing aids, endoscope.
• Motor Vehicle Technology: speedometer, ignition system, electronic injection system, antilock braking
system.
• Domestic Appliances: electricity meter, strip lights, dry shaver, electronic sewing machine.
• Production Tools: measuring and supervision systems with optical and electronical sensors, control units
for automatization and quality assurance of industrial production.
• Technology For Leisure: remote-controlled airplane miniatures, 35mm camera, video recorder, compact
disc player.

Summarizing, Mechatronics according to the FH Aalen model comprises Mechanics, Electronics, Optics and
Information Technology.
Opto-Mechatronics, as an engineering discipline, strives to optimally integrate mechanical, electronic and
computer systems in order to create high precision products and manufacturing processes. Optical sensing and
data processing technologies are being integrated, at an accelerated rate, into opto-mechatronic systems because
these optical based technologies provide components for high precision, rapid information processing, and
intelligent functions. As a result of this evolution, consumer products and industrial processes are becoming
smarter, more accurate, and more human-friendly than those of the past. These opto-mechatronic technologies will
continue to play a leading role in the development of intelligent products and systems in the coming years.

Source : http://www.fbf.fh-aalen.de/sg_f/english/general/whatis.html

Opto-Mechatronics:
The Fusion of Optical and Mechatronic Engineering

Mechatronic technology integrated by mechanical, electronic/electrical and computer technologies has certainly
played an important role in making devices, machines, processes and systems continuously evolve to enhance
their performance and creating new value and function. In recent years, optical technology has been incorporated
into mechatronics systems at an accelerated rate, and as a result, a great number of machines/systems with smart
optical components has been introduced. This witnesses the fact that optically integrated technology provides
solution to complex problems by achieving a desirable performance that mechatronics alone cannot solve. This
integrated technology, the fusion of optical and mechatronic technologies is termed “opto-mechatronics” and it
will serve as a prime moving technology evolution in the future. The objective of this special issue is to present the
definition, fundamentals and application aspects of the technology, and provide the state-of-the art of the
technology and its future perspective. This issue will focus on the fundamentals of the opto-mechatronic
technology, opto-mechatronic devices/systems and their design methodology, opto-mechatronic systems
intelligence, and applications using the technology.

Opto-mechatronics includes :

Optomechatronic Technology
_ Optomechatronic systems and control
_ Optical sensors and signal processing
_ Optical driving and control for actuators
_ Optical / vision information processing
_ Optical micro / nano manipulation
_ Visual servoing
_ Micro / nano optics
Optomechatronic Devices/Systems
_ Optical elements and components
_ Micro / nano optical systems / MOEMs
_ Optical micro / nano actuators
_ Sensors and actuators with optical components
_ Information storage and display devices / systems
_ Advanced optical design, fabrication and testing.
_ Adaptive optical systems
Applications Using Optomechatronic Technology
_ Vision / optical based machine / process monitoring and control
_ Intelligent vision systems for sensing and control
_ Optoelectronic precision, positioning measurement, and inspection
_ Optomechatronics for photonic network
_ Bio-optomechatronics
_ Robotic / manufacturing applications
_ Design of smart products and structures.
Intelligence for Optomechatronic System
_ Imbedded intelligent control
_ Multisensor information fusion
_ Optical pattern recognition
_ Intelligent optical systems
_ Computational Intelligence for opto-mechatronics
_ Machine learning
_ Optical-based human-machine interface.

Source : http://lca.kaist.ac.kr/images/callforpaper_IESS.pd