Introduction to Mechatronics
An overview of trends and technologies for innovation
Dario Petri
Department of Industrial Engineering
Ciclo di Seminari per l’Ingegneria Industriale – 17 Marzo 2015
Outline
• What is mechatronics?
• Role of Mechatronics for Industry and Society
• What is a Mechatronic System
• The core of Mechatronic Systems: the
Embedded processing Platform
• Transducers and MEMS
• Annex: M.Sc. Mechatronic Engineering
2
What is Mechatronics ?
3
What is mechatronics ?
a synergistic
integration and convergence of disciplines
A definition:
approach aiming at the
synergistic integration of
mechanics, electronics,
control theory, and
computer science in
order to improve and/or
optimize functionality of
systems or processes
4
Role of Mechatronics
for Industry and Society
5
Where is mechatronics used?
Automotive
Robotics
Ambient Assisted
Living (AAL)
Instruments
Industrial automation
Home appliances
6
What perspectives for Mechatronics ?
• a key role within the European research and innovation funding
programme (2014-20) called Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 goals:
 Responding to the economic crisis to invest in future jobs and growth
 Addressing peoples’ concerns about their livelihoods, safety and
environment
 Strengthening the EU’s global position in research, innovation and
technology
7
Horizon 2020 priorities
32%
22%
Excellent
science
Industrial
leadership
Societal
challenges
Total:
€ 80 bn
38%
Others: 8%
8
Horizon 2020 priorities vs Mechatronics
9
Example: Automotive
automobiles as distributed embedded systems
multiple processors
• up to 100 and more
• networked together
10
Example: factory of the Future
11
Example: Smart City
rational management of resources, sustainable
development, for the benefit of citizens,
companies, institutions
pervasive use of information, mechanical and
control technologies for communications,
mobility, environment, energy, …
Example: Smart Grids
13
Example: Smart Home
Buildings as
Composition of
Subsystems
Sensors, Actuators,
Networks
Performance Database
Security
Safety
Entertainment
Environmental Control
Energy Efficiency
Example: Ageing and Well-being
Health
Inclusive Society
Social Interaction
Home Care
Mobility
15
What is a
Mechatronic System?
16
General functional overview
• accelerometers
• cameras
• sonar …
sensors
• analog filtering
• amplification
• A/D conversion
input signal
conditioning
& interfacing
signals
•
•
•
•
•
digital control
digital filtering
parameter estimation
feature extractions
optimization
“embedded”
processing
communication
• D/A conversion
• power amplification
output signal
conditioning
& interfacing
(MCU, µP, FPGA, PLC, DSP, …)
of «external» quantities
(related to the environment)
a feedback system!
signals
of «internal» quantities
(related to the system itself)
(gears, axles, …)
sensors
mechanical
system
• gyroscopes
• potentiometers
• encoders …
• autonomous vehicle
• manipulators
• assembling lines
actuators
• valves
• motors (electric,
pneumatic, hydraulic,…)
17
Real-time operation
Time between data
acquisition and Residual Time
actuation
Release
time
Period
Deadline
Most of mechatronic systems have to work in real-time:
• Hard real-time: missing deadlines may cause
catastrophic consequences
Examples: Airbags, ABS
• Soft real-time: meeting deadlines is desirable for
performance reasons, but missing them is not critical
Examples: command interpreter of the user interface
18
An excellent example: The Robot
The term has been used for a variety of autonomous mechanical systems.
“A robot is a reprogrammable multi–functional system designed to move
materials, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed
motions for the performance of a variety of tasks”
(Robotics Institute of America)
Widely accepted definition of robotics: “the science studying the intelligent
connection between perception and action”
19
Design controls for robots
robot
kynematics and dynamic models
describe the system time evolution
control electronics
20
The core of Mechatronic Systems:
the
"Embedded" Processing Platform
21
Embedded platform
Software (Flash)
Data
Aggregation
Algorithms
Network
Protocols
Link
Level
Protocols
to 10’s of mm3
and 10’s of µW
from 10’s of cm3
and 10’s of mW
Micro-OS and Middleware
Radio Unit
Processor
sensor
A/D
D/A
Other Electronics
SRAM
Flash
BB
Radio
Acc.
Power Generator
Location finding
actuator
Sensing Unit
DC/DC Converter
Processing Unit
Power Unit
The central processing unit (CPU)
The CPU consists of:
• data section (containing registers and ALU - arithmetic and logic
unit) also known as the datapath
• control section, which interprets instructions and effects register
transfers
23
performance
CPU options for Mechatronics
Application specific
architectures (ASIC)
Embedded
processors
Microcontrollers
Microprocessors
disappearing
distinction
performance
evolution
cost
24
A CPU architecture: ARM A9
25
Increasingly on the Same Chip
System-on-Chip (SoC)
Copyright 2003  Mani Srivastava
Embedded design variables
Embedded systems are computing systems dedicated to an application
domain and “embedded” into a technical environment (e.g. car, robot)
Contributions to cost:
cost
• silicon area
• memory (program, data)
• packaging
power
consumption
• hardware design effort
• time-to-market
• software design effort
27
Embedded system characteristics
Real-Time Operation
• Reactive: computations must occur in response to external events
• Correctness is partially a function of time
Small Size, Low Weight
• Hand-held electronics and Transportation applications -- weight costs
money
Low Power
• Battery power for several hours (laptops often last only 2 hours)
Harsh environment
• Heat, vibration, shock, power fluctuations, RF interference, lightning, corrosion
Safety- critical operation
• Must function correctly and Must not function in correctly
Extreme cost sensitivity
• $0.05 adds up over 1,000,000 units
28
Hardware-software co-design
29
Microelectronic evolution: Moore’s law
Gordon Moore: noted that the number of transistors on a chip
doubled every 18 to 24 months (1965)
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Electronics,
April 19, 1965
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
LOG2 OF THE NUMBER OF
COMPONENTS PER INTEGRATED FUNCTION
Prediction: semiconductor technology will double its effectiveness
every 18 months (strong impact on both CPUs and memories)
30
Transistor count growth in CPUs
2012
> 1 billion
transistors
1,000,000
1 billion
transistors
K
100,000
10,000
1,000
i386
80286
100
10
i486
Pentium® III
Pentium® II
Pentium® Pro
Pentium®
8086
1
1975 1980
Courtesy, Intel
1985 1990
1995 2000
2005 2010
projected
31
Embedded HW: Moore’s Law
18 nm
5000 Kgates/mm2
45 nm
2600 Kgates/mm2
65 nm
1400 Kgates/mm2
Margarshack03
 P.Marwedel
today
atomic
radius ∼
30-300 pm
STMicroelectronics
Roadmap
Instruction level parallelism
• Instruction Level Parallelism (IPL): the capability of a CPU to run
more instructions at the same time
• the most classic solution: the pipeline
33
The power wall
• design goal (late 1990’s - early 2000’s): drive the clock rate up
by increasing parallelism
• this increased the power dissipation of the CPU chip beyond
the capacity of inexpensive cooling techniques
34
Power density
Power density too high to keep junctions at low temp
Solution: multi-core CPUs
Sequential App
Performance
36
A multi-core CPU: ARM11 MPcore
37
Evolution
of micro-integration
38
Integration of Technologies
3-D Hyperintegration and Packaging
Technologies for Micro-Nano Systems
Proceedings of the IEEE , January 2009
3D technology integration: ICT, Nano e Bio
Transducers
and MEMS
40
What is a transducer ?
transducer: a device that converts a quantity with a primary form of
energy to another
primary energy forms: mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic, optical, chemical …
it takes form of:
• sensor (e.g., thermometer): a transducer that acquires information
from the “empirical world” providing an electrical signal at its output
• actuator (e.g., heater): a transducer that acts on the “empirical
world” converting information into an action
empirical
world
sensor
actuator
intelligent
feedback
system
41
Transducer examples
Light Sensors
• photoconductor:
∆R = f (light level)
• photodiode
∆Iλ = f (light level)
Pressure sensors
• resistive ∆R = f (pressure)
• capacitive ∆C = f (pressure)
42
Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS)
Characteristics:
• miniaturization (size: 1 µm – 1 mm)
• fabricated using micromachining
(technologies derived from µelectronics)
• batch fabrication reduces cost
• low power consumption
micro-fluidics
• new capabilities:
micro-analysis and micro-manipulation systems
micro-gears
micro-mirrors
micro-electrodes
43
MEMS in automotive applications
distributed all over the vehicle
44
Ecall
•
•
mandatory in all EU new cars since October 2015
activated by airbag sensors, send an alarm signal to 112
(emergency call number) with date, time and GPS coordinates
of the vehicle
expected cut help
delay: about 50%
-2500 dead/year
cost: 50-300 euro
3D imagers
Maneuvering
area
• 3D imagers rely on the measurement of
Time-of-Flight (ToF) of optical pulses
• range 1 - 20 m, accuracy of a few cm
Functional scheme
• target identification
• distance measurements
output
50 m
80 m
10 m
46
Autonomous Vehicle
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Total Recall, 1990
Piero Angela
Parma, Jan 2014
M.S. (Laurea Magistrale) in
Mechatronic Engineering
classe
Mechanical Engineering
48
M.S. Mechatronic Engineering
2°Semester
Manifesto 2014-15 (draft) 2° year
Comp. Meth. for Mechatronics
Manufacturing Automation
Systems and tech. for D.S.P.
Mech. Design Machine Elem.
Introduction to Electr. Syst.
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