What is Mechatronic Engineering?

Mechatronic engineering (in a nutshell) is a branch of engineering that covers Mechanical, Electrical, and Software Engineering.

Put simply, Mechatronic Engineering is Robotics Creation.

Mechanical Engineering is the strain of engineering that deals with mechanical objects - things that can move, and things that are relatively small (does't include buildings or structures). Mechanical engineering usually involves figuring out how an object or physical item will withstand to external influences such as forces, chemicals, temperature, etc.. Mechanical engineering also involves creating devices that can transform and transmit force in desired ways.

Electrical Engineering involves electrical circuits, electricity, and power. Electrical engineers would have a solid understanding of how to construct circuits, and how to distribute power appropriately. This also involves power storage, and transmitting power.

Software Engineering is the creation of software and embedded systems. Embedded systems are systems that are embedded or 'hard-coded' into a chip, that cannot be altered by a user. Software can also refer to Graphical User Interface software such as you would find on a computer, or in games, or on your phone etc.. Software can also be created to react to sensors (such as IR, proximity switches, buttons, etc.), and output to actuators (such as motors, lights, screens, speakers, etc.). Software involves programming and coding, in a variety of programming languages or code including C, C++, Java, Python, C#, VBA, and many many more.

Mechatronic Engineering - Put these all together, you have Mechatronic Engineering / Robotics. Mechatronic engineering takes a mechanical object, integrates it with an electrical circuit, and then creates a program to run within it, or interact with the circuit or other sensors on the mechanical object. This means that pretty much anything that has a mechanical part, an electrical part, and a software part, can be considered mechatronic or robotic. For example, your car is mostly mechanical, but there are many sensors and actuators in the car that are run by electronics, and those electronics have programs to control how they run, and when to act on certain sensors.

A robot can be many things - from a world destroying Ultron or time-travelling Governator, all the way to a simple kettle. Robots are already all around you!