The Mechatronics Handbook

A unique, detailed overview of this vibrant, dynamic field. Includes authoritative articles by leading academics and practitioners with clear explanations of each technical area to ensure non-specialists can use and understand the information.

Mechatronicsis not a brand new buzzword, as this reviewer initially believed.á As explainedin chapter 1, the term was coined in 1969 by Yasakawa Electric Company intrademark application documents.á Exploration of the use of this term revealsthat there was considerable interest in the 1980s in mechatronics, particularlyin advances by Japanese industries.á In the late 1980s, mechatronics began toappear in conference names.á The Journal of Robotics and Mechatronicsbegan publication in 1989, and was soon followed by various other mechatronicsjournals.á Mechatronicscan be defined as ôintegration of familiar mechanical systems with newelectronic components and intelligent software controlö (Talbot, TechnologyReview 106, no. 1, Feb. 2003, p. 40).á Several similar definitions appear in TheMechatronics Handbook, along with the observation that manyengineers have been engaged in mechatronics work for years without benefit offormal instruction in the field.á EditorRobert H. Bishop is Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanicsat the University of Texas at Austin.á His area of expertise isguidance, navigation and control of space vehicles, and he is currentlycollaborating with NASA in developing precision techniques for Mars landings.áThe Mechatronics Handbook brings together Bishop and 87contributors from 57 organizations, including academic institutions from aroundthe globe, government agencies, and industry, and representing a broad range ofexpertise in electrical, materials, and computer hardware and software engineering,and related disciplines.Followingthe overview, the remaining five sections of the book represent five keyspecialty areas that currently comprise mechatronics.á It is suggested thatadditional specialties will stretch the frontiers of mechatronics in thefuture.á Most chapters feature integration of key concepts from multipledisciplines, along with sufficient information (e.g., physical laws, equationsfor various phenomena, tables of constants and properties) to allow applicationof those concepts.á Recommendations for mechatronics curricula in highereducation are included, and some chapters contain accessible sections onhistory, basic definitions, and real-world examples of general interest,significantly expanding the utility of the book.á Chapters range in length fromfour to 152 pages, and most of the 50 chapters include cited references.á Theindex provides reasonable subject access; it features some double posting, butno cross referencing.á (An index entry for mechatronics with 55 subentries,some with sub-subentries, should have been recast.)The MechatronicsHandbook is highly recommended for academic libraries supportingundergraduate or advanced programs in electronics, electrical engineering,computer science, robotics and related subjects.á This reviewer checked severalbasic reference sources in her local collection, and found no readilyaccessible background information on mechatronics.á For example, there is noentry in McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (2002) orits index for mechatronics (although there is an index entry formicromechatronics which leads to the MEMS entry).á Parts of The MechatronicsHandbook do supply both general background information and easysubject access to it, although the expense is probably unjustified if thatwould be the sole use.á The Mechatronics Sourcebook (N.C. Braga,Thomson Delmar Learning 2003,[ GOBI GOBI 2 ] $49.95) is a less expensiveůand lessexpansiveůalternative; however, it lacks the background and much of the detail(and also the index) present in The Mechatronics Handbook, andoffers far less both to the patron with a general interest and to thespecialist.Reviewer: Susan Braxton, Science Reference Copyright 2003 E-Streams Reviews