Dario Petri

An overview of trends and technologies for innovation

Introduction to Mechatronics

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 ?

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a synergistic integration and convergence of disciplines

What is mechatronics ?

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

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Role of Mechatronics for Industry and Society

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Where is mechatronics used?

InstrumentsAmbient Assisted Living (AAL)

Robotics

Automotive

Industrial automation Home appliances6

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

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Excellent science

Industrial leadership

Societal challenges

38%

32%

22%Others: 8%

Total:€ 80 bn

Horizon 2020 priorities

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Horizon 2020 priorities vs Mechatronics

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automobiles as distributed embedded systems

multiple processors• up to 100 and more• networked together

Example: Automotive

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Example: factory of the Future

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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 City

Example: Smart Grids

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Sensors, Actuators,Networks

Performance Database

Environmental Control Energy Efficiency

SecuritySafety

Entertainment

Buildings as Composition of

Subsystems

Example: Smart Home

Example: Ageing and Well-being

Home Care

Inclusive Society Mobility

Health Social Interaction

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What is a Mechatronic System?

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General functional overview

sensors

of «external» quantities (related to the environment)

sensorsof «internal» quantities (related to the system itself)

input signal conditioning & interfacing

signals

signals

“embedded” processing

communication

• analog filtering• amplification• A/D conversion

• digital control• digital filtering • parameter estimation• feature extractions• optimization

output signal conditioning & interfacing

• D/A conversion• power amplification

mechanical system actuators

• valves• motors (electric, pneumatic, hydraulic,…)

a feedback system!

• autonomous vehicle• manipulators• assembling lines

• gyroscopes• potentiometers• encoders …

• accelerometers • cameras• sonar …

(MCU, µP, FPGA, PLC, DSP, …)

(gears, axles, …)

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Real-time operation

Most of mechatronic systems have to work in real-time:

• Hard real-time: missing deadlines may cause catastrophic consequencesExamples: Airbags, ABS

• Soft real-time: meeting deadlines is desirable forperformance reasons, but missing them is not criticalExamples: command interpreter of the user interface

Time between data acquisition and

actuationResidual Time

PeriodRelease

time Deadline

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An excellent example: The RobotThe 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”

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Design controls for robots

robot

control electronics

kynematics and dynamic modelsdescribe the system time evolution

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The core of Mechatronic Systems:the

"Embedded" Processing Platform

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Software (Flash)

DC/DC Converter

Power Generator

Power Unit

BB

Radio Unit

Radio

A/DD/A

Other Electronics

sensor

actuator

Sensing Unit

Data AggregationAlgorithms

NetworkProtocols

Link Level

Protocols

Processor

SRAM

Micro-OS and Middleware

Processing Unit

Flash

Location finding

Acc.

Embedded platform

from 10’s of cm3

and 10’s of mW

to 10’s of mm3

and 10’s of µW

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

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CPU options for Mechatronics

cost

per

form

anc

e

MicroprocessorsEmbeddedprocessors

Microcontrollers

disappearing distinction

Application specific architectures (ASIC)

performance evolution

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A CPU architecture: ARM A9

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Increasingly on the Same Chip

Copyright 2003 Mani Srivastava

System-on-Chip (SoC)

Embedded design variables

Embedded systems are computing systems dedicated to an applicationdomain and “embedded” into a technical environment (e.g. car, robot)

Contributions to cost:

• silicon area

• memory (program, data)

• packaging

• hardware design effort

• time-to-market

• software design effort

power consumption

cost

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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

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Hardware-software co-design

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Microelectronic evolution: Moore’s law

Gordon Moore: noted that the number of transistors on a chip doubled every 18 to 24 months (1965)

Prediction: semiconductor technology will double its effectiveness every 18 months (strong impact on both CPUs and memories)

161514131211109876543210

1959

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LOG 2 O

F THE

NUM

BER

OFCO

MPON

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PER

INTE

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Electronics, April 19, 1965

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Transistor count growth in CPUs

1,000,000

100,000

10,000

1,000

10

100

11975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

8086

80286i386

i486Pentium®

Pentium® Pro

K 1 billion transistors

projected

Pentium® IIPentium® III

Courtesy, Intel

2012 > 1 billion transistors

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Embedded HW: Moore’s Law

Margarshack03

65 nm1400 Kgates/mm2

45 nm2600 Kgates/mm2

STMicroelectronicsRoadmap

P.Marwedel

18 nm5000 Kgates/mm2

today

atomic radius ∼

30-300 pm

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

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The power wall

• design goal (late 1990’s - early 2000’s): drive the clock rate upby increasing parallelism

• this increased the power dissipation of the CPU chip beyond the capacity of inexpensive cooling techniques

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Power density

Power density too high to keep junctions at low temp

Solution: multi-core CPUs

Sequential App Performance

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A multi-core CPU: ARM11 MPcore

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Evolutionof micro-integration

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Integration of Technologies

3D technology integration: ICT, Nano e Bio

3-D Hyperintegration and Packaging Technologies for Micro-Nano Systems

Proceedings of the IEEE , January 2009

Transducers and MEMS

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What is a transducer ?

transducer: a device that converts a quantity with a primary form of energy to anotherprimary 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

empiricalworld

sensor

actuator

intelligentfeedback

system

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Transducer examples

Light Sensors• photoconductor:

∆R = f (light level)

• photodiode∆Iλ = f (light level)

Pressure sensors• resistive ∆R = f (pressure)• capacitive ∆C = f (pressure)

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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

• new capabilities: micro-analysis and micro-manipulation systems

micro-gears micro-mirrors micro-electrodes

micro-fluidics

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MEMS in automotive applications

distributed all over the vehicle

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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

Functional scheme

10 m

80 m50 m

• target identification• distance measurements

output

• 3D imagers rely on the measurement of Time-of-Flight (ToF) of optical pulses

• range 1 - 20 m, accuracy of a few cm

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Autonomous Vehicle

Arnold SchwarzeneggerTotal Recall, 1990

Piero AngelaParma, Jan 2014

M.S. (Laurea Magistrale) in Mechatronic Engineering

classe Mechanical Engineering

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Comp. Meth. for Mechatronics (6 CFU)Manufacturing Automation (6 CFU)Systems and tech. for D.S.P. (9 CFU)Mech. Design Machine Elem. (9 CFU)Introduction to Electr. Syst. (6 CFU)Elective course* (6 CFU)

Automatic Control (9 CFU)Mechanical Vibrations (6 CFU)Modeling Simul. Mech. Systems (9 CFU)Elective course* (6 CFU)

Robotic Perception and Action (6/9 CFU)Design Control of Product. Proc. (6 CFU)Functional and Smart Materials (6 CFU)Elective course (6 CFU)Elective course (6 CFU)

Modeling design finite elements (6 CFU)Dynamic control vehicles robots (9 CFU)Embedded Systems (9 CFU)Other activities (3 CFU)Final project (15 CFU)

Computer Vision (6 CFU) Distrib. Systems Meas. Autom. (6 CFU)Industrial Robotics (6 CFU)Logistica Gestione Impianti Ind. (6 CFU)Introd. to Electronic Systems* (6 CFU)Quality and Innovation Engin. (6 CFU)

Curriculum Mechanics – Mechatronics Curriculum Electronics - Robotics

1° year 2° year

1°Se

mes

ter

1°Se

mes

ter

2°Se

mes

ter

2°Se

mes

ter

M.S. Mechatronic Engineering

Aerodinamica (6 CFU)Informatica e Programmaz.* (6 CFU)Metodi Progettazione Industriale (6 CFU)

Manifesto 2014-15 (draft)