There are many definitions of mechatronics, but most involve the concept of blending mechanisms, electronics, sensors, and control strategies into a design, knitted together with software.
With an abundant wealth of topics to choose from, authors of mechatronics textbooks are tempted to bundle them all into a massive compendium. This book seeks to throw out all but the essentials; although perhaps in hanging onto the baby, some bathwater will still remain.

There are a hundred ways of achieving all except the simplest of mechatronic design tasks. At every step, choice and compromise will be involved. Should a precision motor be used, or will a simple sensor and a sprinkle of feedback allow something cheaper and easier to do the trick? What does the end user ask for, really want, actually need—or eventually buy?
Specialists can handle the fine detail, the composition of the molded plastic, the choice of components for the electronic interface, machining drawings, embedded computer, or software development platform. At the top of the pyramid, however, there must be a mechatronic designer capable of making the design tradeoffs that will transform a client's demands or a bright idea into a successful commercial product.

Acknowledgments xi
1. Introduction  1
 1.1  A Personal View  /  1
 1.2  What Is and Is Not Mechatronics?  /  6
2. The Bare Essentials  9
 2.1  Actuators / 9
 2.2  Sensors / 16
 2.3  Sensors for Vision  /  22
 2.4  The Computer / 25
 2.5  Interface Electronics for Output  /  27
 2.6  Interface Electronics for Input  /  32
 2.7  Pragmatic Control / 36
 2.8  Robotics and Kinematics  /  41
3. Gaining Experience  43
 3.1  Coming to Grips with QBasic  /  45
 3.2  The Simplest Mobile Robot  /  49
 3.3  Ball and Beam  /  56
 3.4  "Professional" Position Control  /  64
 3.5  An Inverted Pendulum  /  80
 4.  Introduction to the Next Level  91
 4.1  The www.EssMech.com Website  /  92
5. Electronic Design  95
 5.1  The Rudiments of Circuit Theory  /  95
 5.2  The Operational Amplifier / 99
 5.3  Filters for Sensors  /  103
 5.4  Logic and Latches  /  113
6. Essential Control Theory  117
 6.1  State Variables / 117
 6.2  Simulation / 120
 6.3  Solving the First-Order Equation  /  121
 6.4  Second-Order Problems / 123
 6.5  Modeling Position Control  /  125
 6.6  Matrix State Equations  /  127
 6.7  Analog Simulation / 128
 6.8  More Formal Computer Simulation  /  130
 7.  Vectors, Matrices, and Tensors  131
 7.1  Meet the Matrix  /  131
 7.2  More on Vectors  /  132
 7.3  Matrix Multiplication / 134
 7.4  Transposition of Matrices  /  135
 7.5  The Unit Matrix  /  136
 7.6  Coordinate Transformations / 136
 7.7  Matrices, Notation, and Computing  /  138
7.8 Eigenvectors / 140
8. Mathematics for Control  143
 8.1  Differential Equations / 143
 8.2  The Laplace Transform  /  146
 8.3  Difference Equations / 150
8.4 The zTransform / 154
 8.5  Convolution and Correlation  /  157
 9.  Robotics, Dynamics, and Kinematics  161
 9.1  Gears, Motors, and Mechanisms  /  161
 9.2  Three-Dimensional Motion / 166
 9.3  Kinematic Chains / 173
 9.4  Robot Dynamics / 179
 9.5  Simulating a Robot  /  180
10.  Further Control Theory  185
 10.1  Control Topology and Nonlinear Control  /  185
 10.2  Phase Plane Methods  /  192
 10.3  Optimization / 199
11. Computer Implementation  203
 11.1  Essentials of Computing  /  203
 11.2  Software Implications / 206
 11.3  Embedded Processors / 210
12. Machine Vision  221
 12.1  Vision Sensors / 221
 12.2  Acquiring an Image  /  222
 12.3  Analyzing an Image  /  224
13. Case Studies  237
 13.1  Robocow—a Mobile Robot for Training Horses  /  237
 13.2  Vision Guidance for Tractors  /  243
 13.3  A Shape Recognition Example  /  251
14.  The Human Element  255
 14.1  The User Interface  /  255
 14.2  If All Else Fails, Read the Instructions  /  259
 14.3  It Just Takes Imagination  /  260