MECHATRONICS: THE HUMAN FUTURE
By: Devesh Gandhi
Tags: Iron Man Suit, Mechatronics, Tesla, 3d Modeling, Robotic Arm

To be frank we are living in a world which is fully driven by technology from a car to a flying saucer, from pen to paper or even from our meal to clothes in some or other form technology is a helping hand in manufacturing or using them. Just take an example of yourself when you wake up, the first thing which you see is either your mobile or clock for knowing the time, then you read the newspaper with a cup of tea or coffee to get a fresh morning start, after that you get ready for your school/college/work and take a ride to reach your destination. Now this can be seen as the outer shell of coconut but inner water of coconut which we drink is the technology which we use or can say on which we entirely depend in our today’s life like mobile or clock both are made using technology, the tea or coffee which is made from leaves or beans respectively uses a thorough process to get converted from their original form to powder, even the newspaper which we read is all possible because of technology as it gives you real-time update and the ride which you take is the best example of how with some metal and fossil fuel we have developed something which can move us from one place to another without consuming our energy. So it will not be wrong if we say that without technology our life will be like leaving in hell.

If we see then the things which are trending in today’s market is artificial intelligence, machine learning, web development or in short we can say that the things which required more use of software not hardware this can be seen as positive as before developing a fully functional human body we are working on its brain but what we are forgetting is that it may be possible that when the full body is developed its functions may vary and complications can arrive. For example, if we want to develop a fully functional robot and if we first work on its hand then legs and create an AI software then it may be possible that when we give the command to walk it will not walk like a human being as its leg will only function and hand will remain as it is as the function of the leg is to walk and of hand is to pick up the glass so this type of scenario can arrive which has led to the development of mechatronics branch which will not only work on such type of scenario but maybe in 5–10 years we can make our own iron man.

So what is the mechatronics branch, in short, we can say if we combine mechanical, electrical and computer branches then the resulting branch will be mechatronics. In all over the world currently, mechatronics field is booming as with ample knowledge of AI and machine learning scientist are trying to implement it on a real system like automated parking or applying brakes by self in a car to maintain safe distance is the examples of how cautious we are related to our own safety. Not only this in a field where the heavy lifting of objects is needed a man with a robotic arm is used which can lift 20–30 kilograms easily. And spaces shuttles that can take a man in the outer space atmosphere of the earth and can bring them back in one stroke are currently under testing. Moreover, this year, the tesla has launched a rocket that has not only taken the space shuttle out of earth’s atmosphere but then again returned to earth by making a perfect landing.

Currently, Japan is leading from the front in mechatronics. Since 2010 they have realized the potential of it and since then never looked back when the whole world was focusing on upgrading their military equipment’s adding drone sending satellites in space and securing their border japan work closely in developing systems which now has a huge potential in the market. Japan has shipped nearly 3.4 billion yen worth of robots in 2012, comprising nearly 50% of the global share.

Currently, they are working on a prototype of a robot that has the ability to achieve a clear field of vision in inclement weather and extreme environments with an idea that this type of robot will go to such places instead of a human to click pictures or to study the environment. Also, they are working on reproducing clear images without any background noise for example if at some site there is water logging or debris or if there are water droplets on the lens of the camera then the human eye can see through the lens and take a picture but for the camera, it is not possible as they consider such things as background noise so to reproduce perfect image is not possible but when multiple images are combined through a relay of different cameras a perfect picture can be reproduced. They are also working on technology where with the help of visuals the face of a person can be changed though this may sound hypothetical in real they have made a perfect demonstration where they have placed some microdots on a human face and projected a ray of light on them making a 3D model on a human face.

Also, they have made a replica of the human hand which can lift the objects like paper or can open a door using a doorknob where exact pressure is required for that they have used machine learning where the sensors attached to the robotic hand gives an electrical signal to the user’s hand and users get the experience like he is the one who is touching the paper or lifting it so that he can apply exact pressure and then transfer the signal back to robotic arm making him lift the object without broking it.

On the other hand, since the USA was working on upgrading the equipment’s for the military they have developed a cooling suit for the army which can keep the body temperature in control in desert and soldiers can fight easily without worrying about heatstroke for that they have made a jacket with rotating pipes and then the water is circulated with help of small motor keeping the body cool.

Not only this they have created a system that acts as a small booster known as 4MM or 4-minute mile, with the help of which the soldier can run for long with heavyweights on its back giving him an ample amount of time to get out of the damage zone.

After reading this thorough some of you may say that it’s not possible to create an iron man but what we need is some belief to create it. Because from one century to another we are making impossible things possible, keeping our standard high and thriving hard to achieve it which will surely result in one day when we will not only create an iron man in fact a far better version of it.