Several US and foreign universities are teaming to develop an engineering and applied sciences campus in New York City, a center intended to rival high-tech hubs in Boston and Silicon Valley.
I was interested to learn that information technology (IT) leads the city's list of the center's disciplines. I shouldn't have been surprised; over the past decade, many colleges have been created with the words Information Technology in their names. But what is IT, and why is it growing in importance? What is its relationship to engineering and to mechatronics? Depending who you ask, you will get a variety of answers.
To get a better understanding of this misunderstood field, I turned to a colleague, one with a unique perspective. George Corliss is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Marquette University with over 40 years of experience in mathematics, computer science, and computer engineering. He and I always try to find ways to be inclusive, and so our discussion took that tack. He started our discussion by turning the subject around to focus on the technology of information; that reframing was eye-opening and led to valuable observations.
Human beings are inherently problem solvers, and all disciplines (e.g., business, social science, science, and engineering) need critical-thinking problem solvers. Problem solving requires complete, accurate information at the right time and in the right context. This becomes more of an imperative when solving complex problems, as complexity must be managed to avoid catastrophe. The technology of information deals with acquiring, transmitting, storing, analyzing, disseminating, and applying information in human-centered problem-solving activities. But that information must be transformed into useful knowledge for the problem at hand. That is the critical connection between all problem-solving disciplines and IT.
In mechatronics and engineering, systems have two domains: the power domain of sensors, actuators, and mechanical systems, and the information domain of computer control and human interfacing. But IT is so much more than that, and success in human-centered design depends on it.
An analogy that applies here is the field of controls. Controls is a pervasive, enabling technology that for many years was thought of as the domain of the specialist and applied as an afterthought add-on, even though it was essential. Now we well appreciate that integrating controls into a system design from the very start of the design process leads to a superior design where all tradeoffs are available. The challenge, of course, is not in realizing that something must be done, but in actually making it happen.
The same can be said for IT. If IT, as a discipline, is separate and uninvolved from any discipline's problem-solving process, the result is a system without focused, timely information, which may not be desirable, viable, sustainable, or usable. Simply put, it might be the wrong solution for the problem.
Is this happening now? If so, how can this be changed? If not, how can this be prevented from happening? It is all about culture and perception. IT practitioners are toolbuilders and integrators, not servants to set up and maintain computer systems and install software.
They focus on the fundamentals of human-computer interaction, information management, programming, networking, and Web systems; information assurance and security; system administration and maintenance; and system integration and architecture. They must identify and analyze user needs and take them into account in the selection, creation, evaluation, and administration of computer-based systems, as well as an ability to effectively integrate IT-based solutions into the user environment. Interaction is a two-way street, and we must all embrace this for the competitive advantage for which we all strive.
Good point, Alex - and the number one point of contention comes from the leading priorities of the two groups. With the engineering group, they focus on the final product with such things as optimal design, efficiency and / or easy of use. It is these types of concerns that their performance is judge on. On the other hand, IT tends to focus on security, because if there is a breech, they are the ones whose job in on the line. Unfortunately, security and effeciency do not necessarily go hand in hand.
First, the large interest in IT careers is that they pay well and they are secure. When the IT person develops a reputation for being able to solve all problems and answer all questions he quickly becomes a very valuable asset, and also, usually, a well paid one.
Now as for the predominance of software, it has become a case of, outside the custom million gate chips, the electronic design has become simpler, requireing only a mastery of the mysteries of electromagnetic physics to be right most of the time. That leaves all of the logic portions of the challenge to the programmers, a race dedicated to taking over the world by softening everybodies thinking abilities.That is why so much of everything is now done in software.
The clash between what's been happening in IT networks versus those on the factory floor is a long-standing one, going back at least to the 80s when the first proto-IT networks were built and attempts were being made to integrate them with "silo" type automation and control protocols and systems in the factory. In the late 1980s I worked at a company doing app development for automation and control systems using a version of Forth. Of course the programmers had to DIY build their own in-house IT-type system for all of us, and it kept breaking. To be fair, though, there wasn't much in the way of alternatives at the time.
Another conflict that's emerging is between IT personnel and industrial and mechanical engineers who run the factory. In many cases, traditional IT is now being tapped to set up in-factory wireless networks. These folks adhere to IT practices, and as such are set up for the get-go to be non-collaborative with their users (the factory engineers). It's a pain point and a source of conflict for both, and is certain to get worse as wireless nets proliferate in the automation sector.
@Naperlou: I think that's a really succient way of summing up the role of the mechatronics engineer. Traditional IT is a long way even from embedded software engineers and developers so there are a lot of bridges to cross and connect, both from a technical and cultural standpoint.
At one time, the electrical engineers had as a dream the elimination of Software Engineering. They would do everything in hardware, either custom logic or FPGAs. Of course, this has completely reversed itself. At the last FPGA class I went to there were several teams of a hardware engineer and one or more software engineers. We were sitting down with a PC and the FPGA board spending most of our time in a tool based on the Eclipse platform. This is a software development platform that has been adopted by most of the vendors our there becuae of its openness.
I have, as an IEEE member been asked to help judge student projects at a local univeristy. These were EET and CET programs. All of these devices, including a wire cutter, had a processor and software involved. Some of it was extensive. I noticed that the students were often somewhat overwhelmed by the software aspect of their projects. The school will be including more software training in the future.
To bring this post back to the subject of the article and Beth's reply, I looked up the definition of Mechanatronics on Wikipedia. It is very extensive. In fact, I find that it is too broad. What you really need is a multidisciplinary team that includes the various disciplines. It is a lot like Aerospace Engineering. Since aerospace projects (spacecraft especially) include most disciplines, it is impossible for one person, or field, to cover them all. Thus it is appropriate to include IT as a driving technology. On the other hand, the IT professional cannot be expected to learn all of the other disciplines as well. There is a lot to handling the information in a system. So, to move forward with the analogy to aerospace engineering, I expect that a mechanotronics engineer wil be working at a higher level, concentrating on the interaction between the mechanical and electrical, while more specialized engineers work in the details of various parts of the system.
As software (embedded or otherwise) becomes a critical element of a product's design, it makes sense that there's a heightened focus on IT disciplines like networking, human interface design, and Web services. As you well point, however, it does require a certain mindset shift when it comes to thinking about IT's core role. Making the transition from hands-on implementator to strategic problem solver is something IT professionals and the industry has a whole has been grappling with for the better part of a decade. Definitely interesting food for thought.
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