Mechatronics

Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, have developed a ventilator for Covid-19 patients. (A ventilator helps the patient breathe by pumping air into and out of the patient’s lungs.) I watched this video about the project. The device is now awaiting emergency approval by the FDA before going into production.

The ventilator appears to work well, but there are whispers of one problem. If the patient farts while the ventilator is running, he or she is likely to shoot through an open window like they’re, well, jet-propelled. But there is already a solution: the ventilators will ship with tie-down straps to secure the patient to the bed. I mean, it’s what I hear, so take it with a grain of salt.

There was an interview with a young lady in the video named Michelle Easter. She’s a “mechatronics engineer” at JPL. I was an electronics engineer for many years. I had not heard the term mechatronics engineer used previously, but it is a real thing and it sounds pretty cool. According to Google:

Mechatronics, which is also called mechatronic engineering, is a multidisciplinary branch of engineering that focuses on the engineering of both electrical and mechanical systems, and also includes a combination of robotics, electronics, computer, telecommunications, systems, control, and product engineering.

It sounds a little bit like that expression, “Jack-of-all-trades, Master of none.” But we need people like that. When I was an electrical engineer, I often had to take into consideration the mechanical aspects of a project. Maybe the job titles are just catching up with real-world engineering. Maybe I was a mechatronics engineer all along, and I didn’t know it.

The term mechatronics reminds me of the Transformers film franchise, perhaps because of the similarity between mechatronic and Megatron. Megatron was the leader of the Decepticons, who were sentient robotic lifeforms from the planet Cybertron. When the original Transformers TV series came out, my engineering job was designing electronics for a robot—an environment-aware, self-navigating mobile robot. As it navigated the aisles of our building at night in complete darkness, it seemed almost sentient. The company I worked for was called Cybermotion. The Transformers movie was released in 1986. I went to work for Cybermotion in 1986.

Some say there are no coincidences. Cue the woo-woo music.