If you wonder what Mechatronics is all about, think exciting new developments like self-driving cars or drone imagery and you are pretty much on the money.
Mechatronic engineers are some of the people behind these new technologies, using their expertise in computing, electronics and mechanical engineering to design and maintain machinery with electronic and computer control systems, such as aircrafts, robots, motor vehicles, cameras, power generators and chemical plant machinery.
In the Mechatronics Systems major you will develop strong skills in the mathematical modelling of the behaviour, response, and control of mechanical systems that can perform physical tasks. You will also learn about electronic sensors used for sensing of the environment and the instrumentation required to support them and use of computer programming skills for interfacing computers with machines.
Careers
Mechatronic Engineers are known for their strong analytical and problem-solving skills and find employment in a wide range of areas including:
- Automation and robotics (e.g. Google's self-driving cars)
- Automotive engineering (e.g. anti-lock braking systems)
- Consumer goods
- Machine vision (e.g. imaging-based automatic inspection for industries such as tyre, rubber, FMCG and automotive)
- Mechatronics systems
- Medical imaging systems
- Mobile apps
- Sensing and control systems
- Transportation and vehicular systems.
Take a look at the news section of Engineers Australia for interesting articles about how Mechatronic Engineering is used to solve a range of environmental and medical problems.
What graduate courses does Mechatronics lead to?
Graduates who major in Mechatronics will be eligible to apply for the Master of Engineering (Mechatronics). You will also be well placed to apply for:
- Professionally focused graduate degrees in the sciences and technology, including biotechnology, environmental systems and informatics
- Graduate degrees preparing for a wide range of professions including engineering, law, medicine and other health sciences and teaching
- Masters and Honours pathways to research higher degrees in the sciences and technology within the Faculty of Science, Melbourne School of Engineering, and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Did you know that Marita Cheng, Australian of the Year 2012 and founder of Robogals, studied Mechatronics at the University of Melbourne?
Entry requirements & Prerequisites
This major is available through more than one course, both of which have their own separate entry requirements.
You can read more on the the
Bachelor of Science&Bachelor of Science (Extended)