Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice

From grading and preparing harvested vegetables to the tactile probing of a patient s innermost recesses, mechatronics has become part of our way of life. This cutting-edge volume features the 30 best papers of the 13th International Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice. Although there is no shortage of theoretical and technical detail in these chapters, they have a common theme in that they describe work that has been applied in practice.From grading and preparing harvested vegetables to the tactile probing of a patient s innermost recesses, mechatronics has become part of our way of life. The addition of senses and computing intelligence to blend with mechanical actuation gives rise to a breed of new machines with all the best attributes of a robot. §Here we find educational robots competing under water and dancing on land. Surgical robots drill precision holes in the skull while others direct radiation treatment or extract blood from an umbilical cord. Machine vision manages beer kegs and automated paint spraying, while controlling feral animals and the watering of cotton crops. §Although there is no shortage of theoretical and technical detail in these chapters, they have the common theme that they describe work that has been applied in practice. They are vital reading both for students of mechatronics and for engineers harnessing its power to create new products.