Mechatronics VS Robotics - What is the difference?

Nowadays, mechatronics and robotics are the areas which are booming. But it confuses many of them to choose the best one for them. In this article, you will be explained the basic differences in between these two streams and also as a bonus tip you will be provided with project ideas to make you understand. Let’s jump to the topic right away with no delay. 

Robotics: It is an interdisciplinary branch which deals with a lot of subjects such as mechanical, electronic computer science and information engineering. It also deals with design, operation, construction and use of the robots and sensors for information and feedback and also the processing of information. The word robotics is translated from Robota (Czech word) meaning forced labour by Karel Capek in the year 1923. These days robots are used maximum every field like medical, defense, industries, etc.

Note:

Have you checked out our projects on Mechatronics yet?
Mechatronics Kit will be shipped to you and you can build using tutorials. You can start with a free demo today!

1. Animatronic Hand

2. Mechatronics (Career Building Course)

3. Robotic Arm

4. Biped Walking Robot

5. Hexapod

6. 2 Mechatronics Projects

7. Mechatronics Training & Internship

8. Automation using PLC

Check innovative Robotics projects here

Mechatronics: Unlike robotics mechatronics is not a study of the interactions of electrical and mechanical engineering, rather it is a study of electro-mechanical interactions with other technical systems like electronics, robotics, telecommunication engineering, control engineering, systems engineering and computer engineering. We can call the mechatronics is the superset of robotics. The term mechatronics is introduced by the senior engineer Tetsuro Mori, who works as a senior engineer in Yaskawa in 1969.

Check the list of Mechatronics projects here

Now as you know the minimum introduction about the two different streams, we can now discuss choosing one.  

As said above, Mechatronics engineering includes the designing of the autonomous electronic devices like robots, copier, etc. it is the combination of mechanical, computer Information and electronic technologies. It deals from the starting i.e. designing of the device and to the last stage i.e. perfect working of the device you have designed. We can consider a robot as an example of a mechatronics project. Other examples like cars, automation systems, etc. If you are planning to work in the field of designing and developing autonomous machines, then mechatronics will the best choice for you. Besides, there is no dedicated graduation degree for robotics, if you want to pursue and work in robotics you have two options,

• You must learn to code and also have a good knowledge of the hardware used. This can only be known if do some projects related to robotics
• You must pursue a degree in mechatronics as it deals with mechanical for drawing, electronics for circuit diagrams and computer science for coding.

So as promised I will furnish a list of ideas for mechatronics and robotics. For performing this project, you don’t have to be good in coding and hardware related as they are totally explained in the course itself. Any graduate can learn these and these projects will be as an added advantage in your career.  

Mechatronics Projects:

1. Animatronic Hand

By performing the animatronic hand project, you will mimic the movements of human beings. This project will help you in understanding how to design a hand, making connections with sensors and also coding it.

Learn more about Animatronic Hand project

2. Robotic Arm

While performing Robotic-arm project, you will build an arm which can be used for picking and placing an object. This is a prototype of the arm that is used in the industries. In this mechatronics project, you will learn how to design and construct the robotic arm. You will also interface this arm with Bluetooth so you can control it with your mobile phone.

Learn more about Robotic Arm project

3. Biped walking robot

In this Biped walking robot project, you will build a part of the humanoid robot. You will try to make a walking robot which will walk like a human being. By performing this project, you will understand the basics of a humanoid robot. 

Learn more about Biped walking robot project

4. Hexapod

In this project, you will build a 6-legged robot. It is used in the places where the surface is not so flat and also for climbing mountains etc. you will also interface this project with a Bluetooth module to control the Hexapod with your mobile.

Learn more about Hexapod project

Did you know

Skyfi Labs helps students develop skills in a hands-on manner through Mechatronics Online Courses where you learn by building real-world projects.

You can enrol with friends and receive kits at your doorstep.

You can learn from experts, build working projects, showcase skills to the world and grab the best jobs.
Start Learning Mechatronics today!

Robotics projects:

1. Sensor Guided robotics

Ever wondered how robot sense the surrounding environment? There are many ways to make a robot gather the information from its surroundings one method is sensors. In Sensor Guided robot project, you will build a robot and integrate IR sensors with it to perform autonomous functions. You will make 3 different robots. They are Obstacle follower, Obstacle avoider and line follower.

Learn more about Sensor Guided Robot project

2. Mobile robotics

In Mobile Robotics, you will build a robot and control it using a mobile phone. It will use the technology of DTMF tunes to control the robot. 

Learn more about Mobile Robotics

3. Wi-Fi Robotics

In Wi-Fi Robotics, you will build a robot and connect it to Wi-Fi using Wi-Fi module and interface it with the laptop screen and then you will try to control the movement of the robot from the laptop screen from any place.

Learn more about Wi-Fi Robotics project

4. Surveillance robot

In time, we all imitated or thought of becoming a spy. This Surveillance robot brings the spy out from you. In Surveillance robot project, you will build a robot which will go to different places that you want it to go (you will control the robot using the laptop) and get live footage on your laptop screen. You will learn extra technologies like OpenCV, etc. 

Learn more about Surveillance robot

5. Gesture-Based robot

In Gesture-based robot, you will build a robot which will make its movement concerning the sensor position. For example, if you tilt your hand forward (i.e sensor) the robot moves forward, similarly in all the directions.

Learn more about Gesture based robot project

6. Voice-controlled robot

In the voice-controlled robot project, you will build a robot and integrate it will the google speech so you can control the robot by the speech. For example, if you say forward the robot will move in the forward direction.

Learn more about voice-controlled robot project

7. Firefighting robot

In firefighting robot project, you will build a robot which will sense the fire and try to put the fire off by rotating a fan with high speed. You will interface the IR sensors and also use different Integrated circuits while doing this project.

Learn more about Firefighting robot project

By doing the above projects you will gain the required practical experience for the mechatronics and robotics. Note the point that robotics is a subset of mechatronics and we can perform all the robotic projects by gaining the knowledge and experience in mechatronics.

Enrol Now to learn both the technologies! 

Mechatronics VS Robotics - What is the difference?