University of Sydney students benefit from cutting-edge mechatronics lab

Mechatronics students at the University of Sydney will benefit from a new, state-of-the-art laboratory that was officially opened on 8 May.

The mechatronics laboratory, which is outfitted with the latest robotic and microcontroller-based hardware and software, was made possible by a philanthropic gift from the James N Kirby Foundation. The retired chair of the foundation, Raymond Kirby AO, is an alumnus of the university.

Kirby, who graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical) in an era of slide rules, has had a lifelong desire to foster Australian innovation and business.

“A key objective of the James N Kirby Foundation is to support technical education projects that assist young Australians achieve their highest standard,” said his daughter, Virginia McClelland.

“The double degree that Mr Kirby graduated with is the direct precursor of the Mechatronic Engineering degree taken by today’s students,” said Associate Professor David Rye, the degree coordinator.

“Mechatronic engineering is a multidisciplinary engineering field that provides the foundation for robotics, automation and the ‘intelligent’ products and devices that are ubiquitous in society today. It draws on mechanical engineering, electronic and electrical engineering, systems and control engineering, as well as computer science,” explained Associate Professor Rye, himself an expert in humanoid robotics.

“Mechatronic engineers are combining mechanisms, sensors, computers and software to create simpler, more adaptable, economical and reliable autonomous systems, both large and small.”

Michel Fathallah and Alex Bunting with Baxter in the Raymond Kirby Robotics Teaching Laboratory.

The centrepiece of the new Raymond Kirby Robotics Teaching Laboratory is a Baxter humanoid robot - one of the first of its kind in Australia. Unlike current industrial robots, which must be isolated from people for their safety, Baxter is designed to be intrinsically safe when working directly with people. The robot uses sonar sensors and cameras to monitor the space around itself.

Associate Professor Rye says the user-friendly 180 cm humanoid robot will be an excellent resource for mechatronic engineering students learning how to program robots for industrial and human-interactive tasks.

“The robot uses open-source software and, since it is designed to work alongside people, offers several new programming paradigms as well as all the methods used to program older robots,” said Associate Professor Rye.

“Part of the students’ coursework will be designing the algorithms that will make this robot perform tasks in cooperation with people.”

The laboratory also includes cutting-edge technology that will allow mechatronics students to use the latest developments in embedded microcontroller systems and control systems