From cybernetics to mechatronics: Seven decades of interdisciplinary engineering

Abstract

Abstract Cybernetics is a transdisciplinary approach for exploring controlled systems. Norbert Wiener defined cybernetics in 1948 as “the scientific study of control and communication in the animal and the machine”. Mechatronics unites the principles of mechanics, electronics and computing to generate simpler, more economical and reliable systems. An industrial robot is a prime example of a mechatronic system, it includes aspects of mechanics, electronics, and computing to do its day‐to‐day jobs. The high reputation of mechatronics as a science was recently underlined by a mark of distinction for Kurt Magnus with a commemorative plaque erected by the foundation Stiftung‐Werner‐von‐Siemens‐Ring and unveiled 2018 at the Technical University of Munich. The Stiftung Werner‐von‐Siemens‐Ring honored the scientific work of Kurt Magnus with respect to “gyroscopes and vibrations as well as co‐founder of mechatronics” including nonlinear oscillations, too.