When surveying Mechatronics textbooks, it is surprising to find that the contents on design of mechatronic devices are limited. Some textbooks make the generic recommendation of designing "concurrently"; others assert that an open communication channel must be always maintained. Other textbooks go as far as presenting a design process model that conceptually shows the interaction between disciplines at a high level of abstraction. Nevertheless, mechatronic devices are being designed every day; this is important to acknowledge since we could borrow from practical experiences to create a descriptive model while complementing it with design engineering theories and methodologies for a prescriptive model, obtaining at the end a hybrid design theory and methodology model for mechatronics. This paper presents the process of developing a Design Theory and Methodology (DTM) model for mechatronics/biomechatronics, general enough to be applied to various projects in a senior design course, for example, but specific enough that provides each mechatronics project with strategy (design process) and tools (design theories and methodologies) to complete the task. The proposed model is derived from mechatronics examples, engineering design theory, and our own experience designing a biomechatronic prototype to measure the dynamics (balance and posture) of the human body for locomotion rehabilitation purposes. One of the key features of the model is its emphasis on training and communication among disciplines and subsystems. Another key feature is the "pulsating" representation where at each "pulse" the different disciplines or subsystems "open" to work independently and then "close" to integrate their findings. The model will be made available for use in senior design courses as well as for prototyping in the author's research area of biomechatronics.
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