What is mechatronics and why do I call it the engineering of the future?

In 2014 I chose Mechatronics Engineering without being entirely sure what I would work on. I only knew two things: I loved taking apart anything with a motor or a circuit, and robots were going to be everywhere. Twelve years later, I run a telecommunications and electronic security company, I 3D print almost daily and I still think the same: it is the engineering of the future.

What it is, in one sentence

Mechatronics brings together mechanics (how things move and hold together), electronics (how they are powered and sense), control (how they react) and programming (how they think). A robot is mechatronics. A 3D printer is mechatronics. An access control system, a drone, a modern car, a production line: all of it is mechatronics.

A mechanical engineer designs the arm. An electronics engineer designs the board. A programmer writes the software. The mechatronics engineer understands all three languages and makes them talk to each other. That is the edge.

What you study

The first years are foundations: math, physics, technical drawing, circuits. Then the good part arrives: computer-aided mechanical design (CAD), microcontrollers, sensors and actuators, industrial automation, robotics and, more and more, applied artificial intelligence.

My advice: from the first semester, have a project of your own outside of class. Mine was the 3D printer in 2017. A project forces you to use what you learn, and it is what shows in an interview or a competition (that is how my team won PUCMM’s robotics competition, with 3D-printed robots and many nights of trial and error).

Where you work in the Dominican Republic

This is the question parents ask me most. Some real doors, today:

• Telecommunications and electronic security. Video surveillance, access control, fiber optics, radio communication, satellite connectivity. It is what we do at Cosmos and where we lack talent the most.
• Free zones and industry. Automation, line maintenance, industrial robotics and quality control.
• Energy and climate. Generation systems, solar panels, plants and building automation.
• Digital fabrication. 3D printing, prototyping, custom parts for companies that used to import everything.
• Starting a business. Many of the country’s problems are solved with a part, a sensor and a bit of code. And today AI helps you get there faster.

Where to study it

In the country you can study it at several universities; I started at INTEC and graduated from PUCMM. More important than the university is what you do with it: the labs, the competitions and the professors who let you use the machines after hours.

If you are deciding what to study

In every talk I ask what people plan to study. Most say law, accounting or marketing; almost nobody says engineering. I have nothing against those careers, but the country needs people who build. If you like understanding how things work, if you took a toy apart and put it back together (even with a screw left over), this degree is for you.

Have specific questions? Write to me or join the community. Answering these questions is, literally, part of my favorite job.