5. The future: a move into other fields

Industrial production in the field of mechatronics is significant, but it is also rapidly evolving towards maximum integration of functions, components and parallel structures. The 21st century will undoubtedly see the emergence of new products based on mechatronic integration. The potential applications of mechatronic systems concern virtually all industrial sectors, and in particular health, the environment, energy, transport and space.

Robots and intelligent vehicles are now capable of operating on their own, which means that we need to study the collaboration between an intelligent mechatronic system and a human being. The case of cobots is interesting from this point of view, as it requires a careful study of task sharing and interactions between the robot and the operator. Another problem is that of the intruder: what happens if a passenger's smartphone disturbs...