Mechatronics leads the employment trend in Italy.

by News

Over 21 thousand more work contracts planned (+ 5.7%) in October 2019 compared to the same month of the previous year and 100 thousand more (+ 10.6%) in the current quarter compared with last year. As shown by the monthly Bulletin of the Excelsior Information System, by Unioncamere and Anpal, the labour demand of Italian companies continues to mark a growth trend. There are 391 thousand contracts scheduled in October and will rise to over 1 million in October-December 2019. To create more job opportunities will be, once again, some of the distinctive chains of Made in Italy, with mechatronics in the lead (49,960 activations with a 12.5% ​​trend growth), followed by metallurgy and creation of metal products (40,350 contracts and a 14.8% growth). The contribution of IT and telecommunications services is also substantial, with 30,170 contracts and a growth rate of 19.1%.

On the other hand, the difficulty in finding professional profiles reported by companies remains high. The most difficult to find are, among others, the IT services and telecommunications companies (52% of the profiles sought is challenging to find), the companies of the metallurgy and the products produced in metal (47%) and the companies of the mechatronics (45%). In fact, companies find it more difficult to find graduates in electronic and information engineering (67.9%) and in industrial engineering (54.0%); also difficult to find graduates in chemistry and pharmacy (58.6%) as well as graduates with a scientific, mathematical and physical orientation. In addition to STEM graduates,  also those with a linguistic orientation, translators and interpreters (53.9%) are difficult to find.

Consequently, considering the difficulties in obtaining STEM graduates, it is not surprising that these are the business areas where these professionals are managed to register the most severe problems in finding.


Read more at source

mechatronic meeting

NEW METRO 21st and 22nd November 2019 Meeting Agenda

by Events
NEW METRO – embeddiNg kEts and Work based learning into MEchaTROnic profile
Project n. 600984-EPP-1-2018-1-IT-EPPKA2-SSA
3rd  Transnational Project Meeting
21st and 22nd NOVEMBER
Escola del Treball de Barcelona – Carrer del Comte d’Urgell, 187  
 
21st November 2019
Thursday
10 am – 5.30 pm
10.00Welcome, Agenda and Introduction (Vicent Pastor ENSE & Leonardo Quattrocchi – SFC)
10.30SSA projects – Reporting (EACEA – Pavol Krempasky)
10.50

“Joint Learning Supply: design principles”   (Claudio Dondi, Rossella Brindani, CIS, WP2 Lead Partner)

The aim of New Metro: Orchestrated Innovation for Vocational Excellence

              The contents and macro-structure of the new qualification

              The learning delivery model and the transnational components

12.30Priorities for a European training model for mechatronics: feedback from Stakeholders
13.00Light lunch
14.00Debate and validation of WP2 results (Partners) and highlights to develop in WP3 and WP4
15.30Quality Report presentation (Nikolaos Floratos)
16.30Dissemination Report presentation (Max Hogenfoster, Hanse, WP6 Lead Partner)
17.20Wrap-up  
17.30End of works
 
22st November 2019
Friday
9 am – 5 pm
9.00Agenda and Introduction (SFC)
9.15Management reporting (SFC)

10.15

Steering Committee

11.30NEW METRO working group on WP3 “NEW METRO CV” (Proposal by ENSE, WP3 Lead Partner)
13.00Light lunch
14.00NEW METRO working group on WP 4 “LEARNING DELIVERY MODEL” Proposal by FHJ, WP4 Lead Partner)
15.55First feedback from the monitoring: EACEA, Pavol Krempasky
16.00Dissemination activities
17.00Wrap-up & Closing (to do and minutes)
mechatronic meeting
mechatronic meeting
mechatronic meeting

Mechatronics as the key to the future

by News

The established annual congress International Forum Mechatronics and European marketplace for networking the mechatronics scene takes place annually alternately in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and South Tyrol. The 13th International Forum Mechatronics took place on the 24th and 25th of September in Cham, Upper Palatinate.


In cooperation with the European region Donau-Moldau and the Mechatronics Cluster, the participants were offered numerous lectures by recognized experts under the motto “Future of Production: Digital – Networked – Global”. There was plenty of space for the networking of established companies with the mechatronic start-up scene, and the opportunity for technological presentation and expert discussion for business and science.


Especially for start-ups, the International Forum Mechatronics was an ideal platform to exchange experiences and show developments. Ten founders from Bavaria and the Czech Republic presented their business ideas in a start-up competition. More than 60 participants have already arranged talks with potential discussion partners prior to the event.

In order to further advance digitization, it is important to bring together innovative start-up companies with established companies and investors. The EDM B2B exchange was a perfect networking opportunity at the International Forum Mechatronics.

The next International Mechatronics Forum will take place in Upper Austria in 2020.


Further information can be found at https://www.mechatronikforum.net/

Read more at source

iStock-598164714_new

How Robotics Improves Education at School

by News
mechatronics vet

Educational Robotics allows students to learn in different ways STEM disciplines, with the objective to facilitate students’ skills and attitudes for analysis and operation of robots. But robotics in the classroom has several other benefits.

Programming becomes easy and funny

Educational robotics strengthen and support students’ skills developing their knowledge through the creation, design, assembly, and operation of robots. Children and young students find it funny and engaging because they feel free to interact directly with both electrical and mechanical processes and procedures.

In fact, the programming can be too difficult and boring when learned through the “traditional” abstract method. On the contrary, by having to control a physical robot and seeing what goes wrong, students learn what robots can and can’t do with an immediate experience and understanding.

An assistive technology to attend school

Educational robotics represent a helpful solution for those students who cannot attend school. As the technological world evolves daily, the educational world will continue to benefit from the opportunities offered by its new innovations, tools, and discoveries. 

Robots can be used to bring into the classroom all those students who otherwise might not be able to attend the lessons, because of their particular physical conditions. Let’s think about children with severe allergies or students who are recovering at home after surgery. Thanks to his personal robot, a student can access a “real school” experience: the device attends school and brings the student with him via a dedicated internal video conferencing system.

Developing skills for the future

Robotics prepare students for the competitive workforce of tomorrow. By programming robots, students can discover if their aptitudes and interests correspond to those skills that will define the job market of the future, like programming, science technology or engineering.

Working on a robot stimulates students to build their engineering intuition and emphasizes the meaningful problem-based learning through the integration and application of their knowledge. Strategic problem-solving, computational thinking, higher order thinking, logical and analytical reasoning: these are just a few examples of the abilities developed by educational robotics, abilities that will be fundamental in a lot of professional areas.

read more at source

85 out of 100 mechatronics students work after graduation, but women in the field are poorly represented.

by News
“The mechatronic industry has an urgent need for girls”. These are the words of Daniele Vacchi, director of the Its Maker foundation, founded in 2013 by the union of the three ITS of Bologna, Modena and Reggio Emilia, to which was added Fornovo di Taro, in the province of Parma, Forlì and by October Rimini.

“Only two girls per class.” Its Maker’s mission is to train skilled labour, offering professional courses to new graduates to become experts in mechanics, mechatronics, motor engineering and packaging.

Vacchi points out that most of the students enrolled in the courses mentioned above are men. The average is less than two female students per class, 4% of the total.
“We need a cultural revolution from the top: it is time for the sector to welcome more women, who are very well prepared but who, too often, even with the same or superior potential, are relegated to traditional or subordinate roles. An income and career opportunity injustice that must be overcome “.

Vacchi then appeals to newly graduated girls: «Subscribe to our courses. Convince your families and, after two years, you won’t even have to look for a job because it will be the job to find you “.
«The industry has changed, working in mechanics is no longer a labour of fatigue: forget the old factory where you get dirty with grease, the mechanics got married with electronics and became mechatronics, a job of care and team that evolves continuously “.

Thanks to its Makers courses, 82% of students have a job since graduation. Frontal lessons held by professors from the world of industry, 800 hours of training in the company in two years: in short, as Vacchi says, “you dive into a truly stimulating environment”.
«Emilia Romagna has the highest concentration in the world of mechatronic companies. We are trained to train 250 professionals every year, but the region’s supply chain would require over 2000. That’s why we would need other training courses like ours. ”
Moreover, raise with a joke: “This is also why we need girls: the males are almost finisherd!”

  read more at  source

All set for the second edition of the “Visione Industria” initiative

by News
The “Visione Industria” initiative, now in its second year, is aimed at operators who deal with the organization, management and analysis of production processes, machine manufacturers, quality managers, logistics and maintenance managers, but also at researchers, students and enthusiasts of the subject.
The 2019 edition is dedicated to industrial vision systems and aims to reconstruct its history, provide documentation material and offer training support.

The initiative, started with the support of prestigious companies in the sector and with the help of a qualified Scientific Committee, has a website – https://www.visioneindustria.it/ -, periodically updated with technological and market developments and goes on with a series of meetings in Italian universities.

Seven meetings have already been activated in the Universities of Pavia, Parma, Brescia, Modena, Ancona, Bologna and Bari, with an average attendance of 60/80 students, to spread the technology of industrial vision by connecting University and industry. The activity takes place under the patronage of ANIE Automazione, AIS, ISA Italy Section, Italian Machine Vision Group, Italian Association of Automation and Mechatronics.

The next meeting will take place Tuesday, October 22nd at the University of Pavia, where students of the Computer Vision course will meet computer scientists, mathematics and other engineers; while Tuesday, November 12th at the La Sapienza University of Rome the themes of the industrial vision will be of interest to students of the two master’s degrees in Artificial Intelligence & Robotics and Control Engineering.

read more at source

China invests in mechatronic training of Angola

by News

“The construction of the Integrated Technology Training Center (Cinfotec) of the province of Huambo (Angola) will start in January 2020”. These are the words of the technical support unit for the implementation of the project in the city of Huambo, released on September 19th.

Manuel Pimentel, who was speaking at the end of a meeting between the provincial governor, Joana Lina, with the Secretary of State for Labor and Social Security, Manuel de Jesus Moreira, wanted to emphasize that behind the realization of this work there is a donation from the Chinese government of 28 million dollars.

Three Chinese technical teams have recently carried out several inspections to verify the necessary conditions for the project to be carried out and completed within the established times. A project spokesman stated that construction work on the integrated technology training centre (the third in the country after the two built in Luanda), will last two years and the approved budget includes training for teachers who will work there.

The structure will host 28 laboratories and many study rooms where students will be able to follow the six seminars planned in Mechanics and production, Information technology, Meteorology, Electromedicine, Electricity and Mechatronics.

read more at MACAUHUB

A smart artificial hand for amputees merges user and robotic control

by News

EPFL scientists are developing new approaches for improved control of robotic hands — in particular for amputees — that combines individual finger control and automation for improved grasping and manipulation. This interdisciplinary proof-of-concept between neuroengineering and robotics was successfully tested on three amputees and seven healthy subjects. The results are published in today’s issue of Nature Machine Intelligence.

The technology merges two concepts from two different fields. Implementing them both together had never been done before for robotic hand control, and contributes to the emerging field of shared control in neuroprosthetics.

One concept, from neuroengineering, involves deciphering intended finger movement from muscular activity on the amputee’s stump for individual finger control of the prosthetic hand which has never before been done. The other, from robotics, allows the robotic hand to help take hold of objects and maintain contact with them for robust grasping.

“When you hold an object in your hand, and it starts to slip, you only have a couple of milliseconds to react,” explains Aude Billard who leads EPFL’s Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory. “The robotic hand has the ability to react within 400 milliseconds. Equipped with pressure sensors all along the fingers, it can react and stabilize the object before the brain can actually perceive that the object is slipping. “

read more at source

Team of Mechatronics students develop IoT-based medical patient assistance system

by News
A team of mechatronics engineering students from the University of Chandigarh (India) has developed an IoT-based medical care system that allows those who professionally assist a patient to understand their needs better.
The device is mainly indicated for patients with physical disabilities, older adults and those who have severe medical conditions, as they have a fragile state of health and often resort to gestures to satisfy their needs.
Team member Mayank Verma said: “The idea came when we visited a hospital where I saw a paralytic patient who could not talk asking for water, and there was no one to take care of him.”


How the device works
The system is based on a series of receptors that can be connected to the patient’s hand. Whenever the patient needs assistance, moving his hand sends a notification to his assistant, who can help him perform certain activities such as taking medicines, eating, going to the toilet, and others.
The device contains an IoT card, gesture sensors, power circuits, Wi-Fi modules, an LCD screen with a speaker and can also be connected to online voice systems such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
Vivek Chauhan, another member of the team, said: “One of the main tasks of the assistance system is to continue to monitor all the factors a patient might need to be treated and the number of times requested, storing essential statistics such as heart rate, BP level, blood glucose monitoring and others. “.
Lalit Yadav, his colleague and team member also added: “Another feature of the system is that it is integrated with an automatic water supply system in which water is slowly dripped into the patient’s mouth as soon as he receives the command”.
The team is working on a solution to reduce costs and make their device more accessible to anyone

read more source

Protecting the environment with automation and robotics engineering

by News

A growing suite of digital tools is emerging to better manage the changes done by humans around the world. Technology, as well as automation and robotics, is changing the way humans assess the environmental impact of different projects such as construction or industrial for instance. The need to protect and to seek more sustainable formulas and solutions for interacting with the environment became clear during the COP24 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) taking place in Katowice, Poland in 2018.

Using robots to protect the environment Another way where automation makes sense is the aerospace industry. Addressing the issues of the climate changes and environmental protections, pilotless vehicles, more commonly known as drones, can be used not only in the military but also used as inspection robots.

For certain endangered species, IoT systems are the real rescue. Using sensor-based devices and autonomous drones there are systems which build predictive anti-poaching solutions. Data analytics is making it possible to predict poachers’ habits and deploy deterrent measures before the poachers are able to kill endangered animals. Predictive analytics works by tracking the behaviors of other prey animals in habitats. Scientists can monitor how those animals move and use sudden shifts in behavior to identify the presence of poachers. Those researchers then can proactively work to stop poachers.

There are a lot of companies which are leaders in environmental protection. The global market is growing fast and according to the independent consulting companies’ forecasts, it will still grow as there is a strong expectation from developing countries to achieve a high development level. What is more, both industrial growth and human awareness of environmental protection are factors which create an even stronger demand for clean technologies. Using renewable energy sources is one of the most competitively popular ways to protect the environment in many markets.

read more (source)