The Design Division of the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering is host to numerous groups researching the development and application of diverse mechatronic systems. Some of these systems include reconfigurable manufacturing systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, robots and medical devices. These systems find applications in automation of assembly systems, inspection and quality control using machine vision, reverse engineering and micro-metrology, calibration and maintenance of heliostats for concentrating solar power systems.
Mechatronics, Automation and Design
The Design Division of the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering is host to numerous groups researching the development and application of diverse mechatronic systems. Some of these systems include reconfigurable manufacturing systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, robots and medical devices. These systems find applications in automation of assembly systems, inspection and quality control using machine vision, reverse engineering and micro-metrology, calibration and maintenance of heliostats for concentrating solar power systems.
One of the research groups in the design division is the Mechatronics, Automation and Design (MAD) Research Group under the leadership of Prof Anton Basson and Dr Nicole Catherine Taylor. The MAD Research Group was founded in 2008, rooted in reconfigurable and holonic manufacturing systems research for modern manufacturing systems. Today, the MAD Research Group conducts research on digital twins for complex systems an d human-system integration to enable Industry 4.0 environments in the South Africa context. More about the MAD Research Group members and their research can be read on the MAD Website
