Focus areas

The following focus areas are available in the Machine Automation degree programme:

Factory Automation >>
Mechatronics and Micromachines >>

Factory Automation 

Students majoring in Factory Automation will learn how to identify, model, program, control, validate, verificate, orchestrate, choreograph and architect manufacturing systems. In particular, the discipline of Factory Automation makes it possible to develop next-generation Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, with special focus on the important role of applied Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

The objective of advanced studies in factory automation is to train students in specific disciplines within the field. The advanced studies offer profound competence on the latest industrial technologies available. Most importantly, the studies provide students with the knowledge and skills that are prerequisites for innovation and for performing professional and/or academic research and technical development within the field.

Compulsory Courses in Factory Automation:

• Control in Robotics and Automation
• Control in Robotics and Automation: Advanced Course
• Fctory Information Systems
• Factory Communication Systems
• Special Assignment in Factory Automation

Complementary Courses in Factory Automation:

• Optimal and Robust Control System Design with Matlab
• Design of Robot Systems
• Formal Methods in Factory Automation
• Automation Technologies for Intelligent Manufacturing Systems
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning Machines

Minor Studies

Students who major in Factory Automation will study Micromachines as their minor. The minor in Micromachines complements the skills acquired in the major area of study. It provides knowledge on mechatronics especially from the point of view of microsystems and covers issues such as microsensors, actuator systems based on smart materials, such as piezoelectric and shape memory materials, servo control and the modelling of dynamic systems. Depending on the interests of the student, the minor may be geared toward sensor or design studies.

Fast Lab

The Factory Automation Systems and Technologies Lab at the Department of Production Engineering is a group of highly motivated researchers with an interdisciplinary background. They focus on applied research with the goal of improving the competitiveness of Finnish and European manufacturing industry.

Mechatronics and Micromachines

Mechatronics refers to the integration of mechanics, electronics and control. The vast number of various mechatronic machines around the world is continuously growing. As more and more sensing and actuation capabilities are implemented and embedded into machines, the level of intelligence and autonomy can be increased by employing the methods of control and system theory.

Another important technological trend in mechatronics in the last decades has been miniaturization. The size and price of microchips have been continuously reduced, resulting in widespread use of microprocessors in consumer goods, such as mobile phones, camcorders and cameras. Sensor and actuator technology has been undergoing similar evolution for more than two decades. Many of these microsystems have become part of our everyday life, such as silicon microaccelerometers that are used to trigger the air bag in your car or to analyze the mobility of patients in cardiac pace makers, thousands of microactuators in projection displays and microfluidics, and microactuators in gasoline injectors of modern cars. These are ecamples of a field called microsystems, microelectromechanical systems or the integration of micromachines and it has become one of the most prominent research and development areas all over the world.

The aim of the major in Mechatronics and Micromachines is to provide students with a competitive advantage in their careers by focusing on advanced knowledge in mechatronics, such as miniaturization and modern actuation systems. By completing the study module, students gain extensive knowledge on mechatronic actuation systems and control, including electro-mechanical and hydraulic servo systems and actuator systems based on smart materials, such as piezoelectric and shape memory materials. Students develop the ability to use microsensors in practical applications and know the operating principles and design methods for mechatronic machines and are able to put the methods into practice. The major also aims to train students to write technical reports and scientific publications and give technical presentations in English.

Compulsory Courses in Mechatronics and Micromachines:

• Introduction to Microsystems Technology
• Microrobotics and Microactuators
• Hydraulic Machines
• Servo Systems
• Mechatronic Components and Instrumentation
• Design of Mechatronic Systems

Complementary Courses in Mechatronics and Micromachines:

• System Identification
• Optimal and Robust Control System Design with Matlab
• Simulation of Hydraulic Systems
• Finite Element Method
• Mechanical Vibrations
• Simulation of Machine Systems
• Monitoring and Diagnostics
• Noise Control
• Sensor Physics
• Microsensors
• Design of Silicon Sensors
• Machine Vision and Optical Measurements
• Micro and Desktop Manufacturing

Minor studies

Students who are majoring in Mechatronics and Micromachines will select Control in Robotics and Automation as their minor subject. This study module provides students with the basics of automation technologies applied in the field of industrial robotics and auxiliary production equipment. Students gain knowledge on devices and systems and learn to model and control industrial robots and robotic cells.