Controllers play a big part in the coming age of the Internet of Things, in which sensors return more information than ever about systems operation. Mechatronic  design, the design of mechanisms and electronics that work together to control a system, will shortly come of age.

Mechatronic designers need tools, as you can image, that include both electronics and mechanical modeling techniques for the embedded control systems they create. That’s why these  engineers are taking note of recent advances that help them do their jobs with an accuracy and ease not available before.

A fairly recently released number of simulation and analysis software solutions allow engineers of more than one stripe to design and model in tandem and to ensure they’re working to specification before physical prototyping takes place. The software interfaces are more user-friendly for the engineer who doesn’t specialize in the another form of engineering, and the software packages are less expensive and are now available for desktop computers.

Analysis advances, which are often tied in to this type of design software, allow engineering firms to call upon software to design complex products, to test quicker than before, and to cut costs by perfecting designs earlier in the development process.

In July, solidThinking Inc., for example, released its software suite for multidisciplinary design and engineering. The model-based development tool combines math, signal-based, physical, and 3D modeling technologies for concept studies, control design, system performance optimization and controller implementation and testing, said Michael Hoffmann, senior vice president for math and systems at the vendor.

“These new tools are being deployed in recognition of where innovation is happening”, Hoffmann said. “In this age of the Internet of Things, big data, analytics, and mechatronics, it is the multidisciplinary intersections of mechanical, electrical, and control systems that provide the product and experience opportunities the marketplace is seeking for applications ranging from autonomous vehicles to wearable devices.”

The solution allows engineers of different stripes to gauge how their tied-together design prototypes will perform in real-world conditions, he says.

The solidThinking tool includes compose, activate, and embed features.

Its  compose feature gives engineers, scientists and product creators a matrix-based language as well as a programming environment for all types of math operations, including matrix analysis, differential equations, signal analysis and control design, Hoffmann said.

Activate offers a block diagram environment to model, simulate and optimize multidisciplinary systems. Embed allows control engineers to implement multi-rate control systems on target microprocessors through its diagram-to-code capability.

The number of control systems out there is growing and tools like these help control engineers move forward with this new age.