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“I studied very well in school and I could choose any study. After reviewing their programs, I became more interested in mechatronics and robotics. It turned out that robotics is part of mechatronics, so I chose the latter.
To make sure I enjoy those studies, I decided to make a robot in the last term of school. I bought several motors, wheels and controllers. The result was not perfect because I bought the motors without a gearbox so my robot didn’t move out of place. However, the process itself was interesting and pushed me even further towards mechatronics ”, smiles the graduate of Kaunas University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, Mechatronics.
Personal file photo / robot Povilp Piartli
The first piece is a robot that follows light.
According to P. Piartli, the study of mechatronics is engineering, mathematics is the most necessary here, as well as an excellent spatial understanding, since computer learning is learned, and some understanding of electricity. He says studies would be facilitated by at least basic programming skills, but programming can also be learned during studies.
“During studies, a lot of attention is paid to practical classes. Students acquire a variety of skills: metal casting, milling, connecting electrical circuits, 3D design, robot programming, which is fun because the task must be developed by itself, for example, a robot must move along a wall.
Although there were many hands-on activities, he wanted them even more. During the first year, together with several friends, we took a robot already built without electronics and, using the equipment that was left over from my not very successful school test, we made a light-tracking robot ”, the interlocutor shares.
Later, Povilas says that he has already developed larger projects: a line tracing robot for competitions, a platform robot to transport cargo and have enough power to be able to carry a person uphill.
Photo from the personal archive / Povilas Piartli student projects
When asked where the results of mechatronics can be seen at home, he begins to name: microwave ovens, refrigerators, smart toasters or more modern ovens; all these devices are mechatronic creations. Manufacturing facilities are also used in industry because they are controlled not by a human hand but by electronics.
Technology-related studies are attracting more and more young people, and many are trying to gain diverse knowledge and experiences in schools by participating in various projects. One of them is “Online Lithuania”, which offers young people from 14 to 29 years old to improve their digital skills by participating in various events: creative contests, workshops, hackathons.
“We have been running the project for two years and we notice that it is the events that require an original format and creative and analytical thinking that attract a lot of young people’s attention. They encourage students to become more interested in information technology, programming, and to develop creativity and self-expression. It also promotes volunteering: one of the activities of our project is e. a network of scouts whose young members contribute to improving the digital skills of members of the local community. We estimate that currently about 10,000 people will participate in the events that are held in all counties remotely. young people, “says Jurgita Vasilavičiūtė-Garunkštienė, Activity Director of the” Connected Lithuania “project.
75 kg equipment from China
P. Piartli says that mechatronics studies became his ticket to NASA (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration): The guy who went there to do an internship won the competition. “During the internship, I worked on two projects. One of them is the robot called “tensegrity”, which does not use bending, only crushing and stretching, which makes the robot more resistant to shocks and falls, but is more difficult to control. Its appearance doesn’t really match what the robot might look like – it’s like a ball of rods and cables.
Personal file photo / Robot Povilo Piartli of unusual appearance created in NASA laboratories
The second project I joined was a test with a drone that was shot into the air to film on the fly and help create a 3D map of the surface. The first attempts ended with the drone crashing and looking for its parts, more than half of the video was just the sky, but after a while we already had a drone that endured more than one attempt and filmed no more sky but earth. This has made it even clearer to me that it takes a lot of perseverance and work to implement an idea, and even NASA doesn’t always do it the first time, ”he explains.
What most caught his attention during the internship was that most of the time the work is going to the computer. He says that although he is a mechatronics engineer, he spent more than half of his internship time programming. I was also impressed that almost everything is created primarily by simulating the process in a computing environment.
The boy then went to China, to the Beijing Institute of Technology, for a study exchange. He says that many new advantages and subtleties of mechatronics have been revealed in China, and he laughs that he has returned from a foreign country with tens of kilograms waiting for him. “In our spare time, we explored a giant TaoBao online trading platform for the Chinese market with our roommates. As a result, I returned home with 75 kg of luggage, containing the most diverse equipment for my future projects,” he says. .
P. Piartli says that mechatronics studies are a very good option for those who like many things and cannot choose, mechatronics allows you to choose everything. He points out that you have to get used to learning something new often while studying, because each project is unique. The main qualities that are very necessary in the study of mechatronics are the desire to improve, and in the face of obstacles and problems not to ignore them, to learn to solve them.
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