A Japanese engineer from Yasukawa Electric Company coined（铸造） the term "mechatronics" in 1969 to reflect（反映） the merging （合并）of mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines（学科）. Until the early 1980s, mechatronics meant a mechanism that is electrified. In the mid-1980s, mechatronics came to mean engineering that is the boundary（边界） between mechanics and electronics（电子学）. Today, the term encompasses（包括） a large array（大批） of technologies, many of which have become well known in their own right. Each technology still has the basic element of the merging of mechanics and electronics but now also may involve much more, particularly software and information technology.
For example, many early robots resulted from mechatronics development. As robot systems became smarter, software development, in addition to the mechanical and electrical systems, became central to mechatronics.
Mechatronics gained legitimacy（合法性） in academic（学术） circles in 1996 with the publication of the first refereed journal: IEEE/ASME Transactions（学报、事务） on Mechatronics. In the premier（首要的） issue（结果）, the authors worked to define mechatronics. After acknowledging（承认） that many definitions have circulated（传播、流通）, they selected the following for articles to be included in Transactions: "The synergistic（相互作用、增效的） integration of mechanical engineering with electronics and intelligent computer control in the design and manufacturing of industrial products and processes."1 The authors suggested 11 topics that should fall, at least in part, under the general category of mechatronics:
·modeling and design
·system integration
·actuators and sensors
·intelligent control
·robotics
·manufacturing
·motion control
·vibration and noise control
·micro devices and optoelectronic systems
·automotive systems, and
·other applications
Despite the growth of interest in mechatronics, the field faces several dilemmas. For example, while interest in mechatronics is on the rise, many younger people in Japan''s engineering community have never heard the term used. Also, a thorough study of all areas under mechatronics as defined in that initial issue of Transactions would be very broad, and would include topics that have very little in common.
Vocabulary
1.coin v. 铸造 n. 硬币
2.reflect v. 反映
3.merge v. 合并
4.discipline n.学科；纪律
5.boundary n. 边界
6.electronics n. 电子学
7.a large array of 大批
8.legitimacy n. 合法性；合理性
9.academic adj. 学术的；理论的
10.transactions n. <报、事务
11.premier adj. 首要的 n. 总理
12.issue n. 结果
13.acknowledge v. 承认；答谢；报偿
14.circulate v. 传播、流通
15.synergistic ajd. 相互作用、增效的
16.dilemma n. 困难的选择
17.is on the rise 上升，上涨
18.broad a. 广阔的
19.in common ad. 共有的；共性的
