Maarten Steinbuch is a Distinguished University Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where he is head of the Control Systems Technology group of the Mechanical Engineering Department. He is also Director of the TU/e Automotive Systems Graduate Program and Scientific Director of the Centre of Competence for High Tech Systems of the Federation of Dutch Technical Universities. He has over 12 years of industrial experience with Philips Research Labs and Philips Center for Manufacturing Technology. He is Editor-in-Chief of the IFAC journal on Mechatronics and an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Powertrains. His research interests are in modeling and control of advanced motion systems, robotics for care and cure, automotive powertrains, and fusion plasmas.
Advanced motion systems like pick-and-place machines used in the semiconductor industry challenge the frontiers of mechatronic design and systems and control theory and practice. In the design phase, control-oriented design of the electro-mechanics is necessary in order to achieve tight performance specifications. Once realized, a machine-in-the-loop procedure can be explored to close the design loop during experiments as well as for experimental model building, model-based control design, and implementation and performance evaluation. Nevertheless, reliable numerical tools are required to meet the challenges posed with respect to dimensionality and model complexity. Extension of linear modeling techniques towards some classes of nonlinear systems is relevant for improved control of specific motion systems, such as those with friction. Further, medical robotics can greatly benefit from the experiences of the high tech motion systems industry, and an eye surgical robot with haptics will be shown as an example. Other challenging applications in need of advanced design and modeling and control are fuel-efficient vehicles (including ultra-clean engines), vehicle electric and hybrid power trains, and plasma fusion processes. Finally, the 2012 World Champion Soccer Robots (midsize) will also be discussed as an example of advanced motion control for high tech systems.
