MECHATRONICS - WHAT IS IT, WHY, AND HOW

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the new publication of the IEEE/ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS. This TRANSACTIONS is published quarterly from this premiere issue in 1996 as a joint publication of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, the IEEE Robotics and Automat ion Society, and the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division, aiming at establishing a high-quality archival journal which represents stat e of the art of mechatronics, its recent advances, and practical appli cations. Many of you are quite familiar with the basic concepts and co mmercial products utilizing the control of mechanical systems in conju nction with modern electronics technology. The word ''Mechatronics'' i s a new word for the blending of mechanics and electronics invented in Japan at the end of the 1960's. Yaskawa Electric Company once commerc ially registered the word ''Mechatronics,'' which is now freely used b y anyone [1]. In this editorial, we look back at the history of mechat ronics, project it into the future, and state the scope and direction of this new journal.