This strategic basic research project aims to transform the current design tools and workflow deployed in the mechatronic industry into an efficient framework for multidisciplinary system-level design parameters, space research and optimization.

In mechatronic design, as in many other industries, each new design must demonstrate progressively better performance, along with a reduced use of resources, both during the design process and during the operational life of the targeted products, machines and processes. This results in a multi-purpose optimization problem. Flemish companies need technology that allows them to quickly evaluate various design goals and constraints.

To meet the modern design challenges, effective optimization techniques at system level will be developed that can manage a large number of parameters (50 or more), considering the system behaviour. They will also allow translation of system-level behaviour into component-level design parameters.

This will enable the industry in Flanders to design new machine and product generations in a robust and efficient way that score better than their international competitors.

Special focus in this project is on the multidisciplinary interaction and integration of electrical and electronic, mechanical and hydraulic components and the controller.