The name "mechatronics" was originated in 1969 by the senior Japanese engineer Tetsura Mori, and the field has indeed been said to have grown out of robotics. Early on, robot arms were uncoordinated and had no sensory feedback, but as advances were made in programming, sensor technology, and control, the robotic movements became more coordinated. Mechatronics is the combination of mechanical, electrical and electronic control and automation, and computer engineering.

The main research task of mechatronics is the development and control of advanced hybrid systems covering all these fields, supported by interdisciplinary studies. Several new technologies have emerged, allowing designers to revolutionize their approach. Some ideas were impossible to implement a decade ago, but with the advent of these new technologies these ideas have been revised, and mechatronic design methods are considered. As mechatronic systems get more complex, the challenges associated with successfully executing them also become more demanding.

The purpose of this Special Issue, in general, is to help better understand how mechatronics will impact the practice and research of developing advanced techniques to model, control, and optimize complex systems. This Special Issue presents the recent state of advances in mechatronics and related technologies including automatic control, robotics, agent-based systems, smart manufacturing, and Industry 4.0. The selected topics give an overview of the state-of-the-art and present new research results and prospects of future development in the interdisciplinary field of mechatronic systems. This Special Issue will provide up-to-date and useful knowledge for researchers and engineers involved in mechatronics and related fields. We welcome high-quality original research and review articles that cover a broad range of topics related to theoretical and applied aspects of modern mechatronics.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Advanced smart automation technologies in mechatronics
• MEMS dynamics and control
• Sensor design and data collection approaches
• Model-based mechatronic system design
• Mechatronics and smart manufacturing systems
• Computational intelligence in mechatronic systems
• Artificial intelligence in mechatronic systems
• Mechanism synthesis, analysis, and design
• Modelling, control, and optimization of complex mechatronic systems
• Novel robotic systems
• Intelligent health monitoring and supervisory control of mechatronic systems
• Medical mechatronics for healthcare