The Mechatronics inside the Animal Kingdom

A mechatronic system is composed of mechanical and electrical actuators in a loop that receives feedback from sensors and provides data through the exterior world via an information system through communication channels and a human–machine interface. The animal body is composed of nine systems composed of different organs in a loop that receives feedback from sensory inputs, processing signals and communication through nervous channels to the effector system and interconnecting systems to maintain the body in perfect homoeostasis. The analogy between a mechatronic and an animal system is not limited to the similarity of systems but to the definition of operational status. A 'working machine' is characterized by the ability to work, to complete required tasks with a certain level of efficiency and to be productive. To define a machine status as working, the operator shall be able to read and establish that all systems of the machine are operational and working appropriately. The measurement of these systems is done utilizing the assessment of sensors' outputs and the status conditions of the main components of the system. The same is true for the animal body system; when evaluating the status of operation of an organism or an individual, the veterinarian shall be able to determine the status of operation of the body systems and its elements as organs and sensing systems. This chapter describes the systems in an animal body and how to measure its operational status considering the intra-variability of species and the challenge of measuring complex biomedical systems with engineering tools.