World's top mechatronic minds to gather at USQ

Some of the world's leading mechatronics and machine vision experts will gather at USQ from 5-7 December for the 13th Annual International Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice (M2VIP).

Professors, researchers, students and those within the industry from all corners of the globe will attend the conference.

'There will be people from Spain, Oman, Singapore, the UK, Iran, Japan, USA, Iraq, Korea, Hong Kong and Austria here, so it is a major event,' USQ Mechatronic Engineering lecturer and conference organiser Professor John Billingsley said.

'Most of those coming are from universities from across the world, while some have industrial links to the field.'

An ever-changing industry, Professor Billingsley said that the progress that mechatronics has made will be the highlight of the gathering.

'Mechatronics and machine vision is concerned with the engineering behind things that blend electrical and computing parts together such as video cameras and VCR's,' he said.

'Over the course of the three days, there will be a number of papers presented that will detail the advances in the industry, which range from practical applications to novel experiments.

'It will also be a chance for everyone to network and share their enthusiasm for mechatronics and machine vision.'

Originating in Toowoomba, the M2VIP returns to the Garden City after a nine year absence.

'We last held the conference in Toowoomba in 1997 and before that in 1994, which was the first one,' Professor Billingsley said.

'It is hoped that this conference, the 13th in the series will be just as successful and enjoyable as previous ones.'

As in previous years, a book featuring the papers presented at the gathering will be published following the conference.

'This is a chance for these people to get some brownie points and have their papers published.'

Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1628, 0403 643 192