Three podcasts for mechatronics engineers

Podcasts are a great way to be educated and entertained while on the move – they’re great in the car, while exercising, or for downtime between classes. With an estimated 750,000-800,000 different podcast options out there, you can find podcasts on just about every topic, including those related to your course of study. This blog post will highlight three podcasts for mechatronics engineers.

Engines of Our Ingenuity 

Engines of Our Ingenuity is a Houston Public Media News podcast available through the NPR network. The podcast explores “technology's spectacular failures and many magnificent success stories” in short, easily digestible bites. With each podcast averaging less than four minutes, Engines of Our Ingenuity is a great way to learn about technological progress and history on a broad variety of topics without having to invest a large amount of time.

Some of the topics of recent episodes of this podcast include windmills, clamshell packaging, high-speed tube trains, and computer proofs. New episodes are released nearly daily. With the short run-time and variety of topics, Engines of Our Ingenuity is a great go-to podcast when you have a few minutes of free time to fill.

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

Billed as the “world’s largest and most respected electronics-oriented radio show,” The Amp Hour is a podcast for those interested in the electronics and engineering industry. With a runtime of about an hour, the podcast alternates between two hosts, Chris and Dave, discussing topics of interest and interviews of industry experts. 

Recent topics include ECAD/3D CAD, field-programmable gate array circuitry, and robots. Recent interviewees include Matt Berggren, Director at Autodesk in charge of Fusion 360, and Jonathan Georgino, creator of the Binho, a USB host adapter that simplifies the process of creating test stands for production. Educational and approachable, The Amp Hour is a unique podcast for mechatronics engineers. 

MacroFab Engineering Podcast

From the team behind MacroFab software, the MacroFab Engineering Podcast (MEP), covers a wide variety of engineering topics, do-it-yourself projects, and industry news. Released weekly, the podcast runs between 45 minutes to an hour and a half. 

Episodes have covered topics from countries of origin for electrical components to 3D printing technologies to augmented reality technology. The podcast often includes interviews with industry experts, including Charlie Garcia and Luka Govedič from MIT’s rocket team and staff from electronic component supplier KEMET to discuss electrolytic capacitors. The MacroFab podcast is a great educational resource on the latest innovations in engineering that is presented in a conversational style.

All of the above podcasts are available through the links provided or through your favorite podcatcher app.

Capitol Tech offers bachelor’s degree programs in mechatronics engineering and mechatronics and robotics engineering technology. For more information, contact admissions@captechu.edu.