>>12328820As a mechanical you still will take a Diff Eqn and (possibly) linear algebra class. These classes form a large portion of the math base of that you need to start looking at PID/classical control systems. EE's will likely use Diff Eqn/Lin Alg more in their regular coursework, but Mechanicals should still know it.
Mechanical will obviously be better with the mechanical aspects of Mechatronic/Control Systems. Think friction, gravity, torque, fluid flow, kinematics, etc... These systems are governed by (slightly) more complex Diff Eqn's than EE systems.
If you have ever seen an "Inverted Pendulum" (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhGjxdug0o), this system is hard to control due to it's mechanical system. A mechanical engineer would likely have an easier time to derive the Diff Eqn. used to describe this system.
An EE would have to think back to the "Intro Physics" class to derive these eqns while it would come more natural to an ME. But the EE would definitely have an easier time programming this system.
Of course, with most Engineering degrees you can take electives and tailor your degree as you like. I was able to take about ~5 classes that related to Mechatronics/Controls with my Mechanical degree.
With all of that said I would not stress too much over making the right/wrong choice on this. Controls and Mechatronics is a heavily multi-disciplinary field as it is at Mechanical/Electrical boundary. Getting a degree in one, and then pursuing an MS or PhD with a focus in controls/mechatronics would be the best.
P.S.
If you even look at current research in Control systems at least, even the Computer-Science and Machine Learning (Look at Steve Brunton on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm5mt-A4w61lknZ9lCsZtBw) community is starting to get interested in control systems.
