Emeritus Professor John Billingsley has recently retired from Chair of mechatronic engineering at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, where he also supervised Technology Research in a Centre for Engineering in Agriculture. Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to the development of mechatronic systems, starting long ago with the control design of a commercial autopilot. Industrial consultancies include pioneering work in laser phototypesetting, acoustic telescopes, and wall-climbing robots. He is the originator and for some thirty years has been International Chairman of the annual "Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice" conference series and has been recognized for his achievements with an achievement medal from the Institution of Engineering and Technology, London, and Erskine Fellowship from the University of Canterbury, NZ. His innovative machines have been exhibited in notable institutions such as the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.