Career Exploration of Robotics Engineering

Career exploration of Robotics Engineering

Introduction

Robotics engineering is a sub discipline of electrical and electronics engineering and a mixture of multiple other disciplines. The role of a robotics engineer can vary from the designing of robots, development or research to expanding the potential of robotics (The Princeton Review, n.d.). This report focuses on robotics engineering by analysing the major products and services and well-known companies. Then the types of skills needed and career opportunities are outlined.

Workplace overview

Robotics engineering is one of the most interdisciplinary of engineering degrees, primarily structured around electronics, software and mechanics engineering (WPI, n.d.). For students who acquire an engineering degree in the field of robotics will mean working with the technology that design, manufacture, test and maintain robots (Education Portal, n.d.)

At present, robotics engineers are demanded in a variety of industries. Industries at the forefront of using robotics include manufacturing, automotive, electronics and military. Engineers are sought after for designing devices that perform repetitive, unpleasant, or dangerous tasks such as in product assembly lines, cleaning, or military missions (Hoffman, n.d.)

The field of robotics can be divided into the four broad categories of industrial robots, autonomous robots, medical and surgical robots and personal robots (Weinstein, 2001). Industrial robots are simply programmable robots used in the manufacturing industries, while autonomous robots are those that are able to make decisions, such as Kismet robot, which is able to think and even show human emotions (Breazeal, 2007). Surgical robots are those used in medical procedures, and personal robots, are simply for entertainment purpose or personal use. Examples of this type range from high tech toys such as Wowwee's Robosapien and Sony’s AIBO Dog to iRobot’s Roomba vacuums.

Some of the leading robotics companies are IRobot; makers of military and commercial robots, and have sold more than 3 million home cleaning robots and over 1,500 Tactical Mobile bots deployed worldwide (IRobt, n.d.). Others are Red Zone; makers of industrial service robots for large diameter pipes and wastewater infrastructures (Redzone Robotics, n.d.), RobotWorx; an industrial robotics integrator and Mobot, Inc.; makers of tour guide robots (Rosenberg, n.d.).

Career opportunities

The industry of robotics recent growth indicates robotics engineering is an excellent career path. According the U.S Bureau of Labour Statistics, robotics engineering field, in particular the consulting arena is likely to grow very rapidly (Education Portal, n.d.). Michal Cook, the leading