Robotic Career Pathway

mrsmile

I would like to know what are the choices of courses available out there for working in the robotic field in the future?
will it be better to take a double degree in Electronic & Electrical Engineering as well as Mechanical Engineering, or would it better to just take Robotics Engineering.
Because the former is more detail and in-depth study while the latter is more general...So..Your Help will be very much appreciated [noparse]:D[/noparse]

Mike Green

You still need to describe what you want to do. Do you like mechanical design? Do you like electronics? Do you like programming? What do you see yourself doing? There are lots of different kinds of robots, everything from the robotic welding machines used to build cars to the talking head used in experiments on human-robot interactions. Very sophisticated robots are mostly team efforts with people with all sorts of skills and interests including artists and psychologists.

mrsmile

Im not sure. "Do i like mechanical design, do i like electronics?" i haven't gone into one in-depth so i wouldnt know....but im very keen at what robots can do, etc, etc. almost everything about robots.
So my question for now is just should i take double degree or just robotics engineering? By the way. Will Electrical * Electronic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering as double degree be enough...Or some other major is also important? Like Programming, and so on? or is those stuff included in Electronic & electrical engineering already?

Brian_B

mrsmile,
There are degree's in mechtronics, a blend of both of them. Here is a sample class with lots of cool video and information.

http://mechatronics.colostate.edu/


Brian

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"Imagination is more important than knowledge..." Albert Einstein

Mike Green

You're focusing on the name of the degree and that doesn't help very much. What's required for a Mechanical Engineering degree will vary from school to school. Similarly, what's required for an Electrical Engineering degree will vary widely. Same thing for Computer Engineering / Computer Science. You need to start with the college's website and on-line catalog and look at what the required courses are for the degree. You then look at what's available in the way of courses. A lot of what you take is made up of elective classes. Some schools now have a few courses or parts of courses on-line, like in the iTunes store as podcasts. Take a look at what's available. Look at what sorts of projects are being done at the schools you're interested in. What are they doing in robotics? Would you be interested in working on those projects? The projects tell you what the interests of the faculty are.

Peter KG6LSE

Look at CCs that offer robotics automation (RA) .. get a AS then after you see "what you Like" Transfer to a 4Year ..

I completed a AS ET and I am now doing an AS RA and theater all at the same time at a CC then going to a 4 year for a BS ET ..

Shameless plug >> http://www.youtube.com/user/ihccrobotics
to give you idea. Iowa state is not as hands on as the local CC is , I have found that CCs are more hands on than 4 years .


Peter KG6LSE

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"Carpe Ducktum" "seize the tape!!"
peterthethinker.com/tesla/Venom/Venom.html
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LOL

allanlane5

Just so you know, a BS ET is not thought of as highly as a BS EE.

If you're building robotics, a BS EE and BS ME double major does sound very marketable -- it also sounds like a lot of work, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

As has been said, it really depends on the University and what their course-ware is. Though a BS EE is pretty universally recognized as a valuable degree, able to be 'customized' by whatever job you get out of college.

Matt Brown

I just finished a BS in ME and we didn't get into anything explicitly related to robotics until senior year. Even then, it was controls and not "robotics". The bulk of ME course work is machine design (linkages, gears, fatigue..) and thermo/fluids (thermodynamics, heat transfer..). Programming/circuits were on the side, and typically were abbreviated courses (aka not what the electrical engineers and comp sci guys took). So IMHO, if programming and circuitry is what you are interested in, don't go the ME route. However, if you are interested in robots from a "ground up" perspective, ME might not be a bad idea combined with a minor or double major. My friend did aero and electrical, and he can do pretty awesome stuff. He's working on an autopilot system for his remote controlled airplane (he also designed the plane)...A previous poster mentioned mechatronics, that is actually what I'm moving onto now.

Cheers,

SRLM

It sounds like you're just about to get started in college (next school year?). If you're not sure, I'd just declare one major within the engineering department and then take a bunch of diverse engineering classes. If you choose them right, then you can still get breadth credit for them once you select you major.

As a side note, you'll never be able to learn everything about how to build a robot, at least professionally. You'd have to get so many degrees (EE, ME, CS, CE, maths, etc.) that it would take you half your life to get out of college, and those are just for a BS. My suggestion is to find what part of robotics that you really enjoy by ignoring all the high profile robots on the news (mars, Japanese, DARPA, etc.) and working on something in your garage. Buy a BS2 or Propeller or Arduino or something and see what you can make.

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Powered by enthusiasm

mrsmile

How much knowledge will i need to actually build a robot alone, without the help from electronic engineers and mechanical engineers,etc 's help, like those used in industries? And would i be able to get those materials needed to build one?

SRLM

mrsmile said...
How much knowledge will i need to actually build a robot alone, without the help from electronic engineers and mechanical engineers,etc 's help, like those used in industries?

You can't really quantify it. You could "build" a robot simply by following directions in a kit, or you could build a robot by spending years researching the subject, building prototypes, and testing the design. It's sort of like painting: your first paintings are terrible, but over time you get better and better until you can set up a spray paint booth on the Vegas strip and create amazing works of art in 10 minutes.

There are really any boundaries for materials. Most people limit themselves based on financial restrictions, but if you have the money you could build a robot out of titanium. Most people use wood, cheap plastics, light metals, and other things that you find at the hardware store.

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Powered by enthusiasm

erco

Robotics guys need to be jacks of many trades, including mechanical design, controls, electronics circuits and programming. Each discipline has its own advantages and limitations, and you need to consider many factors for even the simplest tasks. IMHO, you need to LOVE being a hands-on hobbyist/builder/tinkerer. In robotics, not much goes right the first time, you need to start with an educated guess, build, test, evaluate, modify, and repeat.

I know lots of book-smart college people with straight A's who aren't hands-on. I know amazing programmers who can code all day and achieve anything in a simulation. I also know people who never went to college, people who learned by doing & trying a little of everything. I usually pick the latter for my team, including some car & clock repair guys. Smart cookies. Many people underestimate the importance of a strong foundation in basic mechanics and fabrication.

So before you say, "I like robots, therefore I should study robotics," ask yourself, "what have I thought about lately, read about lately, and better yet, built or repaired lately?"

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·"If you build it, they will come."

mrsmile

I love robots, but i dont really like physics and maths. So, do you guys think I should continue with my robotic career pathway?
By the way, is it possible for just on person to able to build a complete robot with a decent interface and feature, like ASIMO, and so on. Or does it take more people from various degrees?

allanlane5

Well, I'm very in to "rapid prototypes". So, you could purchase the Parallax BOE-Bot, program it in "PBASIC", build some simple collision-avoidance circuitry and implement some simple navigation routines, and then see how you like it. It's one of the least expensive programmable robot platforms out there, but it's also very flexible and well-documented.

"ASIMO" is one of the most advanced (and expensive) robots out there, so I wouldn't use it as much of an example of anything.

Wozoo

I would strongly second the idea that you get a programmable robot kit (preferably from Parallax, of course) and see what robot building is all about. Talking about building robots won't help you decide if it is what you really want to do, but actual hands-on building will give you the whole experience. That way, you will see if you like robotics enough to keep on with it, and also will help you decide what parts of robotics you like best. If it really suits you, it might even inspire you to study math & physics, which are most interesting, especially when you have a use for them.
Good luck.

Humanoido

Build and program a Penguin robot from Parallax.
It's a great learning experience for biped and
walking robotics, learning mechanics, sensors,
and programming. If you want lots of on-hands
experience with humanoids, there are small kits -
for the bigger full scale stuff that is not industrial
or war machine related, move to Asia.

There are sometimes sophisticated robotics
divisions in universities where students pool together
their knowledge and create remarkable projects.
Ask around. Some schools in the USA have built
full scale humanoids, such as the one seen in
Robot Experimenter Magazine. For industrial and
CNC robots, visit some tool-rooms at local mfg.
businesses.

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humanoido
*Stamp SEED Supercomputer *Basic Stamp Supercomputer *TriCore Stamp Supercomputer
*Minuscule Stamp Supercomputer *Three Dimensional Computer *Penguin with 12 Brains
*Penguin Tech *StampOne News! *Penguin Robot Society
*Handbook of BASIC Stamp Supercomputing
*Ultimate List Propeller Languages
*MC Prop Computer

mrsmile

I am weak at physics and math, and these few days i tried to search up on the content that the course will teach, and i'm totally lost...
And the Penguin Robot is out of stock, when will it be available again? i'm kinda new here. I am actually living outside the USA by the way. My love for robots actually started when i bought this magazine called RealRobots where with each issue, a component of the robot is included to build the complete robot. So what do you think about this whole thing? Do you think i should go for robotic engineering, or just keep it as maybe a hobby?

Post Edited (mrsmile) : 1/28/2010 4:04:42 AM GMT

P!-Ro

You can check out some of the other Parallax robots here:
www.parallax.com/tabid/524/Default.aspx

Also, there are 10 Penguins left:
www.parallax.com/tabid/129/List/0/CategoryID/21/Level/a/SortField/0/Default.aspx

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PG

Post Edited (Pi Guy) : 1/28/2010 4:01:35 AM GMT