Robotic Engineering

The demand for robot­ics automa­tion and appli­ca­tions is con­stant­ly grow­ing and devel­op­ing, as advances in com­put­ing progress. The man­u­fac­tur­ing indus­try was the first to heav­i­ly invest in robots and is still the pri­ma­ry employ­er, but the rise of robots in fields such as aero­space, agri­cul­ture, defense, min­ing, med­ical, ener­gy, and edu­ca­tion is not insignif­i­cant. Robot­ics engi­neers are respon­si­ble for design­ing robots, main­tain­ing them, devel­op­ing new appli­ca­tions, and con­duct­ing research to ensure robots are reach­ing their high­est potential.

Many types of robot­ic engi­neers exist. Vision­ary engi­neers cre­ate and design exper­i­men­tal robots. As we watch robots nav­i­gate anoth­er plan­et, a vision­ary engi­neer sits back and smiles as his idea com­ing to life. Robot­ics test engi­neers work for robots man­u­fac­tur­ers and apply the sys­tem to the man­u­fac­tur­ing assem­bly line. Engi­neers are also respon­si­ble for devel­op­ing cost pro­pos­als, stud­ies demon­strat­ing robots’ effi­cien­cy, and qual­i­ty-con­trol reports. Engi­neers can be employed direct­ly by the robot man­u­fac­tur­er, the mil­i­tary or aero­space pro­grams, or col­leges and uni­ver­si­ty study teams. The demand for qual­i­fied robot­ics engi­neers is expect­ed to grow by 13% through 2018, accord­ing to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Some robot­ics engi­neers take on the task of help­ing humans. The Depart­ment of Mechan­i­cal Engi­neer­ing at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ida­ho is devel­op­ing a fin­ger exoskele­ton for reha­bil­i­ta­tion and neu­ro-mus­cu­lar research. Robots that are to be used in con­junc­tion with a human are obvi­ous­ly dif­fer­ent than robots that are used in man­u­fac­tur­ing indus­tries. The Fin­ger Indi­vid­u­at­ing Grasp Exer­cise Robot (FIN­GER) assists humans with mov­ing their fin­gers and mak­ing grasp­ing motions all while record­ing patient per­for­mance. This type of robot gives us a sneak peak into what our future might look like.

Of course, robot­ics engi­neers can also spe­cial­ize in enter­tain­ment. Walt Dis­ney Imag­i­neer­ing employs engi­neers that work on turn­ing car­toon char­ac­ters into 3D char­ac­ters at the amuse­ment park. Robots used in the park must func­tion for up to 16 hours a day, along with oth­er chal­lenges, such as dynam­ics. These robots are respon­si­ble for last­ing mem­o­ries for children.

Robot­ics engi­neers use com­put­er-aid­ed design and draft­ing (CADD) and com­put­er-aid­ed man­u­fac­tur­ing (CAM) to aid their work. Micro­proces­sors and com­put­er pro­gram­ming knowl­edge is impor­tant in order to cre­ate an appro­pri­ate robot for each application. 

Robots​.com also has robot­ic engi­neers work­ing to cre­ate the right inte­grat­ed pack­age of new and refur­bished robots into many types of indus­tries. Work­ing with pro­gram­mers and the cus­tomer, the robot engi­neers are able to help design the best floor­plan and pick the right type of robot for your tasks. Con­tact Robots​.com today to dis­cuss indus­tri­al robot­ic inte­gra­tion today; online or at 877−762−6881.