Career Options In Robotics

'Meet Mitra, the 'Make in India' robot that greeted Ivanka Trump, PM Modi at GES' - Times Now, Nov 28, 2017

This headline, which caught the attention of almost the entire world, is about India's friendly neighbourhood robot Mitra. It is said to be available for rent for corporate events, birthday parties, tech fests, conferences and weddings. It can be a show-stopper at parties, greeting guests, taking photographs and videos, or playing music. In a year or two, it may even serve as a companion for a child at home or as a caregiver for the elderly. With so much that a robot can offer, a career in robotics is something parents should start planning for their children.

Years ago, when he was hardly five, when anyone asked my nephew what he wanted to become, pat would come the reply, "A pilot!" That was the time when he dwelt in the world of comic book heroes such as Superman and Batman. Only with great difficulty could we make him understand that humans can't fly. So, the closest he could translate his aspirations of imitating his superheroes was to dream of being a pilot. Years rolled by ... the 'pilot' became a 'doctor' (thanks to the prodding of family members who believed in conservative career paths). As he stepped into his teens and started enjoying the company of iPads and smart phones, he thought he had his calling in Electronics and Communications Engineering. Finally, after his Class 12 board exams, during family discussions, he came up with, "Robotics!" It took us all by surprise. But then, we shouldn't have been, for only a year ago he had visited NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) on a field trip and had come back impressed with robotics engineering. So, we added that to our shortlist of options for him.

Conservative career paths may beckon most teens. But, just as it was in the case of my nephew, we should encourage our children to take up vocations that are different, offbeat and ultimately define the 'modern' teen. One such career choice is robotics.

Our robot, Mitra, can perform face recognition, speech recognition and autonomous navigation. It can give suggestions and, based on the information it gets from you, it can also provide contextual support.
Regarding humans losing their jobs to robots, it is the other way round. We ourselves are building robots and we have a manufacturing unit, which will provide job opportunities for 200 to 300 people. So, I don't think robots can destroy the job market.
When it comes to the question of whether robots can surpass human intelligence in future, I can say this - the software that we have made for our robot can do so many things like face recognition and contextual support. So, in future, robots will be certainly able to surpass human intelligence. - Mahalakshmi Radhakrishnan, CFO of Invento Robotics

Here's what you and your teen need to know while considering robotics for a profession.

What is robotics?

It is a field of engineering that deals with the conceptualisation, design, structure, manufacture and operation of robots.

The significance and scope of robotics

Kiplinger, the leading publisher of business forecasts, in an article published as early as March 2013, predicted thus - 'Over the next decade, the number and variety of robots in the workplace will soar.' It also states that already about 1.4 million industrial robots are deployed across the world, apart from several million robotic devices designed for consumer use in homes.

The article mentions the following fields where robots are already employed:

• Health care: doctor-controlled surgical robots
  
• Food processing: robots which help in packing (scientists are developing robots which would even help de-bone chicken!)
  
• Automobile manufacturing: robots which perform complex tasks (their use is valuable in hazardous tasks where there is exposure to extreme heat, cold or dangerous chemicals)
  
• Education: Humanoid robots which substitute teachers in tele-learning
  
• Military: Drone aircraft
  
• Domestic: Robots which help around in household chores
  

Apart from these fields, robots have also been deployed in the following areas:

• Space
  
• Agriculture
  
• Electronics
  
• Underwater
  
• Entertainment (Gaming and film industry)
  
• Logistics, Production and Consumer (LPC)
  
• Investigation (Intelligence agencies and Police departments)
  
• Search and Rescue (SAR), and Security
  
• Assistance and Rehabilitation systems
  

The list is not exhaustive. In almost every field, there is application of robots - even in controlling and navigating flights!

John Markoff, in an article titled, 'Planes without pilots ', published in The New York Times (April 06, 2015), mentions that experiments are already on to replace human pilots with robots on cargo planes. He also mentions that commercial planes are already heavily automated.

Well, if robots can replace human pilots, they can just about replace anything and anyone! Can't they?

This implies that the scope for robotics is really wide. Isn't that enough of a reason to encourage your teen to pursue a career in robotics in India?

Significance and scope of robotics in India

The scope of robotics in India is vast and varied. And most importantly, it's growing. Robotics technology is used in many fields like nuclear science, medical science, bio medicine, sea exploration and electronics. There is also a high demand for robotics in manufacturing industries to speed up the processes and reduce the scope of human error. Robotics has applications in automobile, machinery, manufacturing (including ceramics, chemical, rubber and plastic), communication, food and domestic consumer appliances industries.

Now, let's see what the job specifications of a robotics specialist are.

Types of job profiles in robotics

A robotics career involves your child becoming either a robotics engineer or a scientist. While the former will include more of design, development and execution, the latter will involve more of research.

A career in robotics spans many fields of engineering - Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Computer Science, Mechatronics, Artificial Intelligence, Nanotechnology and Bioengineering, to name a few.

The key responsibilities for a robotics engineer or scientist will include:

• Conceptualising
  
• Designing
• Constructing or developing
• Operating and maintaining
  
• Troubleshooting
  
• Testing and reviewing
  

Now that you've understood the profile of a robotics engineer and the scope in this field, the next step would be to identify whether your child has the skills required to take it up for a career.

Skill sets required

• Creativity
  
• Innovation
  
• Scientific temper
  
• Arithmetic proficiency
  
• Applied mathematical ability
  
• Programming mindset
  
• Technical know-how
  
• Systematic thinking
  
• Sound judgement
  
• Competence in problem-solving
  
• Smart decision-making
  
• Efficient communication
  

The next step would be to equip your child with the relevant academic qualifications.

Eligibility for robotics engineering

How to become a Robotics engineer after 12th: Educational background required

If your child is interested in a career in robotics engineering, she can directly pursue a graduate degree in engineering in robotics. Or, she can opt for any other engineering course preferably in mechanical, electrical, electronics, computer science or mechatronics disciplines. This can be followed by specialisation at the master's level in artificial intelligence or robotics.

While a few colleges in India offer robotics in engineering at the graduate level, others offer it at the post-graduate level. Also, some colleges offer robotics as an elective subject at the graduate level. So, your child has quite a few options when it comes to equipping himself with the required academic background.

Armed with all this knowledge about the field of robotics, you can surely encourage your child to pursue it and make a successful career out of it.

List of institutions offering robotics engineering courses in India

• National Institute of Technology, Trichy
• Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
• IITs in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur
• Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
• University of Hyderabad
• Jadavpur University, Kolkata
• PSG college of Technology, Tamil Nadu
• MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore

I got interested in electronics when I saw my father repair some of my broken toys. I then started taking apart some of these toys to see how motors and gears work. Watching YouTube videos on magnetism, motors, gears, etc., also kindled my interest. I learnt how to use a multimeter to check batteries and connections. My aunts and grandparents presented me with some basic electronic kits and some solar-powered toys that needed to be assembled. I really enjoyed assembling them. Seeing my interest, my parents enrolled me in a robotics course run by Otomatiks, which we came to know about through my school. In this course, I first learnt basic electronics and programming. Then I learnt to make several simple robots with obstacle avoidance and wall-following capabilities. I am now in level 3 of this course. During my last summer holidays, my father and I decided to use the various robot parts we had at home to make an Internet controlled video surveillance robot. We looked at YouTube videos and detailed instructions available at www.instructables.com to create it. Through this project, I learnt how to write basic scripts and use a Raspberry Pi to control a robot.
- Ishaan Abraham Pichamuthu, a nine-year-old from Vellore, Tamil Nadu whose discovery of a whole new freshwater species of jellyfish will be added to the 2017 edition of Animal Discoveries records by the Zoological Survey of India.

To Inspire Your Teen

• In 2013, Rohan Agarwal, an American Indian prodigy took the Silicon Valley by storm when he created a robot from spare parts in just one day. He was only 12 years old then. Even before he became a teen, he worked as an intern in OLogic, a robotics company based in Sunnyvale, California! The company builds robotics machines for companies like Disney and Google.
• In 2014, Camille and Genevieve Beatty, two sisters from North Carolina, built a robot modelled after NASA's Mars rover in their garage! They were only 14 and 12 then.
• In early 2017, 14-year-old Rishi Kumar from Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu won accolades for his achievements in robotics and creating mobile apps. What's interesting is that he is earning Rs 2.5 lakhs per month for his inventions.

About the author:

Written by Dr Priscilla J S Selvaraj, PhD (Eng & Edu) on 4 August 2017; updated on 1 August 2019

The author is an educationist, language specialist and writer. In a career spanning over two decades, she has taught from preschool to B-School and trained teachers, master trainers and software professionals. She is also a former member of curriculum and syllabus development committees (Govt of Tamil Nadu). Her passion for the written word matches her enthusiasm for entertaining little kids by breaking out into nursery rhymes.

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