Future of Robotics Engineering SHDHS Career Day February 25, 2010 Steve Bolin

Topics What do engineers do? My engineering education and career Why are robots important? Types of robots Future growth areas Technologies used in robotics Technical disciplines needed in robotics Skill requirements Education and training Schools How to get experience while in high school

What do engineers do? Engineers design creative solutions to all sorts of problems Engineers are people who use math, science, and technology to solve problems Work with other people on a team to develop new products or systems Make things work better Learn new things and always improve Planning and managing projects

Types of Engineers Mechanical Electrical and Electronics Chemical Civil Industrial Biomechanical Photonics Computer software Computer hardware Nuclear Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical

What is it like being an engineer? Education (typically four year bachelor’s degree) Professional engineer license is becoming more important (required in certain fields) Travel (varies) Salary range: Starting salaries (2009-ME,EE): $58,000 to $60,000/year Leadership positions can make over $100,000

My Engineering Background Education – Mechanical Engineering, Business BSME – Manhattan College (machine design) MSME – Ohio State University (robotics) MBA – Xavier University Career experience (Manufacturing and Robotics) Mechanical Engineer Project Manager

What do you think of when you hear the word “robot”? automotive Dangerous, hazardous areas Bomb recovery Underwater Rescue Home

Why Robotics? Areas that robots are used: Why are robots used? Industrial robots Military, government and space robots Service robots for home, healthcare, laboratory Why are robots used? Dangerous tasks or in hazardous environments Repetitive tasks High precision tasks or those requiring high quality Labor savings Control technologies: Autonomous (self-controlled), tele-operated (remote control)

Industrial Robots Uses for robots in manufacturing: Welding Painting Cutting Dispensing Assembly Polishing/Finishing Material Handling Packaging, Palletizing Machine loading

Industrial Robots Uses for robots in Industry/Manufacturing Automotive: Video - Welding and handling of fuel tanks from TV show “How It’s Made” on Discovery Channel. This is a system I worked on in 2003. Packaging: Video - Robots in food manufacturing. (Videos are on the next two slides)

Industrial Robots - Automotive

Industrial Robots - Packaging

Military/Government Robots iRobot PackBot Remotec Andros

Military/Government Robots Soldiers in Afghanistan being trained how to defuse a landmine using a PackBot.

Military Robots Military suit Aerial drones (UAV)

Space Robots Mars Rovers – Spirit and Opportunity Autonomous navigation features with human remote control and oversight

Service Robots Many uses… Cleaning & Housekeeping Humanitarian Demining Rehabilitation Inspection Agriculture & Harvesting Lawn Mowers Surveillance Mining Applications Construction Automatic Refilling Fire Fighters Search & Rescue iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner robot

Medical/Healthcare Applications DaVinci surgical robot by Intuitive Surgical. St. Elizabeth Hospital is one of the local hospitals using this robot. You can see this robot in person during an open house (website). Japanese health care assistant suit (HAL - Hybrid Assistive Limb) Also… Mind-controlled wheelchair using NI LabVIEW

Laboratory Applications Drug discovery Test tube sorting

Technologies Used in Robotics Drivetrain – servomotors, gear reducers Hydraulics (oil), pneumatics (air) Electrical controls – motor drives, computers Lightweight materials – aluminum, carbon fiber, titanium Sensors Photoeyes Encoders/position measurement sensors Proximity switches Laser scanners Vision systems Navigation systems/GPS

Disciplines Used in Robotics Robotics merges many technical disciplines: Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Computer Science Bio-Medical Engineering Ethics and Legal Issues Mechatronics

Required Skills Math Science Computer Science Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus Science Physics – forces, motion control Chemistry – materials Computer Science Programming languages Applications – Word, Excel, Access, etc. Business, project management and leadership skills

Education and Training Associates degree for technician positions (2 year) Bachelor of Science in engineering or computer science for most positions (4 year) Masters or PhD for research or advanced development positions (Masters - 2 years, PhD – 4+ years)

Schools UK - Center for Manufacturing UC - Center for Robotics Research Ohio State – ME, EE Louisville – ME, EE Carnegie Mellon – Robotics Institute Virginia Tech – Robotics and Mechanisms Lab MIT - Humanoid Robotics Group Stanford - Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Military – Navy, Air Force

How can you get experience while in high school? Learn to program in software platforms (C++, Java, …) Microsoft Robotics Studio development package Learn mechanical design/CAD with student versions of: SolidWorks PRO/Engineer AutoCAD Learn to build and program Lego Mindstorms or other robotic development platforms Start a robotics club Start a team and compete in a FIRST, BEST, National Robotics Challenge and other robotic competition

FIRST Robotics Competitions FIRST Tech Challenge for high school students Visit iSpace www.ispacescience.org and FIRST www.usfirst.org for more information.

Robotics and Engineering Sites ASME www.asme.org/ IEEE www.ieee.org, www.ieee-ras.org/ SME www.sme.org Robotics Industry Association (RIA) www.robotics.org FIRST www.usfirst.org iSpace www.ispacescience.org iRobot www.irobot.com/ National Instruments http://www.ni.com/robotics/ How Stuff Works science.howstuffworks.com/robot.htm

Questions… Website: www.stevebolin.com, Email: sbolin@fuse.net