The World of Robotics

Amit Bansal, CEO and co-founder , PurpleLeap, gives a lowdown on Robotics as a career.

- As told to Poonam Jain

Robot Institute of America defines a robot as, 'a reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material parts, tools or specialised devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks' .

Robotics finds application in diverse areas such as industrial automation, intelligent security systems, automotive industry, space exploration, defense services, healthcare etc. Essentially, robots are used widely to handle hazardous situations, carry out tasks that need high accuracy and speed, and replace monotonous and routine tasks for better efficiency.

While in Japan and Korea, most industries are heavily automated with robots, in India, the trend is still in a nascent stage. In India, automotive companies like Maruti, Tata Motors and heavy engineering companies like Tata Steel have deployed robots for industrial automation.

Although industrial robots have been around for quite some time, the trend of home robots is yet to catch up. Computing power and energy sources are the two main areas that are holding robots back from invading our homes and cooking our food.

This field offers opportunities in the area of design, industrial robotics and applied embedded systems.

As a design professional, you may find a place in the design section of a robot or embedded design firm and work on robotic assemblies like actuators, sensors and interface circuitries and develop graphical user interfaces and control mechanisms for the robots.

In the manufacturing sector, there are opportunities in the areas of maintenance and operation. The roles involve programming , troubleshooting and maintenance of the automation system (including robots, hydraulics and pneumatics system, control systems etc.)

Apart from the core robotics jobs, a professional skilled in the area of robotics can also join the area of applied embedded systems.

The sector is poised for huge growth and early entrants can reap dividends in coming times. A fresher in the sector could earn a starting salary in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 and with 4-5 years of experience the remuneration could rise to Rs 1,00,000. More importantly, you should enter this sector only if the world of robotics fascinates you!

Colleges for robotics engineering:

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur National Institute of Technology, Warangal (AP), Surathkal (Karnataka) BITS, Pilani International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad

Eligibility:

For admission in a Bachelor's degree, the candidate must have passed the higher secondary school certificate (10+2) examination with science subjects. For IITs, it is mandatory to qualify in the Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE). For a Master's degree, the candidate should have a BTech in mechanical engineering, electronics and communication engineering or computer science engineering.