what do you learn in robotics?

[Abreu]

i am thinking in pursuing a career in robotics but i am not sure about it what will i learn there will i learn cool stuff or boring stuff, like teaching to make gadgets and things like that and how much math skill do i need because i have 0 math skills

[khaled]

Robotics have several branches, such as Intelligent Search, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, ..etc

 

You can work in one or more branches at that point, simply you go for it, you can find a place where

you can study robotics as a Master degree, or take master degree in computer science, as usual, and

then take a Ph.D in Robotics ...

 

The mathematics skills you need for AI, basic Calculus, basic Geometry, basic Linear Algebra, good Probability & Statistics,

good Boolean Algebra, good Model Theory, good Group Theory, advanced Discrete Mathematics,

advanced Graph Theory, good Mathematical Logic, advanced Logic ...

 

I'm too, also going for a Ph.D in Artificial Intelligence generally,

 

good luck,

[Hal.]

Do you want to be an Engineer ?

 

[Jhonoz]

robotics is all about Engineering

[ajb]

There are some very mathematical topics that intersect with robotics. Topological robotics is all about topological problems inspired by robotic engineering as well as employing topology to solve problems in robotics. This often takes the form of studying the configuration spaces of mechanical and robotic systems. Robot motion planning and programming also draws on topological ideas. Geometry is another useful tool here.

 

Closely related is the area of geometric mechanics and control systems. Here tools from algebraic and differential geometry are applied to mechanical systems and their control. This can be very mathematical and I think very interesting.

 

Other topics that also intersect with robotics include the mathematical aspects of computer science. People I know who are computer scientists are really mathematicians working in category theory.

Edited August 20, 2011 by ajb

[Guest Emma Jacob]

There is much more to robotics education than just teaching about robots. Students at all grade levels are fascinated with robots; and educators have found that teaching with robots provides a new and exciting way to interest and motivate their students. Robots are finding their way into the classroom to help teach science, math, mechanics, teamwork and even management skills.

[Shelley Watson]

The newest branch of robotics is android which is related to study of human and robot interaction based on the fact that a very human like robot can produce human-directed social responses in human beings. The robots ability to produce social responses enables scientists to employ an android in experiments with human participants.

[ewmon]

Some people think of robots as humanoid automatons playing ping pong, fighting wars, working as your butler, etc. However, most robotics involves non-humanoid industrial robotics that perform tasks that humans either can't or don't want to do — too repetitious, too precise, too dangerous, too complicated, etc. For example, airliners landing themselves, tanks stabilizing their guns, cars parking themselves, and even self-checkout machines, etc.

 

As you may have guessed by now, robotics involves three activities, basically: measuring, thinking and doing — perhaps thought of as: input, decision, and output — and technically involving: sensors, algorithms and mechanics. Sensors include: audio, video, motions (linear, angular), force, velocity, temperature, pressure, etc. Khaled and ajb (above) have described knowledge involving algorithms. Hal.'s video showed some pretty cool mechanics. Mechanics can involve all sorts of actuators: linear, rotary, locomotive, etc.

 

Look at self-checkout machines. They have sensors that: read barcodes, weight merchandise, sense merchandise on the belt, read credit/debit cards, read coins/bills, etc. They have algorithms that: decipher bar codes, determine weight, compute price, verify coupons, deduct savings, deduct for items on sale, determine that customer placed item on belt, etc. They have mechanics that: talk to customers, move merchandise, dispense money and receipts, notify staff of a malfunction, etc.

[Guest scepticmale1985]

Nowadays, robotics have also seen increased usage in film making thus you will have many career options..

[edwardreed]

What does the future hold for robotics? What is the next step, or the next technological boundary to overcome? The general trend for computers seems to be faster processing speed, greater memory capacity and so on. One would assume that the robots of the future would become closer and closer to the decision-making ability of humans and also more independent. Presently the most powerful computers can't match the mental ability of a low-grade animal. It will be a long time until we're having conversations with androids and have them do all our housework. Another difficult design aspect about androids is their ability to walk around on two legs like humans. A robot with biped movement is much more difficult to build then a robot with, say, wheels to move around with. The reason for this is that walking takes so much balance. When you lift your leg to take a step you instinctively shift your weight to the other side by just the right amount and are constantly alternating your center of gravity to compensate for the varying degrees of leg support. If you were to simply lift your leg with the rest of your body remaining perfectly still you would likely fall down. Try a simple test by standing with one shoulder and one leg against a wall. Now lift your outer leg and observe as you start to fall over.

 

Indeed, the human skeletal and muscular systems are complicated for many reasons. For now, robots will most likely be manufactured for a limited number of distinct tasks such as painting, welding or lifting. Presumably, once robots have the ability perform a much wider array of tasks, and voice recognition software improves such that computers can interpret complicated sentences in varying accents, we may in fact see robots doing our housework and carrying out other tasks in the physical world.