Peace, Love, and all that hippy stuff: robotics career outside the defense industry?

[wendymom]

Disney, Universal and other theme parks need robotics engineers as well. One of our college mentors got an internship with one.

[Rick Wagner]

In California, Adept Technology:

http://www.adept.com/

[Akash Rastogi]

Siemens has a lot of automation technology that you could look into if you haven't already.

[thefro526]

I don't have a Career in the Robotics or "Motion Control" field but I do work for a company that does a lot of Defense work.

Realistically, working for a company that works for the Government isn't that bad. At a certain point yes, you are working to make or build something that supports war but you're also going to be working to build something that may save lives or make an impact in a war ravaged country. Sometimes it's all about how you look at your work.

The biggest advantage to working the Defense industry is that it'll survive through a failing economy. At my job Business is booming and we've added two new people to our Engineering Dept in the last month. Sometimes, in times like this you just have to "settle" for a job that's not perfect and just remember that it'll give you valuable experience you can take elsewhere.

[DeAnnaC]

There are all kinds of industries that use robotics/sensors/FRC skills. As an example - factories...they make products (like bottles), then fill the bottles (to a certain level/weight with soap or soda or whatever) and package them on skids, mostly by using automation and there's a lot of engineering to it as well. Or high tech industries like the silicon wafer industry (MEMC is here in St. Peters) that use alot of robotics because of the precise specs and cleanliness that is needed to produce chips. One of our lead mentors is a maintenance person for a local hospital group - there are lots of things that are automated in the medical field and all of that needs to be designed, developed, implemented and maintained.

We watch a lot of "How it's Made", and you'd be suprised at the automation/robotics that are in almost every industry (making of golf carts to marble sinks to food).

Good luck in your search.

DeAnna

[IKE]

Originally Posted by Tom Line

Of course, considering how this country has thrown it's manufacturing sector under the bus, I'm not sure those are positions where long-term employment is really a feasible goal.

I need to second Tom's remark here. Manufacturing is one of the largest purchasers of automated mechanized machinery. AKA robots. Less manufacturing = less need for machinery = less need for excited youthful robotics engineers.
This then leads you to the entertainment industry:
Toys, rides, dynamic fountains, signs....

The Auto Industry is gaining a ton of applications for CS and EE related engineering, but due to some poor decisions and a down turned economy, they can't afford the talent. You think your robot is cool, Check out active safety, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, vehicle to vehicle communication, vehicle to network communication, driver awareness, stability control, launch control, engine controllers, navigation systems, voice recognition, infotainment, and power electronics coupled with smart navigation to minimize fuel economy impact.

You may want to broaden your scope of what a "robot" is and think about what aspect of working on robotics you enjoy. For example, High speed Photo Printers are one of the most accurate computer controlled robotic manipulated devices out there. If you really enjoy electromechanical controls systems, look into that.

With the steadily decreasing cheapness and availability of GPS everywhere, there is some really cool stuff going on. Ever see the new batman movie? While not quite as invasive as that, Navigation networks are using the signals from cell phones to figure out real time traffic flow issues. This could lead to predictive modeling of traffic patterns for passenger navigation and help road crews do their work more safely.

[SuperJake]

When I went job hunting, I really loved mobile robotics - that was my one requirement for my career. I had done the factory automation before, robotic arms, and so-on. None of them even came close to mobile robotics. The commercial side of mobile robotics (toys, rides, special effects animatronics, vacuum cleaners, etc) is a very exclusive club.

I finally found a place where I am now and I LOVE IT. Our primary customer is the government and yes, we do make some robots that have a more offensive capability, but the company respects the individual engineer's views. Some engineers have requested to not be a part of the weaponized platforms - every case has been granted. Our "bread and butter" robots are bomb disposal or route clearance vehicles - saving lives. I think I fell in with a company that is on the right path... even if there are a couple stumbles along the way with the iron triangle.

[Greg McCoy]

I'd just like to point out that there are plenty of engineering ethics issues in basically all engineering jobs. Just because you aren't directly making weapons in the defense industry doesn't absolve you from making your own ethical judgement. Whenever anything is bought or sold, there is ripe opportunity for bribery and conflict of interest. This isn't something that is remotely exclusive to military contracts.

Certain events such as the Challenger disaster and bridge failures are taught classic examples of how whistleblowing is a critical part of the engineer's job too. Public safety has to be job #1. Lucid, sober evaluations of the possible impact of engineering decisions has to be made, even if it isn't the most popular or economically expedient thing to do.

Heck, even if you work in something as warm and fuzzy as the toy industry doesn't mean that bad things can't happen. And ultimately, anybody can use almost anything as a tool for good or evil.

I guess my point is that it's good that you care about the implications of your work, but be on the lookout for bad behavior no matter where you work. As Scott Adams of Dilbert fame wrote, "There's a gigantic gray area between good moral behavior and outright felonious activities. I call that the Weasel Zone and it's where most of life happens."

[jcatt]

One industry many people don't think about, for robotics careers, is the film industry. Ever wounder how in films you get those broad overviews. Its all done with "motion controlled" camera rigs. Even in TV studios a lot of the camera's are on robotic tripods. Most of which, can move around the studio on programed instructions.

Just some places you might want to try:

http://www.cablecam.com/
http://www.spydercam.com
http://www.cinemoves.com/index.html
http://www.doggicam.com/master.html
http://www.camerasystems.com/

You could also contact Sony and Canon's Professional Broadcast departments.

[CJmango]

In Michigan there's a place called FANUC Robotics, they sponsor the ThunderChickens and offer a great work enviornment in automotive and other automation robotics. There are also numerous other automation/factory robotics companies as have been mentioned. /shameless plug


I want to go a different direction, however, and asked if you've considered academia. Academic research has many of the pro's of military research including the same focus topics, except you're applying your research to improve quality of life for ordinary people. Much of this research is in robotics, but there are emerging opportunities in biotech - currently the most explosive area of funding and research. I offer my research as an example o fthe sort of project you could be involved in - http://handlab.iit.edu. Our lab is working on robotic assist devices to study and assist with recovery from stroke. My particular project is an exoskeleton for the finger and thumb that will be used to study reach to pinch tasks - critical movement impared after stroke.

Academia has a number of other benefits. The environment closely resembles what much of us are use to in FIRST; you're surrounded by gifted and intelligent mentors, and you're challenged to learn and excel on a regular basis. It's also worth mentioning that in robotics and biotech, most graduate students (Masters and PhD) have their tuition fully covered and receive stipends for their research - fiscally on par with most entry-level jobs, and tolerable especially if you're still use to college life.

There are many programs that are looking for interns, full-time employees, and researchers as well. If you're near Chicago I would suggest looking into the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The premiere rehabilitation institute in the world, RIC has two floors dedicated to neuromuscular rehabilitation, most of which involves robot and robot-assisted therapy. I should also mention that they work with Dean Kamen and Deka in the development of the latest prosthetic devices.

I hope this blurb has been helpful! Feel free to reply or to contact me directly if you think I may be able to help as you consider your options.

Good luck!

[dlavery]

Three words: Robotics Industries Association.

The RIA is composed of over 250 U.S. and non-U.S. robotic and automated fabrication system manufacturing companies. If I were looking for a robotics-related job, the first place I would go is their Career Center - it is specifically set up to help job-seekers. Look at their "Find A Company" link to get a list of most of the member organizations. Many of the companies that have been listed above, along with hundreds more, are identified there with full company descriptions and contact information. To address your particular concern, the company descriptions may give an indication of any involvement with defense-related products.

-dave


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[Boydean]

I believe Google hires people for robotics..just saying.

http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/index.html

[hschase]

Google is most definitely hiring at their relatively new Data Center just outside of Sunny, Charleston, SC! They have even donated to the local FRC/FTC/FLL Teams in the area!