APU Careers Careers & Learning

Is a Career in Robotics Right for You?

careers-roboticsBy Prof. Karen Gail Hand
Faculty Member, Information Technology at American Public University

Imagine being picked up for work every morning in a car that is fully capable of driving itself, while you relax throughout your commute, or perhaps get an early start answering emails or making phone calls during your ride. Imagine ordering a pizza for lunch and having it delivered to your office by a drone within 20 minutes of ordering. Or, how about coming home at the end of the day and finding dinner made and all of your tedious household chores already completed by your household robot.

In the same way that personal computers and the Internet revolutionized the world in the 1980s and 90s, respectively, advancements in robotics will revolutionize the world within the next decade, and well beyond. Companies such as iRobot have already brought small domestic robots to market for such uses as vacuuming, floor scrubbing, and gutter cleaning. The military has been using drones for both surveillance and armed attack missions for more than a decade. Google, Amazon, and even Domino’s Pizza have conducted successful tests of delivery drones, which could become a standard delivery option, pending approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Some of the first robots invented were industrial robots which transformed the manufacturing industry by creating assembly lines using robotic arms to perform repetitive actions with high precision. In the 1960s and 1970s, industrial robots were developed and deployed for such manufacturing tasks as assembly, welding, painting, packaging, palletizing, and product inspection. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, the first robotically-assisted surgical systems were developed.

While the field of surgical robotics is still young and the technology is still being developed and perfected, the possibility of remote surgery is already being explored. The surgeon would not have to be physically present with the patient, but, by using a telemanipulator, could remotely perform the movements associated with the surgery while the robotic arms carried out the same movements on the actual patient to perform the surgery.

With so many world-changing applications of robotics just over the horizon, it is easy to see that this is a field with a very promising future. The FAA is hoping to issue new guidelines for the commercial use of drones by 2015. In a report entitled, “The Economic Impact of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the United States,” issued last year by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, it is predicted that FAA clearance for commercial drone use could contribute $82 billion to the economy and the creation of 100,000 jobs in the U.S. by 2025. The Department of Defense continues to research and develop combat applications of robotics, including the possibility of creating autonomous humanoid robots that would serve right alongside human soldiers. Google has already logged over 700,000 test miles on our nation’s roads and highways in fully-autonomous cars and it is only a matter of time before these self-driving cars will be a transportation option for everyone. If you want to be part of the next big wave of technological advances, robotics could be the field for you!

About the Author

Karen Hand is a Professor of Information Technology in the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math at American Public University. Professor Hand holds a Masters in Computer Science and a Masters in Instructional Systems with a major in Open and Distance Learning from the Florida State University, and anticipates completing her Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies, also from the Florida State University, in May 2015.

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