Is robotics difficult?

Table of Contents

Many have always asked this kind of question several times. Have you been wondering if Robotics is difficult? Well, robotics demands a lot when compared to anything else, such as websites or even any other tech-related product. For instance, for you to be able to design a robot, you must have some working knowledge in Physics, and this will also need Mathematics besides it. Again, buying parts is also difficult for prototyping. These parts are only cheap when bought in bulk. This will make you look for resellers or even group buys. You will also notice that the Prototype labs are also a bit expensive when compared with the Chinese assembly lines.
To make the whole narration short, robotics is considered difficult since the construction of the robots alone is another difficult task. Leave that aside, training a robot to move on its own, or even to identify objects and even grasp objects are some of the many difficult things that many do find hard to correct. There are lots and lots of other things that you have to fix. These are not limited to, power supplies, weight, sensors, and types of servos.
With much said, let’s dive in and discuss all you should know about robotics. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

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Is robotics difficult
Is robotics difficult

10 factors why robotics is difficult

Do you know that the robotics industry has several challenges? Here, we are going to look at the ten factors that make robotics to be considered difficult. You will notice that we had earlier on stated some of the difficulties back in the introduction part. Well, in this list, we may not exhaust all the reasons why people find robotics difficult, but we’ll focus on the major ones. These reasons include:

·         New materials – we can also call this the fabrication method. Currently, gears, motors, and even actuators are very basic in the robotics world. As you read this article, a lot of work is in progress to fix the artificial muscles, soft robotics, and even assembly strategies.

·         Creating bio-inspired robots

·         Need for better power sources

·         Communication in robot swarms- robots need to sense the environments that they are in and even communicate with other robots independently when doing a task.

·         Navigating unmapped environments- For instance, currently, there are self-driving cars, and these cars can only maneuver on areas that are mapped. Future robots need to be able to operate in unmapped areas that are less understood or known by humans. 

·         Finding AI that can reason

·         Brain-computer interfaces

·         Social robots for long-term engagement

·         Medical robotics with more autonomy

·         Ethics

10 factors why robotics is not difficult

From the above reasons why robotics is difficult, it can be difficult to find other reasons why robotics is not difficult, but there are still other reasons left. We are going to look into this deeply regardless of the weight that a reason has. Ten factors why robotics is considered not difficult are not limited to:

·         Falling robot prices-You just have to believe this, since the increased production of robots, the knowledge, and even parts have been made easily available for use.

·         Accessible talent- Those that have the skills that are needed to design, install, and even operate robots are becoming easier to find. Times back, robotics engineers were rare and very expensive if you happen to find one.

·         Ease of integration- With the advancement in technology and computing, assembling robots and even maintaining them has become less costly as compared to the previous years.

·         New capabilities- Robots too are becoming smarter; decades back, robots could only follow any path, and later iterations made use of lasers or even vision systems to detect materials while currently, robots have a wide number of sensors to use.

·         Robots take on new roles

·         Low – volume production

·         Highly variable tasks

·         Complex tasks

·         Working alongside people

·         Making the right automation decisions

A table that summarizes the 10 factors why robotics is difficult against the 10 factors why robotics is not difficult

Here we are going to summarize the above factors on whether robotics is difficult against the other factors why robotics is not difficult. This is just to make the whole thing short and straight to the point. Let’s have a look at the comparison table below.

10 Factors why robotics is difficult

10 Factors why robotics is not difficult

New materials

Falling robot prices

Creating bio-inspired robots

Accessible talent

Need for better power sources

Ease of integration

Communication in robot swarms

New capabilities

Navigating unmapped environments

Robots take on new roles

Finding AI that can reason

Low-volume production

Brain-computer interfaces

Highly variable tasks

Social robots for long-term engagement

Complex tasks

Medical robots with more autonomy

Working alongside people

Ethics

Making the right automation decisions

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How hard is it to learn robotics?

Ok, have you been thinking of learning robotics may be hard? I guess you know nothing concerning robots, or you have very little information regarding robots, huh? What you have to keep in mind is that robotics isn’t just an easy hobby, and there is lots and lots of information about robotics as compared to any other hobby that you can think of. This doesn’t mean that you cannot learn robotics.

You can still make it when you truly want to learn robotics. Yes, the whole thing is always hard for many people, but with a little diligence besides hard work, you will be up and even an expert in no time. You should also keep in mind that hard lessons or an exam demand more time and constant practice. You will have to sacrifice some of your comforts and cut short your free time just to ensure that you are completely immersed in the robotic world and learning something new or even practicing something that you had learned before.

So, what are you thinking about? Beginning now? That may be a good idea. Take your time and start what your heart craves for, and with time, you will be all good and earned your favorite career. What is the next question that will immediately strike your mind? How to get into robotics, right? Let’s discuss more about it below.

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How do I get into robotics?

Are you zero on how you should get into robotics? If so, you need to count yourself lucky because you are in the right place! Unfortunately, you don’t have to worry that you are stranded alone; there are lots of people that are exactly as you are out there! Here, we are going to discuss some hints and tips that will enable you to get started.

Some of these tips and hints are not limited to:

· Learn about electronics

· Buy some goods

· Begin small

· Find and get yourself LEGO Mindstorms if you lack any programming experience

· Enter a contest-I.E. You can even choose to build a bot to do something

· Maintain working on your bots

· You can also read about the mistakes of others

· You also don’t need to be a tightwad

· You need to ask lots and lots of questions

· Lastly, share your experience with others

The above hints and tips are straight to the point, and you should not have any difficulty in understanding them. If you willingly put all the above hints and tips into consideration, trust me, within a short period, you will have learned a lot that is related to robotics. Remember no shortcut if you are after something great. Take your time.

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Why is it so hard to build robotic hands?

Just imagine how flexible and how easy it is to use your hands! They are never disappointing, right? Now, just imagine programming and physically building a robot’s hands to match that of your hand. Training the hands-on how to grasp objects or even do other things that a human hand is capable of.

You should know that robots have to overcome lots of mechanical and computational challenges before they can successfully take on most of the tasks that are done with humans. Just have a look at your hands and imagine how they work. You will notice that your hands are very detailed, and are building and growing from the cellular level. Research reveals that the human fingers have about three sensors and may also get up to one hundred sensors.

 But again, the nerves in the human finger are equivalent to thousands of sensors! That sounds extremely complicated, right? Now, imagine building a human hand where only one finger needs thousands of sensors installed! You should also know that when something is extremely complicated, there are lots and lots of things that are more likely to fail or even go wrong. These are just some of the many reasons why building robotic hands has proved to be a drawback in the robotics world. Do you have any idea on how this issue can be fixed? Think about it; maybe this can be a nice discovery if you come up with an idea that easily solves this menace.

Why is walking so hard?

Well, if you have always been thinking about this question, then you must have been up to something great, or you are just born a genius, and you can’t just let curiosity fade away. What you need to understand is that when humans walk, they are basically usually off balance. This is not so much into the “uncontrolled” movement, but it’s that you just have to let yourself get controlled if you like. This is the main reason why we usually trip over a lot.

For a robot, you have to basically put it into a state that every step or where it is falling over, and then you will have the results that the foot will always be in the right place to catch it. Again, if you decide to add rubble underfoot, well, that will mess up everything because the foot will not be in the right place. Hopefully, with time, as the processing strives to get smaller and relatively more powerful, they will improve but back to humans, if you fail to do a lot of kinematics and dynamics problems by instinct, you will trip.

Robots are still forced to do it the hard way, and they have to crunch every bit of the numbers after every millisecond.

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Is robotics a good field?

Do you think robotics is a good field or not? Well, in terms of careers, robotic science has several options that play a very important role in the industrial sector. These careers are so vast that you are free to choose one that you feel can work out for you. Regarding the industrial sector, these roles aid in speeding up the process of manufacturing and even inventing massive applications in the fields such as nuclear science, exploration of the sea, designing of bio-chemical equipment, and even in space explorations. A robotics engineer is to take care of every aspect of creating a robot. This is not limited to robot designing, maintenance, testing, and even proper functioning of the robots. In terms of salaries, robotics pays so high as compared to other careers that you can think of in the tech world. With all these said, it’s worth saying that robotics is a good field that one should venture into. This paragraph provides you with a green light to proceed with your desire to explore the robotic world and increasing your expertise level as well as your profession.

Robotics engineer

Who is a robotics engineer? For you to clearly understand who a robotics engineer is, we are going to define it in the easiest way possible to understand. Well, a robotics engineer is a person who is mainly responsible for creating and designing robots and even robotic systems. Not only that, but a robotic engineer is also responsible for designing the machines and even processes that are highly needed to aid in assembling the robots.

Just to add more information, based on the complexity of the robotic system being invented, a robotic engineer can end up working on a few small tasks throughout his or her career. If a robotic engineer finishes working on the creation of the robot, his or her work changes, and he or she began serving as technical support, attending to fix requests and even analyzing and evaluating the robot’s system to find ways that it can be improved to be more appealing and modernized. 

Regarding the work hours, there is no specific answer for this because all of it is determined by the deadlines in place. Some of the main tasks that a robotic engineer performs are not limited to creating new robots, robot designing, robot maintenance, robot testing, and even ensuring the proper functioning of the robots.

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Future of robotics engineering

Are you thinking about the future of robotics engineering, or you are interested in knowing much about what robotics engineers should expect? Well, currently, robots are finding new homes in commercial spaces and even being augmented with data-gathering technology. These include things like machine vision cameras. With the need for these sensors in robots, this demands the urgency of robotics engineers.

Besides that, robots are also becoming companion bots and even medical assistants. Just to dig deep into robots being a medical tool, this field is expanding so fast. And for this to work out, an engineer that has biology or even medical background is highly considered for these tasks.

There are numerous work avenues that one can explore if you are a robotic engineer or even if you crave to be one. Another thing that you need to know is that, as robots continue to find new uses, your field will continue expanding within the industrial manufacturing space and even any other sectors that will rise.

All you need to have in mind is that the future is extremely bright for robotics engineers, and they should be ready for new amazing careers and inventions that one can ever imagine of. The world is currently going digital, and robots will take over almost all sectors, thus the need for robotics engineers at large.

Is robotics engineering fun?

Are you always after fun and enjoying to the fullest every activity or career that you venture into? Well, similar to other careers or even in any relationship, you should always keep in mind that things may turn out to be rosy at first. And then, with time, it can get sometimes mundane. Well, you can play with robots for some time, watch them do some funny tasks and later work beside them. Tasks such as writing codes, debugging, and even getting software updates may at first appear to be daunting, but soon you will adapt to them, and eventually, all will be fun if you truly have a passion for robotics.

Again, after completing fixing your robot, you will have to step back and watch your robot perform the tasks that it’s primarily built for. This is one of the areas that you may find to be extremely fun! If you were fascinated by robots since childhood, you would find robots to be so amazing.

What do you think? Do you think you will love the above-mentioned areas when you decide to explore the robotics world? Or what else do you think you may find interesting? Guess there are lots and lots of things you are thinking about.

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Career in robotics

Which career do you want to narrow down into in robotics? There are a number of careers that you can choose from. We are going to discuss these careers so that you can understand each one of them and find the right one that fits your interests.

These careers are not limited to:

·         Robotics Engineer- Just as earlier stated above, a robotics engineer is mainly responsible for creating and even designing robotic systems. He or she is also responsible for designing some of the machines and processes that are required to assemble the robots.

·         Robotics Technician- A robotics technician has almost the same roles as the robotics engineer though he or she is mainly concerned with the testing and fixing of robotics systems and also aids the robotics engineer in creating and designing robots.

·         Sales Engineer- These individuals are more into the sales of the robots and any robotic products, but they also have enough knowledge that is needed to communicate with the potential buyer on how the robot will benefit them.

·         Software Developer- Here, you will mainly focus on developing the software that executes commands that are sent to the robotics device.

·         Robotics Operator- The idea behind the invention of the robots is to perform tasks that humans cannot do that well, but still somebody needs to operate them. This can be done remotely.

How to become a robotics engineer

For you to easily secure a job of being a robotics engineer, you will be asked to provide a bachelor’s degree in any relevant field of study. Again, some institutions offer accredited robotics engineering programs, but again there is no need to worry because many of the employers will accept a degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, software engineering, and also mathematics.

How about any hands-on experience? Well, the robotics engineer job description lists requirements for the knowledge in these areas that are not limited to:

· CAD/CAM

· Automation

· Hydraulics and pneumatics

· Relevant industry knowledge

· 2D and 3D vision systems

· AI and machine learning

· Internet of Things (IoT)

· Robotics middleware such as the Robot Operating System (ROS)

· Proprietary robotics programming languages

· Relevant industry knowledge

If you have a general interest in robotics, then it’s a plus! Have you ever built robots before as a hobby? You may also showcase your accomplishments in the job interview.

Last Words

From this article, we can conclude that there are several things that we can talk about in the robotics sector, from the benefits to drawbacks that are experienced. There are also amazing careers that one can choose from when he or she is interested in robotics. Again, we have also said that robotics is hard to study, but one can still focus, dedicate his or her time and excel in this field. The world needs robots to make most of the tasks easy and to be done efficiently.

 Soon every sector will need robots in one way or another. This calls for the urgency and many robotic engineers that will create and even fix these robots. The future is extremely bright for robot engineers and all the careers surrounding robotics. Start your journey today and rise through the expertise levels and achieve your professional goals. Good luck!

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Luis Gillman
Luis Gillman

Hi, I Am Luis Gillman CA (SA), ACMA
I am a Chartered Accountant (SA) and CIMA (SA) and author of Due Diligence: A strategic and Financial Approach.

The book was published by Lexis Nexis on 2001. In 2010, I wrote the second edition. Much of this website is derived from these two books.

In addition I have published an article entitled the Link Between Due Diligence and Valautions.

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information published on this website is accurate, the author and owners of this website take no responsibility  for any loss or damage suffered as a result of relience upon the information contained therein.  Furthermore the bulk of the information is derived from information in 2018 and use therefore is at your on risk. In addition you should consult professional advice if required.