Robots have helped humans explore space and the deep oceans, and their use is expanding into healthcare, farming, food preparation, manufacturing, and even education. Robotics is a multidisciplinary area that combines electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science. This area includes embedded programming, control systems, automated decision making, and power electronics. These disciplines must work together to sense, think, and act (the core properties of a robotic system). Robotics topic opportunities include computer vision, artificial intelligence, robotic dynamics, and human-robot interaction. The world-class robotics group at Oregon State is innovating in areas such as bipedal robots that can walk and run in changing terrain.
Employment opportunity range from industrial automation, designing control systems for non-robotic systems (like airplanes), and researching advances necessary to make robotics a commercially viable industry (such as iRobot). There are several companies that currently offer job opportunities locally, but many companies are located throughout the nation.
Potential Job Opportunities
Robotics engineer: Design and build robots for research and industrial uses; work for companies like ABB Robotics, AeroVironment, Boeing, Bosch, Caterpillar, 3D Robotics
Control systems engineer: Design and build control systems for automatic manufacturing equipment; work for companies like ATS Automation, Boeing, Caterpillar, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Rockwell
Field service engineer: Service automated manufacturing systems in the field; work for companies like Hitachi.
Automation Engineer: Design and build automated manufacturing systems; work for companies like ATS Systems, Boeing, Caterpillar, GE, Johnson Controls, Siemens
Courses
Core
- ECE 390 (Electric & Magnetic Fields)
- ECE 451/ME 430 (Systems Dynamics and Control)
- ENGR 421 (Applied Robotics)
Electives
- ECE 331 (Electro-Mechanical Energy Conversion)
- ECE 431 (Power Electronics)
- ECE 432 (Dynamics of Electromechanical Energy Conversion)
- ECE 464 (Digital Signal Processing)
- ECE 473 (Microprocessor System Design)
- ECE/CS 476 (Advanced Computer Networks)
- ECE 413 (Sensors)
- ROB 456 (Intelligent Robots)
- ECE 550 (Linear Systems; ME graduate control courses)
- CS 325 (Algorithms Analysis)
- CS 331 (Introduction to Artificial Intelligence)
- CS 434 (Machine Learning and Data Mining)
- ME 311 (Intro to Thermo, Fluids, and Heat Transfer)
- ME 317 (Intermediate Dynamics)
Faculty
Houssam Abbas
Assistant ProfessorElectrical Engineering and Computer Science Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Cybersecurity | Communications and Signal Processing | Networking and Computer Systems | Theoretical Computer Science
Julie A. Adams
ProfessorCollaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Software Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction
Ravi Balasubramanian
Associate Professorravi.balasubramanian@oregonstate.edu
Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | RoboticsJoseph Davidson
Associate Professorjoseph.davidson@oregonstate.edu
Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering RoboticsAlan Fern
ProfessorCollaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Data Science and Engineering | Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Xiaoli Fern
Associate ProfessorElectrical Engineering and Computer Science Data Science and Engineering | Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Naomi Fitter
Associate ProfessorKearney Faculty Scholar Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering Robotics
Cindy Grimm
ProfessorCollaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering Computer Graphics and Visualization | Robotics
Ross Hatton
Associate ProfessorCollaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering Robotics
Geoff Hollinger
ProfessorRon and Judy Adams Faculty Scholar
geoff.hollinger@oregonstate.edu
Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | RoboticsJonathan Hurst
Professorjonathan.hurst@oregonstate.edu
Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | RoboticsHeather Knight
Assistant Professorheather.knight@oregonstate.edu
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Software Engineering and Human-Computer InteractionRaviv Raich
ProfessorElectrical Engineering and Computer Science Data Science and Engineering | Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Communications and Signal Processing | Health Engineering
Sandhya Saisubramanian
Assistant ProfessorElectrical Engineering and Computer Science Data Science and Engineering | Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Burak Sencer
Associate Professor, Mechanical EngineeringTom and Carmen West Faculty Scholar Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering Advanced Manufacturing
Prasad Tadepalli
ProfessorCollaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Data Science and Engineering | Computer Science Education
Kagan Tumer
ProfessorCollaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Robotics
Cristina G. Wilson
Assistant Professor-Senior ResearcherCollaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute | Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering