I want to build robots... where do I begin...

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>So I'm in a rather difficult situation. I'm 30 years old, and at the age of 28, I decided I wanted to return to school and change my life's focus. </p>

<p>Since I was 15, I've worked as a graphic designer in one aspect or another. I've become quite good at it, but it's a career that I fell into, not what I wanted to do. I've always loved building robots and other things, and thought it was about time that I started educating myself in this field. </p>

<p>So, in fall 2010, I entered a local (Chicago) community college and started working towards transfer credits. Unfortunately, I work full time as well, so my classes have been limited, in that they're mostly part-time semesters. So far, the courses I've taken are:</p>

<p>Japanese 101, The World of the Cinema (Elective), Intermediate Algebra w/ Geometry (Years since HS math, this was a refresher course), College Algebra, Plane Trigonometry, Calculus & Analytic Geometry I, with A's in each.</p>

<p>And while straight A's are impressive, last semester I only had one class, the Calculus, so it was easy to focus on one class. And I never received a degree when I was younger, I had to leave school due to financial problems, and ended up being auto-didactic (self-taught). </p>

<p>Anyways, back to the point of my thread. There are many areas of engineering that I could focus on, but I'm not sure what to pick. I want to build robots, or machinery that can be used to augment the human body (i.e., prosthetics or vision implants, etc.). </p>

<p>Yes, I have a mind towards science fiction, but right now it's only fiction because I haven't created it yet, correct? </p>

<p>So, any help would be appreciated. What field should I pick in my major, or which fields? Many thanks!!!</p>

2

<p>You don’t necessarily need an engineering degree to learn how to build stuff unless you want to make it your career. If you want for hobby,you can always pick up books on robotics and or learn online through tutorials. </p>

<p>As for the field of engineering, I suggest you choose the one that interests you the most, because you will most likely do better in that field. Mechanical, Electrical,Computer, and Software are all related with robotics.</p>

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<p>Many thanks!</p>

<p>I definitely want to make robotics my career, graphic design in a corporate environment is the most soul-draining career in the world, and I would like to spend the next 30 years of my life doing something I love for a living. Or, at least be in a field that interests me.</p>

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<p>Robotics can be found in just about any engineering discipline but I think that Mechanical Engineering might be your best bet. Take a look at the kinds of research that are being done in the universities that you are considering for your B.S. That might help you decide. for example, in the Chicago area, there is research on autonomous robots being done in the [IIT</a> Armour | Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering | Home](<a href=“http://www.iit.edu/engineering/mmae/]IIT”>http://www.iit.edu/engineering/mmae/) Department.</p>

<p>[RoboWiki</a> - The Robotics Lab at IIT - HomePage](<a href=“http://robots.iit.edu/]RoboWiki”>http://robots.iit.edu/)</p>

<p>Other local universities will have the same kinds of web pages.</p>

5

<p>Isn’t mechatronics basically robotics?
Not many colleges offer degrees for it…but it is a course that you can take.</p>

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<p>Have you considered the ethics of the situation?
You could one day create something that will take over the world.
Personally, I’d rather not risk being the person responsible for the destruction of mankind.
I’d rather contribute to society than take a job that leads to it’s destruction.</p>

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<p>

Or make RoboCop, and ultimately save the world… seriously.</p>

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<p>But on a serious note,
I definitely understand about going back to school at 30, It is definitely different, but in a good way. You will, and probably already do, see that you dont seem to have the same distractions as your classmates and will ultimately have better work ethic/ time management. Like others have said, check out the research, but more importantly check out the curriculum because you will want to make sure which classes, in which major, sound more ‘edible’.</p>

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<p>There’s a new-ish engineering degree called “Biomedical Engineering.” Definitely something to look into if you are interested in the medical applications of engineering. Prosthetics and vision implants fall right into this field. It’s not offered as widely as other engineering degrees though.</p>

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<p>The guy sitting across from me got his EE degree at 34 and got 17 job offers out of college. You may find your prior work experience to be an asset.</p>

<p>listen to xraymancs - he seems to be a really good resource on this forum. Most robotics people study mechanical engineering - but you may want to get an arduino board or a lego robot and start playing with it now. The advisers at the CC can help you map out the coursework. Best of luck.</p>

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<p>So first of all, many thanks to all of the replies, they’re greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>And just to get it out of the way, robots will not take over the world. Maybe people will use robots to do harm, but every person I know who builds something that has even the slightest potential to cause harm also puts in several kill switches. I have a hexapod robot that i’m building with an arduino board, and even though its harmless, it has two buttons to instantly kill the software and power.</p>

<p>Anyways, I’d love to be able to make things that enhance humanity. While I love seeing robots in my apartment walking around, I know that in the end, they’re still going to rely on me. What I think would be more efficient and effective is finding a way to merge man and machine. For example, enhancements to vision that would allow a surgeon to automatically zoom and see things in multiple spectra, or a firefighter who can lift a ton with his own hands. Humans are brilliant things, so rather than replacing them, lets just augment them. As for other things, I hope that I can create things that will eventually go open source, so that everyone has equal access to them, so surgeons and firemen the world over have the same access to life-saving technologies.</p>

<p>Back to the topic at hand. I actually found the topic of Mechatronics the other day, never having heard of that before (I’m familiar with mecha, but not this course). I’m going to look into that. Also, is it still possible for me to get financial aid, or is that something open only to younger students?</p>

<p>Anyways, you guys and gals rock, many thanks for all the help and advice!</p>