The title explains the question. If EE and CS are both good fields to go into robotics, and double majoring is a bad idea by the majority, then why doesn’t anyone recommend computer engineering?
Of course CpE (CE is Civil Engineering, they got started first, so have dips on it!) is fine for Robotics. EE and CS are more popular majors so tend to overshadow CpE when talking robotics (3rd and 4th most popular BSE degrees, while CpE is 9th).
Other choices, like Mechanical, also work well with Robotics.
There’s a lot in a robot to be the master of. They move (mechanical), usually with electricity (EE) and have a brain of varying complexity that need to be programmed (CS). It’s hard to be an expert in every aspect of this. It’s also why “What’s the best major for robotics?” is a problematic question. The “best” depends on what angle interests you the most.
@eyemgh what are your thoughts on WPI’s Robotics degree?
My son is a 4th year ME with a Mechatronics concentration at Cal Poly. He waited though until the very last minute to choose it over WPI. He liked that program a lot. At the time he wan’t specifically interested in robotics, but ME in general, so he didn’t vet any particular aspects that specific. He really liked the school, the short quarters and the project based curriculum. In the end, he felt staying on the west coast was better for him. One big advantage WPI has is it’s easy to change your major if you find something you like better than robotics. It’s a very undergraduate focused institution, which we all felt was very important. I think you could do far worse.
Computer engineering is not as common a major as electrical engineering or computer science. Furthermore, computer engineering is, for the most part, simply a flavor of electrical engineering. Finally, it’s generally best to major in a traditional discipline–ME, EE, ChemE, CivE, or CS–as an undergrad.
I am not in robotics myself, but I suspect the reasons are twofold:
First, computer engineering is a specialty that steers coursework away from the fields most desired by robotics and towards fields that are most desired in robotics. While robotics obviously uses computers, innovation in computing systems is not usually at the core of robotics innovation. EE and CS and ME are more general fields that usually have a smaller amount of required core coursework and more ability to focus on the areas that robotics requires.
Second, as computer engineering is always (almost always?) offered at schools that also offer electrical engineering, it generally makes more sense to go the latter route.
For example, at UIUC, a computer engineering major takes 128 credits, which includes a great deal of advanced computing courses and only 24 credits have significant flexibility to explore something like robotics, not even mentioning that the specialized nature of CpE may mean that some of those credits may need to go to prerequisites required in EE but not in CpE. Meanwhile an electrical engineering major takes 128 credits, which includes a lot of basic EE and at least 32 credits that are even more flexible and lots of other required courses that more directly apply to robotics, as well as the assurance that almost any electrical or computing robotics course will have prerequisites that are already part of the EE curriculum.
So… why take CpE if you want to go into robotics and an EE degree is available? It’s like saying you want to work on factory production lines, but you want to study aerospace engineering - more applicable paths are available!