Bachelor of Engineering in Robotic Engineering

General Information

Robotics is an exciting area of computer-controlled technology. Robotic applications are found in space exploration, product manufacturing, entertainment parks and even medicine.Machines that could once only be dreamed of are now becoming a reality.Medical procedures can be performed using robotics.Cars and other products can be produced using robots.Micromachines are capable of repairs in complex industrial environments.Defence robots do dangerous work and exploration. In fact, the possibilities that exist today for robotics, automation and industrial networking are endless. This honours degree programme focuses on the design of modern Robotic systems.The course considers all the key underlying technologies of automation; electronics, computing, control, instrumentation, artificial intelligence and more. You will be trained in the core disciplines necessary for a career in robotics instrumentation, automation and control engineering. Robotics is a hybrid area - you get experience in designing, building, programming and testing.

Examples of the use of research and development in robotics include:

• The design and operation of distributed sensors and process controllers in food processing, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries
• The design, construction and commission of robots that are deployed in the depths of the oceans, in space and perhaps most exciting of all in people.
• With surgical robots, expert surgeons can now perform delicate surgical procedures without being present in the theatre.

Robotics and automation in these hi-tech sectors result in vehicles that are safer, craft that can operate in hazardous environments, prostheses that work better, and ultimately provide the electronic devices that generally improve the quality of life for all of us. Engineering graduates with appropriate robotics & control engineering education are well poised for careers in these diverse areas. Such highly skilled engineers are in high demand both nationally and internationally.

Students of Robotic Engineering share much the same syllabus as those studying Electronic & Computer Engineering at UL for the first two years. Students have the option to transfer between these three courses during this time.

The Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in the Robotics Engineering program will be accredited by Engineers Ireland (EI) as an internationally recognized qualification. Graduates may pursue higher degrees by research (M Eng, PhD, etc), or through taught postgraduate programmes (M Eng, MBA, etc).

For further details logon to www.ece.ul.ie

Course Structure

Year 1 compromises Part 1, and covers foundation material in Electrical Science, Software, Electronics and Physics for Engineers.

Year 2, 3 and 4 comprise Part 2, and cover material in the following topic areas:

• Software – programming languages.
• Digital & Analogue Electronics – active circuit design, digital design.
• Signal Processing – circuit analysis, DSP, code theory.
• Engineering Maths – transforms, linear algebra, statistics.
• Sensors andActuators – instrumentation,motors, pneumatics.
• Control – linear control, non-linear control, system identification & modelling.
• Robotics &Automation – industrial automation, robot arms, mobile robotics, artificial intelligence, machine vision.

In the final year (year 4) students take specialist elective modules to gain more advanced knowledge in selected subject areas.They undertake a major individual project involving a design and implementation task, putting into practice the skills and techniques acquired throughout the course.

Industrial work experience is provided through a positive and motivating thirty-week period of cooperative education and is an integral part of the programme. It provides students with experience of the practice and application of Robotic Engineering in a suitable working environment.During this period, at the end of year 2, students achieve gainful employment and also develop their workplace skills, a feature of the course that is always an advantage with future employers.

For further details, go to ECE - Robotic Engineering

Entry Requirements

Applicants are required to hold at the time of enrolment the established Leaving Certificate (or an approved equivalent) with at least Grade C3 in two Higher Level subjects and Grade D3 in four Ordinary or Higher Level subjects (including Mathematics; Irish or another language; and English).

In addition, applicants are required to hold at least the following in the Leaving Certificate, or an approved equivalent: Grade C3 in Higher level Mathematics and a grade D3 in a Higher or Ordinary Level paper in any one of the following: Physics, Chemistry, Physics with Chemistry, Engineering,Technical Drawing/Design & Communication Graphics,Technology, Biology,Agricultural Science.

Students can also enter this programme of study via the Engineering Choice degree LM116. A Special Mathematics Examination will be offered at UL following the Leaving Certificate results for those students who did not achieve the Mathematics requirement.

Career Prospects

Suitably qualified Robotics Engineers will be well poised for careers in the design of modern control systems across a wide sector of high tech industries. Electronics, instrumentation and system dynamics are major course themes. Graduates will have a detailed knowledge relating to the core technologies of sensors and embedded controls for robotic subsystems.The inter-disciplinary nature of this programme ensures that graduates are in demand with a wide range of prospective employers.

B.E. Robotic Engineering graduates will be able to take up employment across a wide range of industry sectors: Electronics, Pharmaceutical, Food Processing, Auto-motive, Chemical Process, Biomedical Devices, Manufacturing, Marine sector,Avionics, Space, specialist automation companies, etc.Other areas include the manufacturing of automation-based consumer goods, the aircraft control and navigation industry, the automated vehicles and automotive industry, and other advanced manufacturing industries.

Many graduates will go on to pursue careers in research in high-technology companies and in research institutes both nationally and internationally.