Designing intelligent products

Updated on: Monday, September 05, 2011

Mechatronics and robotics involve a multi-technological approach in the integration of Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics and Information Sciences essential to the design of intelligent products.

If you have mathematical ability and technical skills and aptitude, you can choose engineering or technology subjects, such as mechatronics or mechanical, electrical or electronics engineering, for study at the degree level. To pursue that dream, opt for science stream — mathematics, physics and chemistry and computer science, biotechnology or biology — of the Plus Two course.

Only those who pass Plus Two with good marks and score high ranks in the engineering entrance examination can get admission to merit seats in reputable engineering colleges.

Class XII students can appear for the entrance examinations at the State level or those such as the All India Engineering Entrance Examination and the Joint Entrance Examination of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

Mechatronics combines mechanical, electrical engineering and computer science.

The ideas of mechanical and electronics engineering are incorporated into a whole. The subject covers those areas of engineering concerned with the increasing integration of mechanical, electronics, and software engineering into a production process.

BE or B.Tech. or ME or M.Tech. courses in the subject are rare in India. One option is to do mechanical engineering at the undergraduate level and then specialise in mechatronics at the Master's level.

The Manipal Institute of Technology, under Manipal University, Karnataka, offers a four-year BE mechatronics course.

Those who have passed Plus Two with physics, mathematics, and English with chemistry, biotechnology, computer science, biology or statistics as optional subjects with at least 50 per cent marks in physics, mathematics and any one of the optional subjects are eligible for admission.

Some other institutions and universities offering BE or B.Tech. course in mechatronics are:

SASTRA University, Thanjavur - 613 402, Tamil Nadu (www.sastra.edu)

SRM University, Kattankulathur - 603 203, Kacheerpuram district (www.srmuniv.ac.in)

Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum - 590 014 (www.vtu.ac.in)

Graduates in mechatronics can do M.Tech. in mechatornics or postgraduate diploma courses in industrial automation system design.

Graduates and postgraduates in mechatronics can find jobs mostly in the electronics industry.

The Army, the Navy, and the Air force and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) offer many job opportunities. Log on to www.careerairforce.nic.in or www.upsc.gov.in for details of job opportunities in the Air Force.

For details of Navy and Army jobs, log on to www.nausena-bharti.nic.in and www.joinindianarmy.nic.in, respectively.

The DRDO, Delhi, offers challenging job opportunities for those with a first- class engineering degree (www.drdo.com).

Those with an M.Tech. and Ph.D. degree can join the faculty of engineering colleges and academic institutions.

Robotics

Robotics is the scientific study of the design and making of robots. It is mostly a specialised subject at the ME or M.Tech. level. BE or B.Tech. courses in robotics are rare. Therefore, those who want to specialise in robotics can choose electrical, electronics or mechanical engineering at the degree level. A student who wants to specialise in designing and control in robotics may do a degree course in mechanical engineering.

A rare opportunity to do a BE or B.Tech course in automation and robotics awaits those who score top ranks in the All India Engineering Entrance Examination. Graduates in electrical and electronic engineering, electronics and communication engineering, computer science and engineering, and mechanical engineering may choose robotics as a higher study option at the ME or M.Tech. level.

Robotics has various areas of specialisation. The subject deals with designing robots, maintaining them, developing new applications, and research. A specialisation in robotics engineering will open up job opportunities in manufacturing, research, mining, maintenance of nuclear power plants, and a variety of other areas.

Some institutes and universities offer postgraduate programmes in robotics engineering through their departments of mechanical and electrical engineering, computer science and engineering, and so on.

The IITs in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, and Kharagpur and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, offer such courses. The Centre for Robotics and Mechatronics at IIT, Kanpur, offers a master's degree programme.

The following is an indicative list of universities or institutes that offer master's programme in robotics.

University of Hyderabad: M.Tech. in artificial intelligence and robotics.

Jadavpur University, Kolkata - 700 032: ME robotics.

University College of Engineering, Osmania University, Hyderabad: ME, M.Tech. automation and robotics.

MS University, Baroda: Master's programme with specialisation in automatic control and robotics.

Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi: M.Tech. production engineering and industrial management engineering with robotics and automation as electives.

Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (Thapar University), Patiala: ME robotics, CAD, and CAM.

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani: ME computer science with robotics as a subject.

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, Andhra Pradesh: M.Tech. computer science with specialisation in artificial intelligence.

PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore: M.Tech. mechanical engineering with robotics as an elective subject.

SRM University, Kattankulathur, Kancheepuram: M.Tech. robotics.

A list of universities and institutes offering mechatronics and robotics courses can be collected from Handbook on Engineering, published by the Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi, which is available for reference at the University Employment Information and Guidance Bureaux.

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