The ever-evolving technological landscape has given a plethora of opportunities to the students, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and the robotics sector. While the adoption of AI and ML has gained prominence in the last few years, India is still at a nascent stage in the robotics sector.
Rise of robots
Industries are increasingly turning to robots to improve cost, efficiency and performance. “Robotics in India is in the phase of augmented growth. According to the World Robotics Report 2018 by International Federation of Robotics (IFR), India has set a new record with the sale of 3,412 new industrial robot units in 2017—an increase of 30% compared to that in 2016,” says Padmakali Banerjee, pro vice-chancellor, Amity University Gurgaon.
While the automotive industry was the first to pick robots, its requirement has increased in aerospace, agriculture, retail, healthcare and defence sectors.“India’s defence sector is rapidly moving towards robots. Currently, there are robotic bomb disposal squads, and there is a mandate in place stating that one-third of the armed forces should be comprised of robots in the next decade. Not only this, India’s surgical robotics market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 20% between 2017 and 2025, as compared to the global rate of 12%,” says Anshul Mahajan, assistant professor and cod robotics & control, School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Lovely Professional University.
Job Opportunities
Industry 4.0 will require more numbers of engineer, operators and technicians in robotics. “The sector has seen a growth of 191% from 2015 to 2018, as per a report by Indeed. Students pursuing robotics courses have opportunities in different domains including research and development (R&D) of robots; maintenance, monitoring and quality control for handling robots in various sectors as well as working as robot operators and technicians,” says Mahajan.
What do the courses offer
Presently, robotics courses are offered in only 15 universities in India. Most institutes are offering Masters courses with a specialisation in Robotics. An engineering minor that comprises of basics of Robotics and Automation is also offered by universities . At the PG level, several universities offer a specialisation in Robotics and Automation in MTech ECE (Electronics and Communication Engineering).
“A minor degree in Robotics is very popular among the students of all technical streams like Applied Sciences and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. At the postgraduate level, the program offered to students seeking interest in Robotics is M-Tech in Artificial Intelligence & Robotics,” says Banerjee.
