In the early days of the pandemic, in-person contact suddenly became risky, but human interactions for business, education, medical, and social reasons remained as important as ever. That fact explains why now, more than a year later, we all have more experience than most of us would like with platforms like Zoom.
It also helps explain the increased prominence of robots. In Boston, for example, an iPad-equipped robot served as a hospital patient greeter, allowing staff to check in and screen visitors from a safe distance. In many other places around the world, robots have taken a more prominent role, delivering food and other necessities to homebound people, and helping to staff stores and other businesses where social distancing was impossible.
Robotics and robots are also playing an increasingly prominent role in education, from robotics projects that teach kids how to code to humanoid robots that work with young children to teach a second language. Every day there are more innovative examples of how robots can help children learn from preschool through grad school, and companies like Sphero, which works with AISES on the SPRK-ing Interest in Computer Science program, facilitate learning through play.
Though actual robots akin to the type we associate with sci-fi films have become more prominent during the pandemic, the reality is that the field of robotics has been growing briskly for years — and is set to become an increasingly important source of jobs well into the future. Think beyond the humanoid-type robot that greets patients at a hospital to other areas of robotics like drones, and it’s easy to see why the field is gaining so much momentum.
In 2017 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) selected the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to be one of the few participants in its Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program. In essence, the FAA wanted the Choctaw Nation to help evaluate the use of drones and how they can benefit society. The Choctaw Nation has since proven how helpful drones can be in facilitating rapid response to emergencies, like tornados and agriculture-related accidents. Indigenous people across the world are using drones for a variety of purposes, including land management and the preservation of history and tradition.
From drones used (or poised to be used) for delivering packages and managing tribal land to self-driving cars and robots able to assist surgical procedures requiring extreme precision, robotics is helping to create an entirely new future — one that requires an entirely new and specially trained workforce.
While many understandably worry about the impact of increased automation on (joint program) jobs, the World Economic Forum forecast that emerging professions resulting from automation could create over 6 million jobs between 2020 and 2022. Here are just some of the most promising jobs to emerge as robotics becomes more central to how our society functions.
Design engineers
We may not care to admit it, but the movies have heavily influenced what we imagine robots look like. It’s hard not to think immediately of C-3PO and R2-D2 from Star Wars, while more recent conjurings have included Optimus Prime from the Transformers movies. In the real world of robotics, a design engineer is the professional responsible for what these robots look like. Far from just aesthetics, design engineers have to work with the end purpose in mind: what is the robot actually supposed to do? Robotic arms on an assembly line may not be as charming as intergalactic droids, but their form very much follows their function. To come up with the right proportions, design engineers have to be skilled in developing blueprints and schematics, and they have to know how to work well with the mechanical and other engineers who will bring the robot to life.
Data scientists
Big Data is at the center of conversations about how businesses, governments, and organizations will flourish in the 21st century. It makes sense: as more and more equipment gets outfitted with sensors and the internet of things (IoT) moves from abstract concept to reality, the amount of data continues to skyrocket. Collecting all that data may end up being the easy part — making sense of it all and extrapolating patterns and using information to make better decisions is the bigger challenge. Which is why data scientists are in such high demand — the job site Glassdoor has had data scientist at the top of its list of best jobs for years — and why their role in robotics is so crucial. After all, machines and robots of all types run on data. Data scientists have the task of analyzing and leveraging data to make robots run more efficiently and effectively and to adjust their operations when they don’t work as planned. The work of data scientists is so crucial that Harvard Business Review termed it “the sexiest job of the 21st century.”
Robotics operators
All robotics products have to be operated safely. As more and more robots, drones, and related devices are deployed in society, the demand for skilled operators will undoubtedly increase. This is a job that requires a combination of technical and interpersonal skills because it demands knowledge about how different machines function and the ability to interpret technical guidance from those who design and build robots.
Software engineers
In many cases, the work of design engineers is what determines the first impression a robot makes. That’s natural: we humans are superficial enough to want to judge even machines by their outward appearance. But how a robot is able to perform the tasks and duties it has been charged with is ultimately how it will be appraised. And for that, software engineers are largely responsible. These professionals develop the software that robots need to work automatically or under the control of an operator. Part of a software engineer’s job can include developing the interface that helps non-technical people operate and understand a robot. Demand for robotics software engineers is high, particularly among manufacturing companies that see increased use of robots as key to more efficient production. That demand helps explain why the national average salary for robotics software engineers is almost $110,000, according to ZipRecruiter.
Hardware engineers
One of the most common jobs for a robot is working on an assembly line. In a factory making cars or trucks, for instance, robots will weld the components of an engine together. To do that job well requires that robots have specific physical features — in this example, that means a well-functioning mechanical arm, while in other robots it may mean having a wide range of sensors to be able to observe and respond to the environment they’re in. Hardware engineers have the job of making sure the computer hardware robots rely on is designed well and works properly in the real world. This means that robotics hardware engineers are involved in each step of the development of the robot, from the initial prototyping and testing to any refinements needed once the robots are deployed. According to the website Payscale, hardware engineers in the U.S. have an average base salary of almost $90,000 per year.
User experience (UX) designers
One of the more popular robots to emerge over the past few years is the robot vacuum cleaner — those disc-like devices that scurry across the floors of homes and businesses to keep them clean. To understand the work of a robotic user experience designer, imagine what happens when their owners have trouble getting these little robots to work properly. It’s up to the user experience designer to ensure that machines and robots designed by highly skilled engineers are intuitive and easy to operate, especially if the operator has little technical aptitude. It’s not just a matter of being able to anticipate the needs and behaviors of those who will use the robot; user experience designers also have to be able to understand the underlying technology and the problems that the robots are supposed to solve. To do this job properly means having vast reservoirs of patience to continuously test different fixes proposed by technical teams to make sure they serve those who will ultimately operate the robot.
Sales engineers
Even when robots are designed to be user friendly and to work efficiently, the reality is that most of these machines are remarkable feats of engineering and software development. Very often, the people who decide whether or not to purchase a robot to make their organization more efficient and productive will have a deep level of technical knowledge themselves. Which is to say that a nice smile and bright personality are not enough to be a successful robotics salesperson. In fact, the “engineer” in sales engineer is arguably the most important word in the job title. That’s because robotics sales engineers need to have the deep technical knowledge to explain how their machines work, typically with an engineering degree, and to illustrate the value they can deliver to another company. At the same time, sales engineers need to be able to adjust when describing the value of robots to non-technical audiences without relying on confusing jargon.
Machine learning engineers
One of the characteristics of the robots being developed today is that many have a very human quality: the ability to learn. Take one example from the world of electric utilities. Drones outfitted with cameras are seen as a far more efficient way to inspect hard-to-reach transmission lines than sending crews long distances to climb poles and towers. By contrast, the drones can quickly fly along transmission corridors and take pictures of grid equipment; those pictures are then analyzed automatically to look for defects or broken equipment. The ability to analyze those images — and to get better and better at inspecting them — is thanks to machine learning engineers who are adept at using data science and software to help robots learn.
Algorithm engineers
Often working closely with machine learning engineers, algorithm engineers have the task of developing the algorithms robots need to operate. To be successful, algorithm engineers have to be able to grasp what a robot is designed to do and then develop algorithms that will achieve those outcomes. The importance of both of these roles in robotics is reflected in their high average salaries. According to the website Payscale, the average machine learning engineer makes almost $113,000 per year, while the average salary of an algorithm engineer is over $121,000.
