I'm new, I'm a Mechanical Engineering Major, with Minor in Robotics, Diploma in Mechatronics. I know, electronics, kinematics, design and dynamics of a Robotic Arm, But I want to learn what the industry is using, that I researched was ROS 2, Gazebo, RViz (correct me if I'm wrong). I also took a course on Udemy for ROS2; but I believe that the course content is little slow and sluggish. I have very less time (about a year) before I stand infront of an interviewer; and have to speed up. Can anyone experienced in the field guide me a little bit. Thankyou so much for your time.

This is going to be my biggest project. I did some research but am stuck and I just don't know how to proceed.

Am also looking for someone who is willing to work on this project. I mean you so the same thing in your home and I do the same. We will keep sharing insights and also if successful we can push the project to double pendulum balancing.

Also has anyone else made/worked on the similar projects?

Also can you guys tell me what tools are required to make this project?

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I'm a senior in mechanical engineering at McGill with a strong interest in robotics/mechatronics/IoT, especially medtech. I've spent most of this summer weighing one big decision: pursue a 2-year thesis master's, or go straight into industry after my bachelor's. Here's my thinking on both sides.

Why a master's appeals to me

Mechatronics is inherently multidisciplinary, so I suspect a master's isn't just useful but actually required for some roles in this space. I'm also genuinely drawn to a thesis track over a course-based one: I want to work (when in industry) in new product development, not maintaining legacy products, and I'm passionate about working on something novel. A thesis gives me a shot at doing that: a year or so of deep, high-level work on an original project, ideally with a professor who has industry ties (I've already identified a few who fit). If I go this route, I'd also want to aim for a top school rather than staying at McGill, but I honestly don't know how competitive that makes me. I'm not sure how McGill is viewed by admissions committees at top programs, so I don't even know if I'd have a real shot getting in.

Why industry appeals to me

The alternative is skipping the master's and working my way up directly. I'm confident I could grow quickly that way, and I'd supplement it with side projects and self-directed learning. That said, part of me still leans toward the master's. The multidisciplinary nature of the field and the chance to work on something novel at a high level are hard to walk away from. There's also the fact that most side projects end up being fairly "cheap," derivative GitHub-clone type builds, whereas a thesis is a genuinely serious, sustained piece of work. That gap in depth is part of what keeps pulling me back toward the master's. Still, I can't fully rule out the industry path.

Some context on where I'm coming from

I've prioritized my GPA (3.7/4.0) over extracurriculars, so I have some projects but no design-team experience, you know the kind that tends to land internships at places like Tesla. That's part of why the master's appeals to me: if I already sacrificed project time for grades, doing a thesis feels like a natural next step. And honestly, two years feels like a small trade-off in the long run, especially given my long-standing interest in research with real industry ties.

TL;DR: Senior in MechEng at McGill, want to work in new product development. Deciding between a thesis master's (research tied to industry) or going straight into industry with side projects on the side.

My main questions:

1. Is a master's actually valuable for someone aiming at NPD/startup-style work in this field?
2. Would it give me a real edge over other candidates?
3. Is my instinct right that the multidisciplinary nature of mechatronics makes a master's more worthwhile?
4. Or is skipping it, going straight into industry plus side projects, the smarter move?

Would love to hear your thoughts, especially from anyone who's made a similar call.

Im currently studying mechanical engineering at the university of Maryland, and realized that a lot of the typical mech E jobs don't seem very appealing to me. I was initially studying psychology on a premed track but switched over to engineering because I was interested in math and physics. I didn't really have much guidance when it came to picking which subfield in engineering I would major in, so I resulted in doing Mech E. I interned at Hutchinson last summer as a design engineer and it upset me so much that I barely used anytg wa taught in school. So after I started to reconsider if I had picked the right major. My friend who is getting his masters in computer science spoke to me about robotics and all the different research opportunities and I was really intrigued. Im well aware that saying I want to do research in robotics is very very vague, but what steps can I take to genuinely find a domain within robotics ill enjoy and how can I as a current Mech E start my endeavors into getting into that area of robotics? Only thing I have planned is to network with my professors to see if they're doing any research related to robotics and reading research papers. But then again since I don't know what area in robotics I want to focus on is that even a good idea?

Hello!

I have an idea for a sculpture that would involve some kind of automated mechanism. It's hard to describe it in words, but essentially I want to make a realistic heart out of paper mache and chicken wire, leaving the inside hollow. Inside of the "exoskeleton" I want to put some kind of pump mechanism filled with fake blood that can squirt the blood out in a heartbeat pattern.

I have pretty much no experience doing this kind of thing (im not even sure if this is considered robotics) so I wanted to see if anyone has suggestions on how I can do this in the simplest most beginner friendly way.

I have an upcoming technical interview for a Software/Embedded Infrastructure role at a vertically integrated robotics company.

The position focuses on the software layer between high-level AI/vision models and the low-level motor drivers and actuators, running on an NVIDIA Jetson edge platform.

The system involves Linux services communicating through zero-copy IPC, CPU affinity/core pinning, EtherCAT communication with motor controllers, and real-time sensor pipelines for vision and kinematics.

The first round is expected to focus on low-level C and systems programming.

Given this architecture, which areas would you consider the highest priority to study? Also, what are some representative interview questions you would expect for this kind of role?

Thanks!

Hey there! I'm sorry my friend said TECHNICALLY sensors are a robotics topics so I thought I'd start here lol, if i got the wrong subreddit to ask this question please let me know.

I'm an animation student and for a project we want to make it where when you lift off an object off of a touch censor, it triggers an animation on an ipad. I did some research that a resistant touch censor would be the best option?? But other than that, I'm not entirely sure how to make this possible. Where do I start? is there a specific code I need to learn? What technology would I need to get for this? please help I have only coded once in high school.

Thank you!

Hi Reddit. I am not in the field but I am very interested in the development of robotics. (Just curious) probably not going into the field but very interested and excited about future of robotics

1. What is going on right now? Overall.
   
2. What are some major problems in robotics and major direction?
   
3. Which specific labs in which universities or companies are doing well on their research direction?
   
4. What are some of the leading universities labs and companies globally?
   
5. What is academia compared to industry?
   
6. Where are the centers of robotics?

I would really appreciate any inside perspective.

Those may sound like some naive questions but I am not in the field so forgive me.