The modern workplace would be unthinkable without them: In 2015 alone, more than 200,000 industrial robots were produced worldwide – a number unmatched before. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) projects an annual growth of 15% by 2018. Robotics is a contributing factor as to why the Chinese market has been gaining increasing significance on a global scale and why Germany remains the biggest European market. But the noiseless "all-rounders" are not only relevant to the industry. The service sector alone has an estimated market potential of 20 billion U.S. dollars. It is to be expected that a lot of technology is required to realize this potential.
While mechatronics as well as control and management systems issues have been an integral part of robotics since its very beginnings, further technological aspects have been gaining in importance:
- Electromobility
- Intelligent networking
- Machine learning
- Image interpretation
- Interaction with human beings
Graduates of the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology department are well-prepared to actively shape this promising field's future. The biggest synergy with robotics is provided by the specialization field of "Automation Technology and Robotics" (ATR) for our "Electrical Engineering and Information Technology" Bachelor's program. The following list provides an overview of current courses that deal with robotics:
- Technical Mechanics (Technische Mechanik)
- Control Engineering 2 (Regelungstechnik II)
- Control Technology 2 (Steuerungstechnik II)
- Propulsion systems in automation technology (Antriebe der Automatisierungstechnik)
- Topics concerning automation technology (Themen der Automationstechnik)
- Digital Image Processing (Bildverarbeitung)
During the course of your studies, you will surely have the opportunity to encounter one of our department's five "living" robots. Additionally, if you want to get involved into related extracurricular activities, the research group "M.A.M.U.T. - the robot system", newly founded in 2015, might offer interesting opportunities for you. Here, students have set themselves the goal to develop a mobile, modular robot system for the planting and watering of desert landscapes. But this is only one of many projects realized and presented during university competitions and contests. Another example would be the development and construction of a hexacopter.
To provide further opportunities to graduates of our Bachelor's programs with a special interest in robotics, we are currently working on an advanced specialization field for our Master's programs.