From mechanics to electronics to programming, the robotics engineer is above all versatile. With Cédric Vasseur*, expert and trainer in AI and robotics, we are trying to sketch his robot portrait.
Because it calls upon several areas of expertise, robotics is difficult to summarize in just a few skills. For Cédric Vasseur, who has been working on various projects related to robotics and artificial intelligence for more than twenty years, a first approach would be to distinguish “hardware” from “software”. “On one side we have the industrial professions, which will work on the machining of parts, and on the other the professions in the software environment and artificial intelligence.”
How, in this case, can we identify the role of the robotics engineer, whose skills seem to cover these two aspects of robotics?
What are the missions of the robotics engineer?
In reality, several profiles are found under the label “robotics engineer”. We could simply summarize its role by attributing to it the design, programming and maintenance of robots and robotic systems... but this is a very broad definition. Few “roboticists” can boast of being involved at every stage of a project. According to Cédric Vasseur, this general aspect of the profession can be explained at least in France by the diversity of robotics needs : “In the field of robotics, everything depends on the objectives. Some engineers will have to work with robots, while others intervene upstream, on their design. »
From the design of an industrial robot – a sophisticated process that requires years of involvement – to reception or maintenance robots, without forgetting robotic equipment for the health field, we identify at least one common point: “A robotics project does not involve a single person but, in general, a fairly large team. »
The main mission of a robotics engineer will therefore depend on his specialization, whether it intervenes on the design of the robot, its electronic system or its automation. During design, it relies on the specifications to define the tasks to be carried out. But also the technological solutions to use depending on the specificities of the project. As Cédric Vasseur explains, “a specification for an industrial project includes the analysis of needs and feasibility as well as maintenance and maintainability, including security. » But all projects are different. If an engineer participates in the development of the robotic system and the validation tests, he may also have a role to play up to the adjustment operations.
In which sectors?
Given its countless possibilities, robotics continues to develop in very diverse fields of application. For Cédric Vasseur, “the question is not so much to know which areas are concerned by robotics… as to find some which are not”. In France, where projects are gradually gaining in audacity, the profile of the robotics engineer is in fact highly sought after. Whether in the field of construction or aeronautics, automobiles and autonomous cars, cobotics in an industrial environment... or to develop robot surgeons which are investing in the health sector.
Finally, In practice, roboticists can have very different profiles. They can work both in the laboratory and in a workshop. “Research laboratories do not have at all the same ambitions as a manufacturer; there is no obligation to obtain results in the research. Whereas the industrialist aims to produce something concrete. That being said, most manufacturers have a research laboratory…”
What skills?
As we will have understood, in robotics professions, versatility is key. “The robotics engineer necessarily specializes in one or more fields”, specifies Cédric Vasseur, while admitting that a certain number of technical skills remain essential… starting with IT.
“The level of proficiency required in programming, as well as the programming languages to be mastered, depends on the project. But the language that we cannot ignore in robotics and AI today is Python. » The trainer also cites C and C++, so-called “low-level” languages linked to performance, or even assembly language to work on the “hardware” part: “a complex language that is difficult to train, and its use will therefore only be required for very specific situations. » The fact remains that the robotics engineer must have a solid background in programming.
But not only ! Among the main skills of the engineer, Cédric Vasseur also mentions mathematics, mechanics and electronics, as well as project management and UML language in software engineering methodology. And then, perhaps more surprisingly, the design and UX. In fact, they “can also be important for participating in the manufacturing of a robot”.
What qualities?
Motivation required, therefore, but according to Cédric Vasseur, “people who go into robotics are generally passionate”. And the sector, in full evolution, retains all its attraction despite the complexity of certain projects, which require as much rigor as creativity.. " You need to know how to be patient, and be able to see in the short, medium and long term to work in robotics. Often, having great organizational skills is as important as thinking outside the box – especially in research. » And to add that roboticists can come from very different backgrounds : graduates of engineering schools, experienced developers, or even designers in retraining... A diversity which can only be a wealth in robotics!
