Quo vadis?

Chairing a few sessions as I did at RoboBusiness Europe one gets to rub shoulders and to network with the doers, thinkers, makers and shakers in robotics. I enjoy their company very much as well as the Vulcan mind-melds we do together in our conversations.

However, neither I nor they are the most important people in the room, and we all instinctively know it.

The faces and minds that really matter in those crowded spaces are the young: the incipient Nicola Teslas and Madame Curies who will one day vault robotics somewhere special, well beyond our present-day imagining.

They are, from my experience, bright, inspired, dedicated and energetic?yet oftentimes clueless as to where to turn or what to do next in their pursuits of careers in robotics.

It?s not a new condition by any means. Even a veteran of robotics like Joe Jones, co-founder of Harvest Automation and co-inventor of the Roomba, told me that his time-consuming, serendipitous journey into robotics, as a freshly-minted physicist from MIT, could well have benefited from a signpost or two of direction.

Since robotics is a relatively new technology with lots of pathways leading in myriad directions, things can get a bit confusing very quickly even for the best of us. A little help with the details is always appreciated.

So it was for me, on a narrow street alongside the Magazzini del Cotone, Genoa, the site of RoboBusiness Europe, that a twentysomething from the UK buttonholed me for advice. That?s when the thought for this article came about: why not reach out to the tens of thousands of our readers and let some of them put up a few signposts for this young British scholar to follow on his odyssey of discovery?

So, as Rod Serling used to say in his famous TV monologue: ?Here submitted for your perusal? is Stephen Greenaway, graduate student in robotics and automation at the University of Sussex, in his own words and unedited.

Any wisdom to share, send it Stephen?s way: [email protected]

Dear Tom,

It was a pleasure to meet you at RoboBusiness Europe last week and I must thank you for your kindness in offering your help and advice. I am just starting my career in robotics and it would be invaluable to me!

I think I explained that I’m currently studying for a four-year masters in Robotics and Automation

at the University of Sussex and have received a £5,000 award from the Royal Academy of Engineering to help further my career.

I would love to ask your advice on all the possible permutations of how I might put this funding to use, however I appreciate the value of your time so I shall try to contain myself and be brief.

A quick overview of my aspirations: In twenty to thirty years? time I believe personal robots will be as ubiquitous as personal computers are today and this is an area I am absolutely passionate about pursuing.

However I plan on spending the next twenty years of my life working with industrial robots as I believe many of the necessary innovations for personal robots will be developed there first. Furthermore (I’m almost embarrassed to admit): I find the potential for efficiency gains and productivity improvements mind-bogglingly exciting!

I started a successful business in another field before commencing my degree and ultimately I am at University because of my desire to start a business in Robotics (at an appropriate point in time within the next 5 years).

While I have committed myself to achieving the highest grades, directly acquiring the skills from University to build robots is not my intention. Rather, the ability to communicate effectively with roboticists, board members and customers alike is of far more importance to me.

I have one year left of my degree which I’m sure will furnish me with the necessary technical skills, however I plan on spending both this Summer and next acquiring the knowledge and skills that are truly important for my career.

For example, I would like to visit as many factories as possible – both those with existing automation and without – to get a grasp of what the customer truly needs and wants.

Fully understanding why as many as 90% of all manufacturers do not use a single robot yet I’m sure is beyond my capabilities. However, if I am to play my part in inverting that statistic I am certain such direct contact with the customer is necessary.

About the author
Stephen Greenaway: I would like to use this normally auto/biographical segment to speak directly to each reader: As I get older I increasingly realise how wonderfully kind and generous people can be if you let them.

As someone soon to be facing a turning point in their life moving from university to beyond it would mean the world to me if you could get it touch. I am inexperienced and need brutal criticism as much as advice and opportunity so please don?t hold back!

I can be reached at [email protected].

To the RBR team: Thank you for exposing my poorly written email to those I respect most in the world. I cannot imagine anything more terrifying yet I will be forever grateful.

Stephen