Robotics

Unique Features

• Interdisciplinary program giving students a skill set that can evolve over time to suit changing research and career interests in this rapidly evolving industry
• Flexibility to further specialize with electives in areas such as mechatronic systems, robot mechanics, control systems, robotic manipulation, artificial intelligence, sensing and navigation, mobile and field robots, medical robotics, and machine learning
• Direct classroom interaction with quality robotics systems supported by state-of-the art equipment and advanced laboratories
• Comprehensive research with accomplished faculty, facilities, and multidisciplinary research centers, including the Institute for Experiential Robotics
• Top-ranked co-op program enabling students to gain up to eight months of professional experience as part of the academic curriculum
• Location is a robotics hub with Northeastern playing a large role educating tomorrow's leaders 
• Opportunity to pursue industry careers or progress into a doctoral degree program in robotics or related multidisciplinary areas
• Choose the MS thesis option or the coursework only option

Program Objectives

• Looking at this fundamentally interdisciplinary field from three connected angles—mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and computer science—students gain a comprehensive understanding of the algorithms, sensors, control systems, and mechanisms used in robotics to help them stand out in the field and make a transformative impact on society. 
• Upon program completion, students will be equipped with an interdisciplinary skill set that can evolve over time to suit their changing research and career interests in this rapidly evolving industry.
• Students will be prepared for engineering jobs in the growing field of robotics, or will progress into a doctoral degree in robotics or related multidisciplinary areas across computer science or mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering.

Career Outlook

• According to Precedence Research, the global robotics technology market size was estimated at $72.17 billion in 2022 and is expected to surpass around $283.19 billion by 2032 with a registered compound annual growth rate of 14.7% during the forecast period 2023 to 2032.
• The job market for electrical and computer engineers, mechanical engineers, and computer scientists, which includes robotics, is forecasted to grow at 5%, 10%, and 23%, respectively, from 2022 to 2032, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• The Boston area is a hub for robotics research and industry—including Amazon Robotics, Teradyne, and Bluefin Robotics—and Northeastern is proud to play a large role in educating tomorrow’s leaders in this emerging area.

Learning Outcomes

Mechanical Engineering Concentration

• An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering/scientific/quantitative problems.
• An ability to explain and apply engineering design principles, as appropriate to the program’s educational objectives.
• An ability to produce solutions that meet specified end-user needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
• An ability to recognize the tools and principles needed for understanding robotic and control systems by merging electrical and mechanical engineering and computer science.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Concentration

• An ability to recognize the tools and principles needed for understanding robotic and control systems with a multidisciplinary approach that combines electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science.
• An ability to understand system-level design of complex software and hardware that is used to build robotic systems that include a variety of asynchronous sensors and actuators.
• An ability to understand the theoretical principles underlying localization, mapping, and planning to build, design, and deploy a variety of robotic systems ranging from fully autonomous to remotely operated systems.

Computer Science Concentration 

• Use basic engineering concepts flexibly in a variety of contexts.
• Understand the planning, perception, and learning algorithms common in robotics and be able to apply these algorithms in the context of mobility and manipulation systems.
• Understand the kinematics and dynamics of robotic systems and be able to design controllers for these systems.
• Understand the sensor, actuator, embedded, mapping, localization, and navigation systems commonly used in robotics and be able to build/integrate end-to-end systems.