ENG-E, our ice-cream serving robot, was a huge attraction at the Engineers Ireland exhibit at the National Ploughing Championships 2023. Handing out tasty treats is one way to draw a crowd but that’s not really what made ENG-E standout.
Built by the ImaR Research Centre at Munster Technological University and sponsored by REEdl, ENG-E - as with all robots - is a huge feat of engineering.
From Mechanical to Electronic engineering, robots require input from people in all aspects of the industry, not just technical. There is also the design aspect to consider, and programming from Software engineers to ensure the machine does what it was built to do.
In the modern world, robotics feature prominently in industry and, in the future, will be more visible in everyday life – whether that’s seen in tractors that can be controlled remotely, ploughs that work autonomously or even seeds that are planted without human hands.
Building robots is challenging and complex but it is also creative, innovative and an incredibly exciting engineering industry to be involved in.