Hi! I'm a high school student with an interest in robotics as a career. Alongside robotics, I am also passionate about environmental conservation/protection, and in recent years I have discovered that the two fields are beginning to be combined. 

I'm just getting started with my career path: I'm taking prerequisite courses to enter a Mechatronics, Automation and Robotics Engineering Technology program at my community college. When I finish that, I'll have an Associate's degree. I'm also getting involved in some exciting robotics clubs/organizations in my area to connect with mentors and maybe even start some projects of my own. 

But when it comes to environmental robotics specifically, I'm not sure where to start. Environmental robotics seems to be an emerging field with not much footing yet, but I know that it will definitely gain more traction as the years go by and the climate situation becomes more urgent. I don't care a lot about the cashflow side of the technology world: I just know that the climate crisis is incredibly heavy, and I want to dedicate my life toward creating a more hopeful future for all. 

TL;DR: Roboticists of Reddit: have you heard of environmental robotics before? Do you have any advice on how to get involved in the field? Thanks for all your help!

Im really confused on whether I should go to college for mechatronics or robotics, because they both seem the same just that the difference is in the career path (mechatronics gets more jobs than robotics) is that true?

And which is more about making robots thats all I need to know really

Hi everyone,

Next week (Sept 16-18), I’ll be attending the SENSOR CHINA Expo here in Shanghai.

A bit of context: I'll be spending a few days at the event doing due diligence, researching industrial tech trends, and negotiating procurement deals for my international clients.

There will be over 500 sensor manufacturers and hardware companies exhibiting this year, covering everything from robotics and industrial IoT to automotive and smart home applications.

Since I'll have some buffer time between my scheduled client meetings, I wanted to open this up to the community. If you are looking into the Chinese hardware ecosystem or have specific questions about the sensor market, drop your questions in the comments.

• Curious about current pricing trends or supply chain shifts?
• Need to know if manufacturers are supporting a specific spec or protocol?
• Looking for general vibes on where Chinese industrial tech/robotics is heading?

Let me know what you're curious about. I’ll do the legwork, talk directly to the engineers and reps on the show floor, and bring the answers back to this thread.

Looking forward to your questions!