WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Students at Penn College are working with robots.
The school recently received new robotics software from ABB Robotics worth $400,000.
"So what this software allows us to do is to mimic every ABB robot that they make, and then in an offline environment, we can move that robot around and program it to build whatever it needs to build," said Brad Webb, the dean of engineering and technology.
Chandler Shatto is a senior majoring in automation engineering at the college. He says this new technology will prepare him for what he will see in the workforce.
"There is a huge field of material, and it is constantly evolving. You have to constantly be learning and adapting to what you are working on," said Shatto.
According to Webb, more and more automation and robotics jobs are coming back to the United States through the Chips Act, which passed last summer.
Currently, there are not enough graduates around the country to meet that demand.
"We are going to have to have a balance between using robots and educated individuals to program those robots to do that work for us, and that is really where our students fill that niche. We know how to troubleshoot those robots, set them up, program them, and make sure they run as efficiently as possible," Webb said.
"Robots and the whole automation field, in general, is pretty much leading where the industry is going," added Shatto.
The robotics software even makes teaching more efficient.
"This allows us to work in small teams and develop those programs in the computer lab. Then more efficiently, say you guys have a 15-minute block where you can go see if your program works," added Webb.
The college says it will host a job fair soon for students hoping to enter a career in robotics automation.
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