As an engineer, you’ll realise it’s important to stay current with any new technological breakthroughs as they may benefit you in your career. Even if they don’t directly impact your career, new technologies are always interesting and will boost your passion for engineering. In this article we will explore some YouTube videos that every engineer should watch. If you are planning on studying engineering then these videos will definitely convince you that it’s a field of expertise that can lead to a most interesting career.

Backflipping Robots

Robotics brings together almost every field of engineering, the most obvious being mechanical and electronic engineering – or mechatronics (which is a combination of the 2 disciplines). Software engineering is also a substantial part of robotic development as the algorithms needed to control the hardware are critical.

This first video is impressive, if not a bit unsettling. Humanlike robots have always looked a bit unstable and odd; some even have extremely awkward looking gaits. However, the robots built by Boston Dynamics are on a completely different technical level from those achieved by competitors to date. What they have accomplished puts all other robots to shame. The Atlas, as the robot in the video is referred to, luckily does not look like a terminator. Yet! But its acrobatics are extremely impressive.

Playing Catch with Drones

Drones have become commonplace over the last few years. You can pick up a cheap drone from almost any tech shop. Newer high-end drones are sleek and look like they belong in the future. However, they basically just fly forward, back, up, down, left and right. The drones in this video are far more impressive. They are autonomous and can do some incredible things, from balancing broomsticks to working cooperatively to catch and pass back a ball. This is an old video but it is definitely worth a watch. If this was the state of drones 5 years ago, imagine where they are now.

Hoverboards!

We have all most likely seen the so-called hoverboards that levitate using superconductivity. This is interesting but it's not the first thought that comes to mind when you think of a hoverboard. The hoverboard in this video seems as if it belongs in an Iron Man movie. In true Tony Stark fashion, the creator has risked his own life to develop this technology and that makes it all the more impressive. This video shows him flying over a lake with a jet-powered platform strapped to his feet. It looks so bizarre that you can be forgiven for thinking it’s fake, but rest assured it’s very real, very dangerous and……..where can I buy one?

Landing on a Fireball

Now we can move on to a bigger-picture topic. SpaceX is at the forefront of design in reusable rockets. Their Falcon 9 is capable of launching 22.8 tons into low earth orbit. Now this is not particularly impressive as rockets go, however it then flips around and flies back down to earth to land either on a barge or a ground-based landing pad. It does this without falling over (most of the time). The accuracy with which it lands is incredible. The recent Falcon Heavy launch saw two rockets land side by side within seconds of each other after launching a Tesla model S into orbit around the sun. This act will probably set the record for the biggest brag in history. SpaceX may be the company that makes us an interplanetary species. That is one of the biggest tasks undertaken by the human race. This video will go down in history as the beginning of a new chapter for humanity.

Mechs!

A mech is a science-fiction-type robot that is controlled by a human. There have been other attempts at building this type of machine – see the 2017 robot battle competition between Japan and the USA. This was a very underwhelming event despite the hype created around it. The mechs were slow, didn’t have legs and were generally unimpressive. In contrast, the mech featured in this video is a true engineering masterpiece. The aluminium parts still show the machining marks and its response to human input are fluid, thus creating natural movement. It is still a slow behemoth but it seems to be the first successful and serious attempt at engineering a robot that uses a human as its control system.

In Conclusion

The videos shown above are truly impressive and give an indication of the directions and rates at which technology is advancing. We stand on the cusp of an exciting future where we will begin seeing science-fiction-type robots become commonplace. From routine space travel and colonisation to highly agile and intelligent robots – watch out, it’s coming! There is no better time in history to be an engineer.

Looking to boost your engineering career? Take a look at the best Engineering Jobs we are listing now on NewEngineer.com!

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To close off, here is a bonus video for any of you transformer fans out there! Enjoy.