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Bachelor of Engineering (Robotics and Autonomous Systems) Honours

Course code C87

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Important

This course is not currently offered for study on-campus to international students with a student visa.

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About this Course

The demand for robotics engineers is growing rapidly. As a graduate of this course, you’ll become conversant in a range of fundamental topics, from physical sciences to robotics and advanced software development.

The demand for robotics engineers is growing rapidly in Western Australia, with increasing interest in using autonomous systems for inspection, maintenance and other tasks in remote sites within the resources and agricultural sectors.

Global demand is also high, as companies look to AI and robotics to enhance efficiencies and improve competitiveness.

As a graduate of this course, you’ll be conversant in the fundamental physical sciences, digital electronics, intelligent systems, computer-aided design and manufacturing, dynamic systems and controls, embedded and cyber-physical systems, robotics and advanced software development and machine learning.

Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level

This course has been accredited by ECU as an AQF Level 8 Bachelor Honours Degree Award.

Course code C87

Entry requirements

80 Indicative ATAR

ECU admission and English language requirements apply.

See Course Entry for further information.

Fees

Commonwealth supported - estimated 1st year indicative fee AUD $8,150

See Fees and Scholarships for further information.

Duration

4 years full-time or part-time equivalent

See Course Details for further information.

Availability & Campus

Location Semester 1 Semester 2
Joondalup FT PT FT PT
Mount Lawley
South West
Online
*FT = Full-time study PT = Part-time study

Course Entry

Admission requirements you'll need to meet for this course.

  • The following course-specific admission requirements are mandatory and must be satisfied by all applicants. These requirements are in addition to or supersede the minimum requirements outlined within the Academic admission requirements band section below.

    All applicants are required to have Mathematics: Methods ATAR, with equivalents considered, and Physics ATAR or Engineering Studies ATAR or Chemistry ATAR or Mathematics: Specialist ATAR, with equivalents considered.

    It is desirable that all applicants have Physics ATAR or Engineering Studies ATAR, with equivalents considered, students without Physics ATAR or Engineering Studies ATAR may need to take a bridging unit in the first year of their studies, with equivalents considered.

    All applicants must meet the academic admission requirements for this course. The indicative or guaranteed ATAR is as published (where applicable) or academic admission requirements may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

    • AQF Diploma or equivalent;
    • Undergraduate Certificate;
    • Successfully completed 0.5 EFTSL of study at bachelor level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent);
    • Skills for Tertiary Admissions Test;*
    • University Preparation Course;*
    • Indigenous University Orientation Course; or*

    * Further information can be found on the Study course entry page.

    For international students, requirements include your secondary school results.

  • English competency requirements may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

    • Year 12 English ATAR/English Literature ATAR grade C or better or equivalent;
    • Special Tertiary Admissions Test;*
    • IELTS Academic Overall band minimum score of 6.0 (no individual band less than 6.0);
    • Successfully completed 1.0 EFTSL of study at bachelor level or higher in the UK, Ireland, USA, NZ or Canada;
    • University Preparation Course;
    • Indigenous University Orientation Course;*
    • AQF Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Associate Degree;
    • Successfully completed 0.375 EFTSL of study at bachelor level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent); or
    • Other tests, courses or programs defined on the English Proficiency Bands page.

    * Further information can be found on the Study course entry page.

Applications for this course are not accepted through ECU's Experience Based Entry Scheme.

Course Details

Semester availability

Semester 1: Study full-time at Joondalup

Semester 1: Study part-time at Joondalup

Semester 2: Study full-time at Joondalup

Semester 2: Study part-time at Joondalup

Course Structure

Students are required to complete 30 Core units, 2 Elective units and a Practicum unit.

Year 1 - Semester 1
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ENS1154Introduction to Engineering15
ENS1115Materials and Manufacturing 115
ENM1102Engineering Drawing and Computer Aided Design15
MAT1250Mathematics 115
Year 1 - Semester 2
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ENS1101Engineering Mechanics15
ENS1180Introduction to Energy and Resource Engineering15
ENS1253Electrical Engineering Fundamentals15
MAT1251Mathematics 215
Year 2 - Semester 1
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
CSP2151Programming Fundamentals15
ENS2456Digital Electronics15
ENS2159Engineering Innovation and Ethics15
ENS2120Engineering Systems15
Year 2 - Semester 2
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ENS2257Microprocessor Systems15
CSG2341Intelligent Systems15
ENS2113Engineering Dynamics15
ENS3553Signals and Systems15
Year 3 - Semester 1
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ENM2104Instrumentation and Measurement15
ENS3554Data Communications and Computer Networks15
CSP2104Object-oriented Programming with C++15
ENS5442Robotics 115
Year 3 - Semester 2
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ENS5204Real-Time Embedded Systems15
ENS5265Robotic Sensing and Machine Vision15
ENS2214Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing15
ENS5191Electrical Engineering Design15

Note: Students who receive a WAM of 70 per cent or above at the end of their third year of study will be invited to complete a graded Honours degree by taking the two Honours Thesis units in place of the standard project units in their fourth year. Students below this cut-off, or who decline the offer to undertake the Honours Thesis, will graduate with an ungraded Honours degree.

Year 4 - Semester 1
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ENS5111Engineering Practicum
ENS5266Advanced Robotics and Autonomous Systems15
ENS5253Control Systems15
ENS4152 ^Project Development15
OR
ENS5145 ^Engineering Honours Thesis 115
Elective Unit15

Note: Students undertaking the graded Honours pathway should enrol into ENS5145 Engineering Honours Thesis 1 in place of ENS4152 Project Development.

Year 4 - Semester 2
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ENS5543Engineering Management15
ENS5240Industrial Control15
ENS4253 ^Engineering Project15
OR
ENS5146 ^Engineering Honours Thesis 215
Elective Unit15

Note: Students undertaking the graded Honours pathway should enrol into ENS5146 Engineering Honours Thesis 2 in place of ENS4253 Engineering Project.

RECOMMENDED ELECTIVES
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
ENS2457Analog Electronics15
ENS2344Computer Architecture15
ENS5251Digital Signal Processing15
ENS3555Communication Systems 115
ENS3206Power Systems 115
ENS3556Wireless Communication15
ENS3551Electrical Networks15
ENS3105Mechanical Design and Development15
ENS3237Railway Electrical, Control and Signalling Systems15
ENS5130Advanced Industrial Control15
ENS5230Electrical Machines and Transformers15
ENS5447Propagation and Antennas15
ENS2160Thermodynamics15
ENS3215Power Electronics15
ENS2110Materials and Manufacturing 215
ENS2170Principles of Industrial Maintenance15
MAT3486Multivariate Calculus15
CSI2312Foundations of Software Engineering15
CSP2348Data Structures15
CSI3344Distributed Systems15
CSI1101Computer Security15
CSI3105Software Testing15

Note: Electives chosen from outside this list must be approved by the Course Coordinator.

^ Core Option

C87|2

For more detailed unit information for this course take a look at our Handbook. To organise your life for next semester visit the Teaching timetable.

Student handbook

Course notes

Important course notes

  • Before being eligible to graduate from this course, students must meet the requirement of accumulating and being credited with a minimum 12 weeks professional practice in a relevant industry environment. This can be commenced at any point in the course.

Course learning outcomes

  1. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the underpinning natural and physical sciences and in depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the robotics and autonomous systems engineering discipline.
  2. Think critically, and apply established engineering methods and research skills to complex robotics and autonomous systems engineering problem solving.
  3. Apply systematic engineering synthesis and design processes to conduct and manage robotics and autonomous systems engineering projects, with some intellectual independence.
  4. Demonstrate conceptual understanding of the mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics and computer and information sciences which underpin the robotics and autonomous systems engineering discipline and fluently apply engineering techniques tools and resources.
  5. Demonstrate clear and coherent oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
  6. Demonstrate a global outlook and knowledge of contextual factors impacting the robotics and autonomous systems engineering discipline, including respect for cultural diversity and indigenous cultural competence.
  7. Demonstrate effective team membership and team leadership to implement engineering projects according to relevant standards of ethical conduct, sustainable practice and professional accountability.
  8. Demonstrate responsibility for own learning, professional judgement and an understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of contemporary engineering practice.

Fees and Scholarships

Fees

  • AUD $8,150 - Commonwealth supported estimated 1st year indicative fee 1

Note

1 The 'estimated 1st year indicative fee' is provided as a guide only, based on a typical enrolment of students undertaking the first year of this course. At ECU, you pay for the individual units you enrol in, not an overall course fee, so the total cost of your course will vary, depending on what units you choose. An indicative fee will be provided with your course offer, however you can use our Course Fee Calculator to estimate the actual amount you'll need to pay. ECU fees are adjusted annually.

Some units require the payment of a fee for incidental goods or services required to complete those units. For more information and the full list of incidental fees for courses and units, visit What are Incidental Fees.

Scholarships

ECU has a scholarship program that provides many opportunities each year to students undertaking studies here.

Find a scholarship

Career Opportunities

Possible future job titles

Robotics Engineer, Autonomous Systems Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Automation Engineer

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Quick guide to uni-speak

    • The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is the national regulator of qualifications in the Australian education and training system. The AQF defines the essential characteristics, including the required learning outcomes, of the different types of qualifications issued across the higher education systems in Australia.

    • ATAR is the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, the primary criterion for entry into most undergraduate university courses in Australia. The ATAR is a percentile score which denotes a student's ranking relative to their state-wide peers upon completion of their secondary education.

    • CRICOS is the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. A CRICOS code is allocated to education institutions (like ECU) who are approved to recruit, enrol and deliver education to overseas students. Courses with a CRICOS code are available to international students who meet the entry requirements.

    • A major, or unit set, is your chosen area of in-depth study in an undergraduate course. It usually involves 8 units of study, or one-third of the units in a 3-year degree. Talk to your Student Information Office if you need help choosing a major subject.

    • Minors include between 4 and 6 study units in a specific discipline. Not all courses require you to complete a minor. Your minor subject doesn't appear on your printed degree (parchment), but is part of your academic transcript.

    • If you're enrolled in 3 or more units in a semester this is considered full-time study. To complete most 3-year degrees studying full-time you'll need to complete 4 units per semester, i.e. 24 units over 3 years.

    • If a course is available to study part-time you can generally expect it to take twice as long to complete as it would in full-time mode. Part-time students are enrolled in 1 or 2 units maximum per semester.

      Note: International students who hold a student visa can only choose the full-time study option for our courses. This is to ensure the course is completed within the duration of the student visa.

    • Most courses start in Semester 1 each year, usually in the last week of February. Some courses can be started in Semester 2 (we call this mid-year). There's a week of Orientation before each semester to help you get used to uni life.

    • A lot of our courses start in Semester 2 each year, usually in the last week of July. We call this mid-year. There's a week of Orientation beforehand to help you get used to uni life.

    • We use a points system to make it easier for you to understand your study progress. Most Bachelors degree study units are allocated 15 credit points. If you're studying a 3-year full-time degree you'll need to successfully complete 360 credit points - that's 24 units x 15 points per unit.

    • These are compulsory units you have to successfully complete as part of your course.

    • An elective is a unit you choose to study that counts towards your course requirements, but isn't compulsory. For some courses we recommend elective units. In some situations, a course coordinator may approve an elective unit as a replacement for a compulsory one.

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The Important Things

Things you should know about if you're thinking about studying here.

Course Entry

There's more than one admission pathway into an ECU course. It depends on what you've studied already, or your work or life experience.

Fees & Scholarships

Course tuition fees can change, but we can give you an estimate of your costs. If you're eligible, a scholarship or student loan can help too.

Applying

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ECU Experience

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