The purpose of this program is to provide an exposure of Robotics. One of the elective courses can be satisfied with an independent study research project in Robotics. One of the drawbacks of this policy is that students may lose some breadth in the exposure of Robotics, but I feel that an independent research experience in Robotics should be recognized by the minor. It should be noted that the automation minor in Engineering and the robotics minor are distinct. As its name suggests, the robotics minor focuses on robotics, parts of which are a subset of Automation.
Automation is more geared towards manufacturing and processes.