Comment by MarkSweep

If you are working with robotics, the software engineer still have to come in to test their software on the actually hardware.

Software engineers may have simulators to allow testing SW at home, but mechanical engineers also have their 3D modeling and finite element analysis that they can do at home. Oh, and redlines and pushing PLM paper work should be doable at home.

I'm not saying its one-to-one, but MEs and SEs in robotics both have things that can and cannot be done remotely.