Mundane Tasks
– Normally done without using microcontrollers.
(Core Electronics)
– Can perform the same task efficientlyIntelligent Tasks
– Involves Microcontrollers or Processors
– Are flexible and can be easily modified as per the task.Microcontrollers allows us to make logical
decisions as per the inputs.
• The circuits are simple and easy to reconfigure
for some other task.
• We can store logical decisions for multiple
tasks.• Line tracing
• Grid tracing
• Wall tracing
• Obstacle detection and avoidance
• Metal detection
• Detect, pick and place
Competitions involve combination of tasks mentioned Line tracing can be done by:
– Simple core electronic circuit
– Using microcontroller
– Image processing through computer interfaceThings you need to have
– Compiler, debugger to covert a program intoassembly and test
– μController programmer circui
t– μController Circuit
above.
Monday, January 3, 2011
EVALUATION POTENTIALS OF ROBOTS
Evaluation of the potential of the robot depends on:
– Analysis of the application
• Long- and short-term objectives
• Manufacturing and processes involved
• Space availability
• Budget
• System objectives
– Feasibility Study
• How a more automated system will affect related operations in the plant
• Material-handling methods
• Commercial equipment available
• CAD cell simulation
– System Proposal
• Functional specifications
• System operation
• Robot type
• Tooling
• Peripheral equipmentMicroprocessor control
• Software
• Multiple levels of control
– Construction Phase
• It is a good procedure for the system to be set up and thoroughly tested at
the supplier’s facility.
• This will minimize the interruption of current production procedures.
– Installation Phase
• It is a good practice for the supplier to supervise the step-by-step installation
of the system.
– Training and Documentation
• Hands on robot training should be provided by the supplier for all the persons
who will interface with the new automated system.
• The supplier should provide the design drawings and documentation for
system control, operation, and maintenance.The keys areas to be explored for robot applications in future are:
– The medical applications of the robot:
• Routine examinations
• Surgical procedures
– Underwater applications
• Involve prospecting for minerals on the floor of the ocean.
• Salvaging of sunken vessels, repair the ship either at sea or in dry dock.
• Mobile firefighters to be used by Air force and Navy.
– Surveillance and Guard duty
• In military
• Power generating plants, oil refineries and other civilian facilities that are
potential targets of terrorist groups.
– Analysis of the application
• Long- and short-term objectives
• Manufacturing and processes involved
• Space availability
• Budget
• System objectives
– Feasibility Study
• How a more automated system will affect related operations in the plant
• Material-handling methods
• Commercial equipment available
• CAD cell simulation
– System Proposal
• Functional specifications
• System operation
• Robot type
• Tooling
• Peripheral equipmentMicroprocessor control
• Software
• Multiple levels of control
– Construction Phase
• It is a good procedure for the system to be set up and thoroughly tested at
the supplier’s facility.
• This will minimize the interruption of current production procedures.
– Installation Phase
• It is a good practice for the supplier to supervise the step-by-step installation
of the system.
– Training and Documentation
• Hands on robot training should be provided by the supplier for all the persons
who will interface with the new automated system.
• The supplier should provide the design drawings and documentation for
system control, operation, and maintenance.The keys areas to be explored for robot applications in future are:
– The medical applications of the robot:
• Routine examinations
• Surgical procedures
– Underwater applications
• Involve prospecting for minerals on the floor of the ocean.
• Salvaging of sunken vessels, repair the ship either at sea or in dry dock.
• Mobile firefighters to be used by Air force and Navy.
– Surveillance and Guard duty
• In military
• Power generating plants, oil refineries and other civilian facilities that are
potential targets of terrorist groups.
ROBOTICS OPERATIONS
Processing Operations:
– Robot performs a processing procedure on the part.
– The robot is equipped with some type of process tooling as its end
effector.
– Manipulates the tooling relative to the working part during the cycle.
– Industrial robot applications in the processing operations include:
•
Spot welding
Processing Operations
• Continuous arc welding
• Spray painting
• Metal cutting and deburring operations
• Various machining operations like drilling, grinding, laser and waterjet cutting,
and riveting.
• Rotating and spindle operations
• Adhesives and sealant dispensingAssembly Operations:
– The applications involve both material-handling and the manipulation of
a tool.
– They typically include components to build the product and to perform
material handling operations.
– Are traditionally labor-intensive activities in industry and are highly
repetitive and boring. Hence are logical candidates for robotic
applications.
Assembly Operations
– These are classified as:
• Batch assembly: As many as one million products might be assembled. The
assembly operation has long production runs.
• Low-volume: In this a sample run of ten thousand or less products might be
made.
– The assembly robot cell should be a modular cell.
– One of the well suited area for robotics assembly is the insertion of odd
electronic components.
• Figure illustrates a typical overall electronic assembly operationInspection Operation:
– Some inspection operation require parts to be manipulated, and other
applications require that an inspection tool be manipulated.
– Inspection work requires high precision and patience, and human
judgment is often needed to determine whether a product is within
quality specifications or not.
– Inspection tasks that are performed by industrial robots can usually be
divided into the following three techniques:
Inspection Operations
• By using a feeler gauge or a linear displacement transducer known as a linear
variable differential transformer(LVDT), the part being measured will come in
physical contact with the instrument or by means of air pressure, which will
cause it to ride above the surface being measured.
• By utilizing robotic vision, matrix video cameras are used to obtain an image
of the area of interest, which is digitized and compared to a similar image
with specified tolerance.
• By involving the use of optics and light, usually a laser or infrared source is
used to illustrate the area of interest.
– Robot performs a processing procedure on the part.
– The robot is equipped with some type of process tooling as its end
effector.
– Manipulates the tooling relative to the working part during the cycle.
– Industrial robot applications in the processing operations include:
•
Spot welding
Processing Operations
• Continuous arc welding
• Spray painting
• Metal cutting and deburring operations
• Various machining operations like drilling, grinding, laser and waterjet cutting,
and riveting.
• Rotating and spindle operations
• Adhesives and sealant dispensingAssembly Operations:
– The applications involve both material-handling and the manipulation of
a tool.
– They typically include components to build the product and to perform
material handling operations.
– Are traditionally labor-intensive activities in industry and are highly
repetitive and boring. Hence are logical candidates for robotic
applications.
Assembly Operations
– These are classified as:
• Batch assembly: As many as one million products might be assembled. The
assembly operation has long production runs.
• Low-volume: In this a sample run of ten thousand or less products might be
made.
– The assembly robot cell should be a modular cell.
– One of the well suited area for robotics assembly is the insertion of odd
electronic components.
• Figure illustrates a typical overall electronic assembly operationInspection Operation:
– Some inspection operation require parts to be manipulated, and other
applications require that an inspection tool be manipulated.
– Inspection work requires high precision and patience, and human
judgment is often needed to determine whether a product is within
quality specifications or not.
– Inspection tasks that are performed by industrial robots can usually be
divided into the following three techniques:
Inspection Operations
• By using a feeler gauge or a linear displacement transducer known as a linear
variable differential transformer(LVDT), the part being measured will come in
physical contact with the instrument or by means of air pressure, which will
cause it to ride above the surface being measured.
• By utilizing robotic vision, matrix video cameras are used to obtain an image
of the area of interest, which is digitized and compared to a similar image
with specified tolerance.
• By involving the use of optics and light, usually a laser or infrared source is
used to illustrate the area of interest.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
ROBOT APPLICATIONS
Need to replace human labor by robots:
– Work environment hazardous for human beings
– Repetitive tasks
– Boring and unpleasant tasks
– Multishift operations
– Infrequent changeovers
– Performing at a steady pace
– Operating for long hours without rest
– Responding in automated operations
– Minimizing variationIndustrial Robot Applications can be divided into:
– Material-handling applications:
• Involve the movement of material or parts from one location to another.
• It include part placement, palletizing and/or depalletizing, machine loading
and unloading.
– Processing Operations:
• Requires the robot to manipulate a special process tool as the end effector.
• The application include spot welding, arc welding, riveting, spray painting,
machining, metal cutting, deburring, polishing.
– Assembly Applications:
• Involve part-handling manipulations of a special tools and other automatic
tasks and operations.
– Inspection Operations:
• Require the robot to position a workpart to an inspection device.
• Involve the robot to manipulate a device or sensor to perform the inspection• Part Placement:
– The basic operation in this category is the relatively simple pick-and-place
operation.
– This application needs a low-technology robot of the cylindrical
coordinate type.
– Only two, three, or four joints are required for most of the applications.
– Pneumatically powered robots are often utilized.
• Palletizing and/or Depalletizing
– The applications require robot to stack parts one on top of the other, that
is to palletize them, or to unstack parts by removing from the top one by
one, that is depalletize them.
– Example: process of taking parts from the assembly line and stacking
them on a pallet or vice versa.Machine loading and/or unloading:
– Robot transfers parts into and/or from a production machine.
– There are three possible cases:
• Machine loading in which the robot loads parts into a production machine,
but the parts are unloaded by some other means.
– Example: a pressworking operation, where the robot feeds sheet blanks into the
press, but the finished parts drop out of the press by gravity.
• Machine loading in which the raw materials are fed into the machine without
robot assistance. The robot unloads the part from the machine assisted by
vision or no vision.
– Example: bin picking, die casting, and plastic moulding.
• Machine loading and unloading that involves both loading and unloading of
the workparts by the robot. The robot loads a raw work part into the process
ad unloads a finished part.
– Example: Machine operation
• Difficulties
– Difference in cycle time between the robot and the production machine.
The cycle time of the machine may be relatively long compared to the
robot’s cycle time.
– Work environment hazardous for human beings
– Repetitive tasks
– Boring and unpleasant tasks
– Multishift operations
– Infrequent changeovers
– Performing at a steady pace
– Operating for long hours without rest
– Responding in automated operations
– Minimizing variationIndustrial Robot Applications can be divided into:
– Material-handling applications:
• Involve the movement of material or parts from one location to another.
• It include part placement, palletizing and/or depalletizing, machine loading
and unloading.
– Processing Operations:
• Requires the robot to manipulate a special process tool as the end effector.
• The application include spot welding, arc welding, riveting, spray painting,
machining, metal cutting, deburring, polishing.
– Assembly Applications:
• Involve part-handling manipulations of a special tools and other automatic
tasks and operations.
– Inspection Operations:
• Require the robot to position a workpart to an inspection device.
• Involve the robot to manipulate a device or sensor to perform the inspection• Part Placement:
– The basic operation in this category is the relatively simple pick-and-place
operation.
– This application needs a low-technology robot of the cylindrical
coordinate type.
– Only two, three, or four joints are required for most of the applications.
– Pneumatically powered robots are often utilized.
• Palletizing and/or Depalletizing
– The applications require robot to stack parts one on top of the other, that
is to palletize them, or to unstack parts by removing from the top one by
one, that is depalletize them.
– Example: process of taking parts from the assembly line and stacking
them on a pallet or vice versa.Machine loading and/or unloading:
– Robot transfers parts into and/or from a production machine.
– There are three possible cases:
• Machine loading in which the robot loads parts into a production machine,
but the parts are unloaded by some other means.
– Example: a pressworking operation, where the robot feeds sheet blanks into the
press, but the finished parts drop out of the press by gravity.
• Machine loading in which the raw materials are fed into the machine without
robot assistance. The robot unloads the part from the machine assisted by
vision or no vision.
– Example: bin picking, die casting, and plastic moulding.
• Machine loading and unloading that involves both loading and unloading of
the workparts by the robot. The robot loads a raw work part into the process
ad unloads a finished part.
– Example: Machine operation
• Difficulties
– Difference in cycle time between the robot and the production machine.
The cycle time of the machine may be relatively long compared to the
robot’s cycle time.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
Objectives
– Be acquainted with automation in manufacturing.
– Understand Robot applications.
– Recognize material-handling applications
– Be familiar with processing operations
– Be informed of assembly and inspection operations
– Apprehend how to evaluate the potential of a robot application
– Be aware of future applications
– Perceive the challenge for the future
– Be informed of innovations
– Be acquainted with case studies.Goal: To integrate various operations to :
– Improve Productivity
– Increase product quality and Uniformity
– Minimize cycle times and effort
– Reduce labor cost
• Computers allows us to integrate virtually all phases of manufacturing
operations.
• Computer-integrated manufacturing(CIM): Is the computerized
integration of all aspects of design, planning, manufacturing,
distribution, and management.
• Automation Technologies:
– Numerical Control(NC): capability of flexibility of operations, low cost,
and ease of making different parts with lower operator skill.
– Adaptive Control(AC): Continuously monitor the operation and make
necessary adjustments in process parameters.Flexible Manufacturing System(FMS): Integrate manufacturing cells
into a large unit, containing industrial robots servicing several
machines, all interfaced with a central host computer.
• Artificial Intelligence(AI): Involves the use do machines, computers
and industrial robots to replace human intelligence.
• Expert Systems(ES):Intelligent programs to perform tasks and solve
difficult real life problems.
• Hence the applications of Robots in manufacturing are much broader
than most people realize.
– Be acquainted with automation in manufacturing.
– Understand Robot applications.
– Recognize material-handling applications
– Be familiar with processing operations
– Be informed of assembly and inspection operations
– Apprehend how to evaluate the potential of a robot application
– Be aware of future applications
– Perceive the challenge for the future
– Be informed of innovations
– Be acquainted with case studies.Goal: To integrate various operations to :
– Improve Productivity
– Increase product quality and Uniformity
– Minimize cycle times and effort
– Reduce labor cost
• Computers allows us to integrate virtually all phases of manufacturing
operations.
• Computer-integrated manufacturing(CIM): Is the computerized
integration of all aspects of design, planning, manufacturing,
distribution, and management.
• Automation Technologies:
– Numerical Control(NC): capability of flexibility of operations, low cost,
and ease of making different parts with lower operator skill.
– Adaptive Control(AC): Continuously monitor the operation and make
necessary adjustments in process parameters.Flexible Manufacturing System(FMS): Integrate manufacturing cells
into a large unit, containing industrial robots servicing several
machines, all interfaced with a central host computer.
• Artificial Intelligence(AI): Involves the use do machines, computers
and industrial robots to replace human intelligence.
• Expert Systems(ES):Intelligent programs to perform tasks and solve
difficult real life problems.
• Hence the applications of Robots in manufacturing are much broader
than most people realize.
CLASSIFICATION OF ROBOTS
Manipulators/robotic arms which are fixed to
their workplace and built usually from sets of
rigid links connected by joints.
• Mobile robots which can move in their
environment using wheels, legs, etc.
• Hybrid robots which include humanoid robots are
mobile robots equipped with manipulatorsAssemble Group Robot- Developed by Freddy
(mid1960s - 1981) was one of the first robots to
be able to assemble wooden models
using vision to identify and locate
Meet some Robots
the partsSTANLEY-Stanley was developed by a team of
researchers to advance the state of the art in
autonomous driving.ASIMO - Say Hello to ASIMO. From Honda Motor
Company. A fascinating collection of information
(including FAQs, movies & teaching resources)
about this humanoid robot whose name stands
for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility.1.1. Robotic Arm
1.2. Wheeled Mobile Robot
1.3. Legged Robot
1.4. Underwater Robots
1.5. Flying Robots
1.6. Robot Vision
1.7. Artificial Intelligence
1.8. Industrial Automation
their workplace and built usually from sets of
rigid links connected by joints.
• Mobile robots which can move in their
environment using wheels, legs, etc.
• Hybrid robots which include humanoid robots are
mobile robots equipped with manipulatorsAssemble Group Robot- Developed by Freddy
(mid1960s - 1981) was one of the first robots to
be able to assemble wooden models
using vision to identify and locate
Meet some Robots
the partsSTANLEY-Stanley was developed by a team of
researchers to advance the state of the art in
autonomous driving.ASIMO - Say Hello to ASIMO. From Honda Motor
Company. A fascinating collection of information
(including FAQs, movies & teaching resources)
about this humanoid robot whose name stands
for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility.1.1. Robotic Arm
1.2. Wheeled Mobile Robot
1.3. Legged Robot
1.4. Underwater Robots
1.5. Flying Robots
1.6. Robot Vision
1.7. Artificial Intelligence
1.8. Industrial Automation
VARYING CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS IN ROBOTICS
Roughly half of all the robots in the world are in Asia, 32%
in Europe, and 16% in North America, 1% in Australasia and
1% in Africa.30% of all the robots in the world are in Japan.This means that Japan has the most robots in the world out of all the countries, and is in fact leading the world's robotics.Japan is actually said to be the robotic capital of the world.This is the opening of an era in which human
beings and robots can co-exist," says Japanese
firm Mitsubishi about one of the many
humanistic robots in Japan.South Korea aims to put a robot in every
house there by 2015-2020 in order to help
At present there are 2 main types of robots, based on their
use: general-purpose autonomous robots and dedicated
robots.
• Robots can be classified by their specificity of purpose.
• A robot might be designed to perform one particular task
extremely well, or a range of tasks less well.
• Of course, all robots by their nature can be re-programmed to
behave differently, but some are limited by their physical
form.
• For example, a factory robot arm can perform jobs such as
cutting, welding, gluing, or acting as a fairground ride, while a
pick-and-place robot can only populate printed circuit boardsGeneral-purpose autonomous robots are robots that can perform a
variety of functions independently.
• General-purpose autonomous robots typically can navigate independently
in known spaces, handle their own re-charging needs, interface with
electronic doors and elevators and perform other basic tasks.
• Like computers, general-purpose robots can link with networks, software
and accessories that increase their usefulness.
• They may recognize people or objects, talk, provide companionship,
monitor environmental quality, respond to alarms, pick up supplies and
perform other useful tasks.
• General-purpose robots may perform a variety of functions
simultaneously or they may take on different roles at different times of
day. Some such robots try to mimic human beings and may even resemble
people in appearance; this type of robot is called a humanoid robot
in Europe, and 16% in North America, 1% in Australasia and
1% in Africa.30% of all the robots in the world are in Japan.This means that Japan has the most robots in the world out of all the countries, and is in fact leading the world's robotics.Japan is actually said to be the robotic capital of the world.This is the opening of an era in which human
beings and robots can co-exist," says Japanese
firm Mitsubishi about one of the many
humanistic robots in Japan.South Korea aims to put a robot in every
house there by 2015-2020 in order to help
At present there are 2 main types of robots, based on their
use: general-purpose autonomous robots and dedicated
robots.
• Robots can be classified by their specificity of purpose.
• A robot might be designed to perform one particular task
extremely well, or a range of tasks less well.
• Of course, all robots by their nature can be re-programmed to
behave differently, but some are limited by their physical
form.
• For example, a factory robot arm can perform jobs such as
cutting, welding, gluing, or acting as a fairground ride, while a
pick-and-place robot can only populate printed circuit boardsGeneral-purpose autonomous robots are robots that can perform a
variety of functions independently.
• General-purpose autonomous robots typically can navigate independently
in known spaces, handle their own re-charging needs, interface with
electronic doors and elevators and perform other basic tasks.
• Like computers, general-purpose robots can link with networks, software
and accessories that increase their usefulness.
• They may recognize people or objects, talk, provide companionship,
monitor environmental quality, respond to alarms, pick up supplies and
perform other useful tasks.
• General-purpose robots may perform a variety of functions
simultaneously or they may take on different roles at different times of
day. Some such robots try to mimic human beings and may even resemble
people in appearance; this type of robot is called a humanoid robot
TYPES OF ROBOTS
Much of the research in robotics focuses not on specific
industrial tasks, but on investigations into new types of robot,
alternative ways to think about or design robots, and new
ways to manufacture them. It is expected that these new
types of robot will be able to solve real world problems when
they are finally realized.
Nano robots
Reconfigurable Robots
Soft Robots
Swarm robots
Haptic interface robots.Nanorobotics is the still largely
hypothetical technology of creating
machines or robots at or close to the
scale of a nanometer (10−9 meters).
Also known as nanobota or nanites,
they would be constructed from
molecular machines. So far, researchers have mostly
produced only parts of these complex
systems, such as bearings, sensors,
and Synthetic molecular motors, but
functioning robots have also been
made such as the entrants to the
Nanobot Robocup contest.• A few researchers have
investigated the possibility of
creating robots which can alter
their physical form to suit a
particular task, like the fictional T-
1000.
• Real robots are nowhere near that
sophisticated however, and mostly
consist of a small number of cube
shaped units, which can move
relative to their neighbours, for
example SuperBotRobots with silicone bodies
and flexible actuators (air
muscles , electroactive
polymers, and ferrofluids),
controlled using fuzzy
logic and neural networks,
look and feel different from
robots with rigid skeletons,
and are capable of different
behaviors.Inspired by colonies of insects such
as ants and bees, researchers are
modeling the behavior of swarms of
thousands of tiny robots which together
perform a useful task, such as finding
something hidden, cleaning, or spying.
• Each robot is quite simple, but
the emergent behavior of the swarm is
more complex.
• The whole set of robots can be
considered as one single distributed
system, in the same way an ant colony
can be considered a superorganism,
exhibiting swarm intelligence.
• The largest swarms so far created
include the iRobot swarm
industrial tasks, but on investigations into new types of robot,
alternative ways to think about or design robots, and new
ways to manufacture them. It is expected that these new
types of robot will be able to solve real world problems when
they are finally realized.
Nano robots
Reconfigurable Robots
Soft Robots
Swarm robots
Haptic interface robots.Nanorobotics is the still largely
hypothetical technology of creating
machines or robots at or close to the
scale of a nanometer (10−9 meters).
Also known as nanobota or nanites,
they would be constructed from
molecular machines. So far, researchers have mostly
produced only parts of these complex
systems, such as bearings, sensors,
and Synthetic molecular motors, but
functioning robots have also been
made such as the entrants to the
Nanobot Robocup contest.• A few researchers have
investigated the possibility of
creating robots which can alter
their physical form to suit a
particular task, like the fictional T-
1000.
• Real robots are nowhere near that
sophisticated however, and mostly
consist of a small number of cube
shaped units, which can move
relative to their neighbours, for
example SuperBotRobots with silicone bodies
and flexible actuators (air
muscles , electroactive
polymers, and ferrofluids),
controlled using fuzzy
logic and neural networks,
look and feel different from
robots with rigid skeletons,
and are capable of different
behaviors.Inspired by colonies of insects such
as ants and bees, researchers are
modeling the behavior of swarms of
thousands of tiny robots which together
perform a useful task, such as finding
something hidden, cleaning, or spying.
• Each robot is quite simple, but
the emergent behavior of the swarm is
more complex.
• The whole set of robots can be
considered as one single distributed
system, in the same way an ant colony
can be considered a superorganism,
exhibiting swarm intelligence.
• The largest swarms so far created
include the iRobot swarm
ROBOTICS - AN OVERVIEW
A robot is automatically guided
machine which is able to do tasks
on its own…
Another common characteristic is
that by its appearance or
movements, a robot often
conveys a sense that it has intent
or agency of its own. The word robot can refer to both physical robots
and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually
referred to as bots.There is no consensus on which machines qualify as
robots, but there is general agreement among
experts and the public that robots tend to do some
or all of the following: move around, operate a
mechanical limb, sense and manipulate their
environment, and exhibit intelligent behavior,
especially behavior which mimics humans or other
animals.The word robot was introduced to the
public by Czech writer Karel Čapek in
his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal
Robots), published in1920.[15] The
play begins in a factory that makes
artificial people called robots, but
they are closer to the modern ideas
of androids, creatures who can be
mistaken for humans. They can plainly
think for themselves, though they
seem happy to serve. At issue is
whether the robots are
being exploited and the
consequences of their treatment. The word robota means literally "work",
"labor" or "serf labor", and figuratively
"drudgery" or "hard work" in Czech and
many Slavic languages. The ward robotics, used to describe this field
of study, was coined by the science fiction.As robots have become more
advanced and sophisticated,
experts and academics have
increasingly explored the
questions of what ethics might
govern robots' behavior, and
whether robots might be able to
claim any kind of social, cultural,
ethical or legal rights.One scientific team has said that it is possible
that a robot brain will exist by 2019. Others predict robot intelligence
breakthroughs by 2050.Recent advances have made robotic behavior
more sophisticated.Various techniques have emerged to develop the science of
robotics and robots. One method is Evolutionary robotics, in
which a number of differing robots are submitted to tests. Those which perform best are used as a model to create a subsequent "generation" of robots. Another method
is Developmental robotics, which tracks changes and
development within a single in the areas of problem-solving
and other functions.Japan hopes to have full-scale
commercialization of service
robots by 2025. Much technological research in
Japan is led by Japanese
government agencies, particularly
the Trade Ministry.
machine which is able to do tasks
on its own…
Another common characteristic is
that by its appearance or
movements, a robot often
conveys a sense that it has intent
or agency of its own. The word robot can refer to both physical robots
and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually
referred to as bots.There is no consensus on which machines qualify as
robots, but there is general agreement among
experts and the public that robots tend to do some
or all of the following: move around, operate a
mechanical limb, sense and manipulate their
environment, and exhibit intelligent behavior,
especially behavior which mimics humans or other
animals.The word robot was introduced to the
public by Czech writer Karel Čapek in
his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal
Robots), published in1920.[15] The
play begins in a factory that makes
artificial people called robots, but
they are closer to the modern ideas
of androids, creatures who can be
mistaken for humans. They can plainly
think for themselves, though they
seem happy to serve. At issue is
whether the robots are
being exploited and the
consequences of their treatment. The word robota means literally "work",
"labor" or "serf labor", and figuratively
"drudgery" or "hard work" in Czech and
many Slavic languages. The ward robotics, used to describe this field
of study, was coined by the science fiction.As robots have become more
advanced and sophisticated,
experts and academics have
increasingly explored the
questions of what ethics might
govern robots' behavior, and
whether robots might be able to
claim any kind of social, cultural,
ethical or legal rights.One scientific team has said that it is possible
that a robot brain will exist by 2019. Others predict robot intelligence
breakthroughs by 2050.Recent advances have made robotic behavior
more sophisticated.Various techniques have emerged to develop the science of
robotics and robots. One method is Evolutionary robotics, in
which a number of differing robots are submitted to tests. Those which perform best are used as a model to create a subsequent "generation" of robots. Another method
is Developmental robotics, which tracks changes and
development within a single in the areas of problem-solving
and other functions.Japan hopes to have full-scale
commercialization of service
robots by 2025. Much technological research in
Japan is led by Japanese
government agencies, particularly
the Trade Ministry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)