Robotics

Historical background

Robots at work: the present day

Movement of materials

Hazardous or remote duty robots

How robots work

Mechanical systems

Sensory systems

Microcomputer-driven robots

Advancements

Resources

Robotics is the science of designing and building electro-mechanical machines that can be programmed to perform more than one autonomous or preprogrammed function traditionally performed by humans. Robots are designed to do tasks that are regarded as too dangerous for humans to do. They are also designed to perform tasks that are deemed too repetitious for humans or needs more precision than can be accurately performed by humans. An example of a well-known robot is the remote manipulator system (RMS), commonly called the Canadarm, used on NASA’s space shuttle. The word robot comes from a play written in 1920 by Czech author Karel Capek (1890–1938). Capek’s R.U.R. (for Rossum’s Universal Robots) is the story of an inventor who creates human-like machines designed to take over many forms of human work.

Historical background

The idea of a machine that looks and behaves like a human being goes back at least 2,000 years. According

to Greek mythology, Hephaestus, the god of fire, constructed artificial women out of gold. These women were able to walk, talk, and even to think.

By the eighteenth century, scientists and inventors had created an impressive array of mechanical figures that looked and acted like humans and other animals. Swiss watchmaker Pierre Jacquet-Droz (1721–1790), and his son Henri-Louis (1752–1791), for example, designed and constructed animated dolls, called automata, and mechanical birds to help sell watches. One doll was able to play the piano, swaying in time with the music, and a young scribe who could write messages of up to 40 characters.

The modern robot is considered today to have been built by Serb-American physicist, engineer, and inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943). He constructed a remote-operated boat and showed its abilities at an 1898 exhibition in New York City. He also built remote vehicles for use in the air and on the ground. One of the first companies to build robots was Westinghouse in the 1930s. The company built Elektro, which was programmed to talk, walk, and move its head and arms. The first electrically operated robot was built in England by American-born English neurophysiologist W. Grey Walter (1919–1977).

Many of these early accomplishments had little practical value. They were built in order to impress or charm viewers, or to demonstrate the inventor’s creative and technological skills. That line of research continues today. Many modern robots have little function beyond demonstrating what can be done in building machines that more and more closely resemble the appearance and function of humans.

One function for such robots is in advertising. They are used to publicize some particular product or to inform the public about the robots themselves. Robots of this kind are most commonly found at conventions, conferences, or other large meetings. As one example, a robot named Argon was used in April 1983 to walk a dog through a veterinary congress in London, England, promoting the “Pets Are Good People” program.

Robots at work: the present day

Robots have come to play a widespread and crucial role in many industrial operations today. These robots are almost always without human features — rather than the Jacquet-Droz doll-like style. The work that robots do can be classified into three major categories: in the assembly and finishing of products; in the movement of materials and objects; and in the performance of work in environmentally difficult or hazardous situations.

The most common single application of robots is in welding. About one-fourth of all robots used by industry have this function. In a typical operation, two pieces of metal will be moved within the welding robot’s field and the robot will apply the heat needed to create the weld. Welding robots can have a variety of appearances, but they tend to consist of one large arm that can rotate in various directions. At the end of the arm is a welding gun that actually performs the weld.

Closely related types of work now done by robots include cutting, grinding, polishing, drilling, sanding, painting, spraying, and otherwise treating the surface of a product. As with welding, activities of this kind are usually performed by one-armed robots that hang from the ceiling, project outward from a platform, or reach into a product from some other angle.

There are some obvious advantages for using a robot to perform tasks such as these. They are often boring, difficult, and sometimes dangerous tasks that have to be repeated over and over again in exactly the same way. Why should a human be employed to do such repetitive work, robotics engineers ask, when a machine can do the same task just as efficiently?

That argument can be used for many of the other industrial operations in which robots have replaced humans. Another example of such operations is the assembly of individual parts into some final product, as in the assembly of automobile parts in the manufacture of a car. At one time, only a crew of humans, each of whom had his or her own specific responsibility, could have done this kind of assembly: moving a body section into position, welding it into place, installing and tightening bolts, turning the body for the next operation, and so forth. In many assembly plants today, the assembly line of humans has been replaced by an assembly line of robots that does the same job, but more safely and more efficiently than was the case with the human team.

Mechanical robots have been successfully built to evolve the automobile assembly. Such an robotic system would eliminate most or all the human element. Its replacement would consist of automatic controls that guarantee a level of accuracy and quality that is beyond human skills. Advanced computerization has resulted in assembly lines that are completely run by computers controlling numerous types of industrial robots. Such robots perform repetitive, elementary tasks, but also are increasingly able to regulate or adjust their own performance to changing situations.

Movement of materials

Many industrial operations involve the lifting and moving of large, heavy objects over and over again. For example, a particular process may require the transfer of steel ingots onto a conveyor belt and then, at some later point, the removal of shaped pieces of steel made from those ingots. One way to perform these operations is with heavy machinery operated by human workers. But another method that is more efficient and safer is to substitute robots for the human and his or her machine.

Another type of heavy-duty robot is an exoskeleton, that is, a metallic contraption that surrounds a human worker. The human can step inside the exoskeleton, placing his or her arms and legs into the corresponding limbs of the exoskeleton. By operating the exoskeleton’s controls, the human can magnify his or her strength many times, picking up and handling objects that would otherwise be much too heavy for the operator’s own capacity.

Mobile robots are used for many heavy-duty operations. The robots operate on a system of wheels or legs, on a track, or with some other system of locomotion. They pick up a material or an object in one location and move it to a different location. The robots need not be designed to handle very large loads only. As an example, some office buildings contain tracks along which mobile robots can travel delivering mail to various locations within the building.

As another example of robots in everyday usage, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are used in medical facilities, such as hospitals, to move materials such as medicines and supplies from one location to another with the use of markers. Some AGVs are laser-guided and do not even need markers to guide them. Consumers not are seeing advertisements for vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers that are robots. The RoboMower^® from the company Friendly Robotics, is advertised to cut grass automatically without the use of human effort, gasoline, oil and harmful environmental emissions.

Hazardous or remote duty robots

A common application of robots is for use in places that humans can go only at risk to their own health or safety or that humans can not go at all. Industries where nuclear materials are used often make use of robots so that human workers are not exposed to the dangerous effects of radioactive materials. In one type of machine, a worker sits in a chair and places his or her hands and arms into a pair of sleeves. The controls within the sleeves are connected to a robot arm that can reach into a protected area where radioactive materials are kept. The worker can operate the robot arm and hand to perform many delicate operations that would otherwise have to be carried out by a human worker.

Robots have also been useful in space research. In 1975, for example, two space probes, code-named Viking 1 and Viking 2, landed on the planetMars. These probes were two of the most complex and sophisticated robots ever built at that time. Their job was to analyze the planet’s surface. In order to accomplish this task, the probes were equipped with a long arm that was able to operate across a 120° radius, digging into the ground and taking out samples of Martian soil. The samples were then transported to one of three chemical laboratories within the robot, where they underwent automated chemical analysis. The results of these analyses were then transmitted by automatic telemetry to receiving stations on the Earth.

How robots work

In order for a robot to imitate the actions of a human being, it has to be able to perform three fundamental tasks. First, it must be conscious of the world around it, just as humans obtain information about the world from five senses. Second, the robot must somehow be programmed to know what to do. One way for it to get that knowledge is to have a human prepare a set of instructions that are then implanted into the robot’s brain (central processing center). Alternatively, it must be able to analyze and interpret data it has received from its senses and then make a decision based on that data as to how it should react. Third, the robot must be able to act on the instructions or data it has received.

Not all robots have all of these functions. For example, some of the earliest ‘for fun’ robots like the Jacquet-Droz doll and scribe knew what to do because of the instructions that had been programmed into them by their inventors. The inventors also gave their toys the mechanical means with which to carry out their instructions: arms, fingers, torsos, eyes, and other body parts that were able to move in specific ways.

Mechanical systems

The human-like movements that a robot makes as it works can be accomplished with a relatively small number of mechanical systems. One of those systems is known as the rectangular or Cartesian coordinate system. This system consists of a set of components that can move in any one of three directions, all at right angles to each other.

Think of a three-dimensional system in which an x-axis and a y-axis define a flat plane. Perpendicular to that plane is a third axis, the z-axis. A rule can be made to travel along the x-axis, along the y-axis, or along the z-axis. Overall, the ruler has the ability to move in three different directions, back and forth along the xand y-axes and up and down along the z-axis. A system of this type is said to have three degrees of freedom because it has the ability to move in three distinct directions.

Another type of mechanical system is the cylindrical coordinate system. This system consists of a cylinder with a solid column through the middle of it. The cylinder can move up and down on the column (one degree of freedom), and an arm attached to the outside of the cylinder can rotate around the central column (a second degree of freedom). Finally, the arm can be constructed so that it will slide in and out of its housing attached to the cylinder (a third degree of freedom).

A third type of mechanical system is the spherical coordinate system. To understand this system, imagine a rectangular box-shaped component attached to a base. The box can rotate on its own axis (one degree of freedom) or tilt up or down on its axis (a second degree of freedom). An arm attached to the box may also be able to extend or retract, giving it a third degree of freedom.

Many robots have more than three degrees of freedom because they consist of two or more simple systems combined with each other. For example, a typical industrial robot might have one large arm constructed on a Cartesian coordinate system. At the end of the arm, there might then be a wrist-type component with the same or a different mechanical system. Attached to the wrist might then be a hand with fingers, each with a mechanical system of its own. Combinations of mechanical systems like this one make it possible for an industrial robot to perform a variety of complex maneuvers not entirely different from those of a human arm, wrist, hand, and finger.

Sensory systems

The component of modern robots that was most commonly missing from their early predecessors was the ability to collect data from the outside world. Humans accomplish this task, of course, by means of hands, eyes, ears, noses, and tongues. With some important exceptions, robots usually do not need to have the ability to hear, smell, or taste things in the world around them, but they are often required to be able to see an object or to feel it.

The simplest optical system used in robots is a photoelectric cell. A photoelectric cell converts light-energy into electrical energy. It allows a robot to determine yes/no situations in its field of vision, such as whether a particular piece of equipment is present or not. Suppose, for example, that a robot looks at a place on the table in front of it where a tool is supposed to be. If the tool is present, light will be reflected off it and sent to the robot’s photoelectric cell. There, the light waves will be converted to an electrical current that is transmitted to the robot’s computer-brain.

More complex robot video systems make use of television cameras. The images collected by the cameras are sent to the robot’s brain, where they are processed for understanding. One means of processing is to compare the image received by the television camera with other images stored in the robot’s computer-brain.

The human sense of touch can be replicated in a robot by means of tactile sensors. One kind of tactile sensor is nothing more than a simple switch that goes from one position to another when the robot’s fingers come into contact with a solid object. When a finger comes into contact with an object, the switch may close, allowing an electrical current to flow to the brain. A more sophisticated sense of touch can be provided by combining a group of tactile sensors at various positions on the robot’s hand. This arrangement allows the robot to estimate the shape, size, and contours of an object being examined.

Microcomputer-driven robots

Probably the most important development in the history of robotics has been the evolution of the microcomputer. The microcomputer makes it possible to store enormous amounts of information as well as huge processing programs into the brain of a robot. With the aid of a microcomputer, a robot can not only be provided with far more basic programming than had been possible before, but it can also be provided with the programming needed to help the robot teach itself, that is, to learn. For example, some computers designed to carry out repetitious tasks have developed the ability to learn from previous mistakes and, therefore, to work more efficiently in the future.

An android named Repliee has been designed and constructed by Japanese scientists from Osaka University. The android, which looks like a Japanese woman, has

KEY TERMS

Degrees of freedom— The number of geometric positions through which a robot can move.

Exoskeleton— An external bodily framework; in the field of robotics, an exoskeleton is a metallic frame within which a human can stand or sit in order to manipulate the frame itself.

Tactile sensor— A device that converts mechanical pressure into an electrical current.

flexible silicone for skin and numerous sensors and motors for fluttering eyelids moving hands, and making general human-like motions. Repliee has numerous actuators within the upper body and four high sensitive tactile sensors under the left arm that react to various pressures.

Advancements

Robots are increasing used in hazardous conditions, such as bomb disposal robots that are used in the military. The iRobot Packbot is an explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) robot that is used when explosives are involved. Onboard the Packbot are cameras, laser pointers, sensors, and other equipment that can sense explosive materials. When identified as such, the robot is able to defuse the explosive so soldiers are not placed in danger. As of November 2006, hundreds of PackBots had been deployed by the United States military in the countries of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Other robots are being designed and constructed for more mundane efforts. Robots are being developed to provide companionship to people (social robots) such as robotic pets. Sony’s AIBO pet dog is designed with a variety of preprogrammed behaviors. However, based on human interactions, the robot can learn other new behaviors. The dog is programmed to play with its pink ball, however, by petting the dog’s head repeatedly, for example, it will begin to like such activity.

Medical scientists are working on the design of tiny nanomachines that will eventually travel inside the human body to destroy cancer cells, clean arteries, and repair tissues and organs. Such robots will also perform highly delicate surgeries or allow surgeons in one part of the world to perform surgery at other locations. In June 2003, a robot helped a surgeon to perform the first robot-assisted cardiac operation. The minimally evasive heart surgery was performed at Johns Hopkins Hospital (Maryland) with the use of the da Vinci Surgical Robotic System. Aerospace scientists are also designing tiny machines, some at nano-meter scale sizes (where one nanometer is one-billionth of one meter) that will help explore the dangerous environments of outer space.

See also Artificial intelligence; Automation.

Resources

BOOKS

Aylett, Ruth. Robots: Bringing Intelligent Machines to Life? Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2002.

Branwyn, Gareth. Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Building Robots. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing, 2004.

Cook, David. Robot Building for Beginners. New York: APress, 2002.

Fellous, Jean-Marc, and Michael A. Arbib, eds. Who Needs Emotions? The Brain Meets the Robot. Oxford, UK, and New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Foster, Lynn E. Nanotechnology: Science, Innovation and Opportunity. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR, 2006.

Hall, J. Storrs. Nanofuture: What’s Next for Nanotechnology. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2005.

Liu, John X. Computer Vision and Robotics. New York: Nova Science, 2006.

Patnaik, Srikanta. Innovations in Robot Mobility and Control. Berlin, Germany: Springer, 2006.

Selig, J.M. Geometric Fundamentals of Robotics. New York: Springer, 2005.

Warwick, Kevin. March of the Machines: The Breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2004.

Zivanovic, Milovan. Multi-arm Cooperating Robots: Dynamics and Control. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 2006.

OTHER

BBC News. “Japanese develop ‘female’ android.”<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm> (accessed November 19, 2006).

Current Science and Technology Center. “Robotic Surgery.”<http://www.mos.org/cst/article/1623/> (accessed November 19, 2006).

Discover. “Emerging Technology: Smart Robot Pet Tricks.” <http://www.discover.com/issues/feb-04/departments/emerging-technology/> (accessed November 19, 2006). Friendly Robotics. “Automatic Lawnmowers by Friendly

Robotics@reg;.”<http://www.friendlyrobotics.com/> (accessed November 19, 2006).

Honda, Inc. “Asimo Humanoid Robot Project,” homepage. <http://world.honda.com/ASIMO/> (accessed November 19, 2006). Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University.

“Robot-assisted Minimally-invasive Cardiac Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.”<http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/CardiacSurgery/PatientCare/robot.html> (accessed November 19, 2006).

David E. Newton

Robotics

The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) defines robot as follows: "A robot is a reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks." Recently, however, the industry's current working definition of a robot has come to be understood as any piece of equipment that has three or more degrees of movement or freedom.

Robotics is an increasingly visible and important component of modern business, especially in certain industries. Robotics-oriented production processes are most obvious in factories and manufacturing facilities; in fact, approximately 90 percent of all robots in operation today can be found in such facilities. These robots, termed "industrial robots," were found almost exclusively in automobile manufacturing plants 20 years ago. But industrial robots are now being used in laboratories, research and development facilities, warehouses, hospitals, energy-oriented industries (petroleum, nuclear power, etc.), and, above all, in research.

According to RIA, some 160,000 robots were installed and operating in the U.S. in 2006. In 2005, 19,594 robots valued at $1.18 billion were shipped to North American companies. In the first quarter of 2006, orders by RIA members (about 90 percent of the industry) were valued at $272 million and represented 3,722 such machines. Robotics thus is already a well-established and one might say mature industry—and yet its future is unimaginably large and diverse.

TECHNOLOGY

Today's robotics systems operate like most machines by way of hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical power. Electric motors have become progressively smaller, with high power-to-weight ratios, enabling them to become the dominant means by which robots are powered. The crucial element in robotics is the artificial intelligence carried in the programmable circuitry of the machines.

Robots are comprised of elements that differ depending on end use. The hand of a robot, for instance, is referred to in the industry as an "end effector." End effectors may be specialized tools, such as spot welders or spray guns, or more general-purpose grippers. Common grippers include fingered and vacuum types. Another central element of robotics control technology is the sensor. It is through sensors that a robotic system receives knowledge of its environment, to which subsequent actions of the robot can be adjusted. Sensors are used to enable a robot to adjust to variations in the position of objects to be picked up, to inspect objects, and to monitor proper operation (although some robots are able to adjust to variations in object placement without the use of sensors, provided they have sufficient end effector flexibility). Important sensor types include visual, force and torque, speed and acceleration, tactile, and distance sensors. The majority of industrial robots use simple binary sensing, analogous to an on/off switch. This does not permit sophisticated feedback to the robot as to how successfully an operation was performed. Lack of adequate feedback also often requires the use of guides and fixtures to constrain the motions of a robot through an operation, which implies substantial inflexibility in changing operations.

Robots are programmed either by guiding or by off-line programming. Most industrial robots are programmed by the former method. This involves manually guiding a robot from point to point through the phases of an operation, with each point stored in the robotic control system. With off-line programming, the points of an operation are defined through computer commands. This is referred to as manipulator level off-line programming. An important area of research is the development of off-line programming that makes use of higher-level languages, in which robotic actions are defined by tasks or objectives.

Robots may be programmed to move through a specified continuous path instead of from point to point. Continuous path control is necessary for operations such as spray painting or arc welding a curved joint. Programming also requires that a robot be synchronized with the automated machine tools or other robots with which it is working. Thus robot control systems are generally interfaced with a more centralized control system.

COMMON USES OF ROBOTICS

Industrial robotics has emerged as a popular manufacturing methodology in several areas in recent years, including welding, materials transport, assembly, and spray finishing operations.

Spot and Electric Arc Welding

Welding guns are heavy and the speed of assembly lines requires precise movement, thus creating an ideal niche for robotics. Parts can be welded either through the movement of the robot or by keeping the robot relatively stationary and moving the part past the robot. The latter method has come into widespread use since it generally requires less expensive conveyor systems. The control system of the robot must synchronize the robot with the speed of the assembly line and with other robots working on the line. Control systems may also count the number of welds completed and derive productivity data.

Pick-and-Place Operations

Industrial robots also perform what are referred to as pick-and-place operations. Among the most common of these operations is loading and unloading pallets, used across a broad range of industries. This requires relatively complex programming, as the robot must sense how full a pallet is and adjust its placements or removals accordingly. Robots have been vital in pick-and-place operations in the casting of metals and plastics. In the die casting of metals, for instance, productivity using the same die-casting machinery has increased up to three times, the result of robots' greater speed, strength, and ability to withstand heat in parts removal operations.

Assembly

Assembly is one of the most demanding operations for industrial robots. A number of conditions must be met for robotic assembly to be viable, among them that the overall production system be highly coordinated and that the product be designed with robotic assembly in mind. The sophistication of the control system required implies a large initial capital outlay, which generally requires production of 100,000 to one million units per year in order to be profitable. Robotic assembly has come to be used in the production of a wide range of goods, including circuit boards, electronic components and equipment, household appliances, and automotive subassemblies.

Spray Finishing Operations

Industrial robots are widely used in spray finishing operations, particularly in the automobile industry. One of the reasons these operations are cost-effective is that they minimize the need for environmental control to protect workers from fumes.

Robots are also used for quality control inspections, since they can be programmed to quantitatively measure various aspects of a product's creation. In addition, the use of robots in environmental applications, such as the cleaning of contaminated sites and the handling and analysis of hazardous materials, represents an important growth market for robotics producers. Non-industrial applications for robots in security, commercial cleaning, food service, and health care are also on the rise.

FUTURE OF ROBOTICS

Recent research and development has addressed a number of aspects of robotics. Robotic hands have been developed which offer greater dexterity and flexibility, and improvements have been made in visual sensors as well (earlier generations of visual sensors were designed for use with television and home video, and did not process information quickly for optimal performance in many robotics applications; as a consequence, solid-state vision sensors came into increased use, and developments were also made with fiber optics). The use of superconducting materials, meanwhile, offers the possibility of substantial improvements in the electric motors that drive robotic arms. Attempts have also been made to develop lighter robotic arms and increase their rigidity. Standardization of software and hardware to facilitate the centralization of control systems has also been an important area of development in recent years.

Research in robotics is a large and thriving enterprise ranging at one end from artificial intelligence studies attempting to decompose the processes of human thought—so that these can be mechanized and put into robots—to complex and independent movement needed to turn industrial robots into walking, talking, and manipulating human look-alikes—the way ordinary people picture robots. Communication between people and robots—and robot-to-robot dialogue—fit into this spectrum somewhere. Motivations for creating robots arise from the field of medicine where robots are being developed to act as nursing aides on the one hand and as intelligent miniaturized agents on the other. Environmental issues have engaged robotics designers, e.g., the demanufacturing of electronic equipment which is a form of toxic waste and the handling of nuclear wastes. Robot miners may someday replace humans in dangerous environments. And, of course, robotics is a major area of research in defense applications.

Participation in this business by small business has centered around research and development—either directly in developing applications or in providing support services. High levels of engineering, electronics, and computer science skills are the keys of entry—and not least an interest in what is a genuinely fascinating subject.

see also Automation

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Age of Robotic Care for the Elderly?" Healthcare Financial Management. May 2006.

"Almost Human: They walk, talk and handle objects like we do. Get ready for a new era in robotics." New Scientist. 4 February 2006.

"Deployment of Robotics for Demanufacturing of Electronic Products." Advanced Manufacturing Technology. 15 April 2006.

Dubey, Venketesh N., and Jian S. Dai. "A Packaging Robot for Complex Cartons." Industrial Robot. March-April 2006.

"First Quarter 2006 Robot Sales Impacted by Downturn in Automotive Market." Robotics Online. 3 May 2006.

Nowak, Rachel. "And they call it robot love." New Scientist. 14 January 2006.

"Robotic Sensing for the Mining Industry." Advanced Manufacturing Technology. 15 March 2006.

"Robotic Surgery: Medic-aid." The Engineer. 3 October 2005.

Sands, David. "Cost Effective Robotics in the Nuclear Industry." Industrial Robot. May-June 2006.

Thilmany, Jean. "Space Robots Like Us." Mechanical Engineering-CIME. April 2006.

                                Hillstrom, Northern Lights

                                 updated by Magee, ECDI

Robotics

Robotics is the science of designing and building machines that can be programmed to perform more than one function traditionally performed by humans. The word robot comes from a play written in 1920 by the Czech author Karel Capek. Capek's R.U.R. (for Rossum's Universal Robots) is the story of an inventor who creates humanlike machines designed to take over many forms of human work.

Historical background

The idea of a machine that looks and behaves like a human being goes back at least 2,000 years. According to Greek mythology, Hephaestus, the god of fire, constructed artificial women out of gold. These women were able to walk, talk, and even to think.

By the eighteenth century, scientists and inventors had created an impressive array of mechanical figures that looked and acted like humans and other animals. The French Jacquet-Droz brothers, Pierre and Henri-Louis, for example, constructed a doll that was able to play the piano, swaying in time with the music, and a young scribe who could write messages of up to 40 characters.

Many of these early accomplishments had little practical value. They were built in order to impress or charm viewers, or to demonstrate the inventor's creative and technological skills. That line of research continues today. Many modern robots have little function beyond demonstrating what can be done in building machines that more and more closely resemble the appearance and function of humans.

One function for such robots is in advertising. They are used to publicize some particular product or to inform the general public about the robots themselves. Robots of this kind are most commonly found at conventions, conferences, or other large meetings. As one example, a robot named Argon was used in April 1983 to walk a dog through a veterinary congress in London, promoting the "Pets Are Good People" program.

Robots at work: the present day

Robots have come to play a widespread and crucial role in many industrial operations today. These robots are almost always of the Jacquard type—with few human features—rather than the Jacquet-Droz, doll-like style. The work that robots do can be classified into three major categories: in the assembly and finishing of products; in the movement of materials and objects; and in the performance of work in environmentally difficult or hazardous situations.

The most common single application of robots is in welding . About a quarter of all robots used by industry have this function. In a typical operation, two pieces of metal will be moved within the welding robot's field and the robot will apply the heat needed to create the weld. Welding robots can have a variety of appearances, but they tend to consist of one large arm that can rotate in various directions. At the end of the arm is a welding gun that actually performs the weld.

Closely related types of work now done by robots include cutting, grinding, polishing, drilling, sanding, painting, spraying, and otherwise treating the surface of a product. As with welding, activities of this kind are usually performed by one-armed robots that hang from the ceiling, project outward from a platform, or reach into a product from some other angle.

There are some obvious advantages for using a robot to perform tasks such as these. They are often boring, difficult, and sometimes dangerous tasks that have to be repeated over and over again in exactly the same way. Why should a human be employed to do such repetitive work, robotics engineers ask, when a machine can do the same task just as efficiently?

That argument can be used for many of the other industrial operations in which robots have replaced humans. Another example of such operations is the assembly of individual parts into some final product, as in the assembly of automobile parts in the manufacture of a car. At one time, this kind of assembly could have been done only by a crew of humans, each of whom had his or her own specific responsibility: moving a body section into position, welding it into place, installing and tightening bolts, turning the body for the next operation, and so forth. In many assembly plants today, the assembly line of humans has been replaced by an assembly line of robots that does the same job, but more safely and more efficiently than was the case with the human team.

Movement of materials

Many industrial operations involve the lifting and moving of large, heavy objects over and over again. For example, a particular process may require the transfer of steel ingots onto a conveyor belt and then, at some later point, the removal of shaped pieces of steel made from those ingots. One way to perform these operations is with heavy machinery operated by human workers. But another method that is more efficient and safer is to substitute robots for the human and his or her machine.

Another type of heavy-duty robot is an exoskeleton, that is, a metallic contraption that surrounds a human worker. The human can step inside the exoskeleton, placing his or her arms and legs into the corresponding limbs of the exoskeleton. By operating the exoskeleton's controls, the human can magnify his or her strength many times, picking up and handling objects that would otherwise be much too heavy for the operator's own capacity.

Mobile robots are used for many heavy-duty operations. The robots operate on a system of wheels or legs, on a track, or with some other system of locomotion. They pick up a material or an object in one location and move it to a different location. The robots need not be designed to handle very large loads only. As an example, some office buildings contain tracks along which mobile robots can travel delivering mail to various locations within the building.

Hazardous or remote duty robots

A common application of robots is for use in places that humans can go only at risk to their own health or safety or that humans can not go at all. Industries where nuclear materials are used often make use of robots so that human workers are not exposed to the dangerous effects of radioactive materials. In one type of machine, a worker sits in a chair and places his or her hands and arms into a pair of sleeves. The controls within the sleeves are connected to a robot arm that can reach into a protected area where radioactive materials are kept. The worker can operate the robot arm and hand to perform many delicate operations that would otherwise have to be carried out by a human worker.

Robots have also been useful in space research. In 1975, for example, two space probes, code-named Viking 1 and Viking 2, landed on the planet Mars . These probes were two of the most complex and sophisticated robots ever built. Their job was to analyze the planet's surface. In order to accomplish this task, the probes were equipped with a long arm that was able to operate across a 120° radius, digging into the ground and taking out samples of Martian soil . The samples were then transported to one of three chemical laboratories within the robot, where they underwent automated chemical analysis. The results of these analyses were then transmitted by automatic telemetry to receiving stations on Earth .

How robots work

In order for a robot to imitate the actions of a human being, it has to be able to perform three fundamental tasks. First, it must be conscious of the world around it, just as humans obtain information about the world from our five senses. Second, the robot must somehow "know" what to do. One way for it to get that knowledge is to have a human prepare a set of instructions that are then implanted into the robot's "brain." Alternatively, it must be able to analyze and interpret data it has received from its senses and then make a decision based on that data as to how it should react. Third, the robot must be able to act on the instructions or data it has received.

Not all robots have all of these functions. For example, some of the earliest "for fun" robots like the Jacquet-Droz doll and scribe "knew" what to do because of the instructions that had been programmed into them by their inventors. The inventors also gave their toys the mechanical means with which to carry out their instructions: arms, fingers, torsos, eyes, and other body parts that were able to move in specific ways.

Mechanical systems

The humanlike movements that a robot makes as it works can be accomplished with a relatively small number of mechanical systems. One of those systems is known as the rectangular or Cartesian coordinate system. This system consists of a set of components that can move in any one of three directions, all at right angles to each other.

Think of a three-dimensional system in which an x-axis and a y-axis define a flat plane . Perpendicular to that plane is a third axis, the z-axis. A rule can be made to travel along the x-axis, along the y-axis, or along the z-axis. Overall, the ruler has the ability to move in three different directions, back and forth along the x- and y-axes and up and down along the z-axis. A system of this type is said to have three degrees of freedom because it has the ability to move in three distinct directions.

Another type of mechanical system is the cylindrical coordinate system. This system consists of a cylinder with a solid column through the middle of it. The cylinder can move up and down on the column (one degree of freedom), and an arm attached to the outside of the cylinder can rotate around the central column (a second degree of freedom). Finally, the arm can be constructed so that it will slide in and out of its housing attached to the cylinder (a third degree of freedom).

A third type of mechanical system is the spherical coordinate system. To understand this system, imagine a rectangular box-shaped component attached to a base. The box can rotate on its own axis (one degree of freedom) or tilt up or down on its axis (a second degree of freedom). An arm attached to the box may also be able to extend or retract, giving it a third degree of freedom.

Many robots have more than three degrees of freedom because they consist of two or more simple systems combined with each other. For example, a typical industrial robot might have one large arm constructed on a Cartesian coordinate system. At the end of the arm there might then be a wrist-type component with the same or a different mechanical system. Attached to the wrist might then be a hand with fingers, each with a mechanical system of its own. Combinations of mechanical systems like this one make it possible for an industrial robot to perform a variety of complex maneuvers not entirely different from those of a human arm, wrist, hand, and finger.

Sensory systems

The component of modern robots that was most commonly missing from their early predecessors was the ability to collect data from the outside world. Humans accomplish this task, of course, by means of our hands, eyes, ears, noses, and tongues. With some important exceptions, robots usually do not need to have the ability to hear, smell , or taste things in the world around them, but they are often required to be able to "see" an object or to "feel" it.

The simplest optical system used in robots is a photoelectric cell . A photoelectric cell converts light energy into electrical energy. It allows a robot to determine "yes/no" situations in its field of vision , such as whether a particular piece of equipment is present or not. Suppose, for example, that a robot looks at a place on the table in front of it where a tool is supposed to be. If the tool is present, light will be reflected off it and sent to the robot's photoelectric cell. There, the light waves will be converted to an electrical current that is transmitted to the robot's computer-brain.

More complex robot video systems make use of television cameras. The images collected by the cameras are sent to the robot's "brain," where they are processed for understanding. One means of processing is to compare the image received by the television camera with other images stored in the robot's computer-brain.

The human sense of touch can be replicated in a robot by means of tactile sensors. One kind of tactile sensor is nothing more than a simple switch that goes from one position to another when the robot's fingers come into contact with a solid object. When a finger comes into contact with an object, the switch may close, allowing an electrical current to flow to the brain . A more sophisticated sense of touch can be provided by combining a group of tactile sensors at various positions on the robot's hand. This arrangement allows the robot to estimate the shape, size, and contours of an object being examined.

Microcomputer-driven robots

Probably the most important development in the history of robotics has been the evolution of the microcomputer. The microcomputer makes it possible to store enormous amounts of information as well as huge processing programs into the brain of a robot. With the aid of a microcomputer, a robot can not only be provided with far more basic programming than had been possible before, but it can also be provided with the programming needed to help the robot teach itself, that is, to learn. For example, some computers designed to carry out repetitious tasks have developed the ability to learn from previous mistakes and, therefore, to work more efficiently in the future.

See also Artificial intelligence; Automation.

Resources

books

Aleksander, Igor, and Piers Burnett. Reinventing Man: TheRobot Becomes Reality. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983.

Asimov, Isaac, and Karen A. Frenkel. Robots: Machines inMan's Image. New York: Harmony Books, 1985.

Cook, David. Robot Building for Beginners. New York: APress, 2002.

D'Ignazio, Fred. Working Robots. New York: Elsevier/Nelson Books, 1982.

Malone, Robert. The Robot Book. New York: Harvest/HBJ Book, 1978.

Metos, Thomas. Robots A to Z. New York: Julian Messner, 1980.

Reichardt, Jasia. Robots: Fact, Fiction, and Prediction. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.

Wise, Edwin. Advanced Robotics. Dover, DE: Delmar Learning, 1999.

other

Current Science and Technology Center. "Robotic Surgery" [cited April 2003]. <http://www.mos.org/cst/article/1623/>.

Honda, Inc. "Asimo Humanoid Robot Project," homepage [cited April 2003]. <http://world.honda.com/robot/>.

David E. Newton

KEY TERMS

Degrees of freedom

—The number of geometric positions through which a robot can move.

Exoskeleton

—An external bodily framework; in the field of robotics, an exoskeleton is a metallic frame within which a human can stand or sit in order to manipulate the frame itself.

Tactile sensor

—A device that converts mechanical pressure into an electrical current.

Robotics

Robotics is a form of automation that is helping twenty-first century manufacturers in numerous industries gain rapid increases in productivity. Functions formerly performed by humans—especially difficult, dangerous, monotonous, or tedious tasks—are now often assumed by robots or other mechanical devices that can be operated by humans or computers. Moreover, robots can be used to take the place of humans in extreme settings or life-threatening situations involving nuclear contaminants, corrosive chemicals, or poisonous fumes. Firmly established as a critical manufacturing technology, robotics is gaining increasing acceptance by the workforce, garnering praise for its reliability, and being utilized more extensively in medium and small companies.

THE USE OF INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS

As manufacturing assembly has grown increasingly complex, the need for new and expanded capabilities, particularly in automated assembly systems, has become evident. As components get smaller, as in microchip manufacturing, greater precision is required, and throughout manufacturing, greater flexibility and higher throughput are necessary for competitive advantage. Manual assembly no longer suffices for a great many of manufacturing's current requirements. Without industrial robots, many manufacturing tasks would simply be impossible, or their performance would be prohibitively expensive.

During the early stages of robotics development, the automobile industry was the main market for robot manufacturers. In the early 1980s, 70 percent of robot orders were for use in the automotive industry. During this time, robot manufacturers simultaneously improved their reliability and performance and sought to lessen their dependence on the automotive industry by focusing on specific niche markets. By concentrating on applications other than spot welding, painting, and dispensing, the robotics industry was able to develop products that could successfully handle not only assembly, but also material handling and material removal. Spot welding, which for a long time was the major application of robotics, eventually was eclipsed by materials handling.

While the automobile industry remains the largest user of robotics, other industries are increasing their use of robotics. The development of materials-handling robots was a clear indication that the robotics industry was becoming less dependent on the automobile industry, since materials handling is used in a wide and varied range of industries. Additionally, non-manufacturing applications started to become viable in such areas as security, health care, environmental cleanup, and space and under-sea exploration. According to reports from the Robotics Industries Association (RIA), industries such as semiconductors and electronics, metals, plastics and rubber, food and consumer goods, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, and aerospace are all finding ways that their services can be enhanced and improved through robotics.

Some manufacturers are also improving the quality of their products by using robots with powerful machine-vision inspection equipment or by linking their robots to statistical process control systems. Robot fixtures can move quickly and fluidly without sacrificing accuracy. Servo-driven positioners can be programmed to handle more than one model on the same line, something especially important to lean organizations. This programmability also allows its users to set up the systems again and again for different applications. In most cases, converting robots from one application to another can be completed with minimal downtime, requiring only programming changes. Benefits include reduced capital expenses (a firm does not have to buy new fixtures for new applications), as well as reduced floor space requirements, lead-time, component expenses, and training investment.

GROWTH IN THE ROBOTICS INDUSTRY

Robotics technology was first developed in the United States, but Japanese manufacturers were the first to fully embrace robotics. Observers view this as a significant factor in Japan's emergence as a global manufacturing power. Today Japan is not only one of the major users of manufacturing robotics, but it is also the dominant manufacturer of industrial robots.

The robotics industry has been growing in the twenty-first century. The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) reports that an estimated 178,000 industrial robots are in use in the United States as of 2008, up from 82,000 in 1998. In 2007, North American manufacturers purchased nearly 16,000 robots valued at over $1 billion, a 24 percent increase from the previous year. The key factors driving the current growth in robotics are mass customization of electronic goods (specifically communications equipment), the miniaturization of electronic goods and their internal components, and the restandardization of the semiconductor industry. The food and beverage industry is also in the midst of an equipment-spending boom in an effort to improve operating efficiencies. Robot installations for such tasks as packaging, palletizing, and filling are expected to see continued growth. In addition, increases are anticipated in the aerospace, appliance, and non-manufacturing markets.

Though less dependent on the automotive industry than in the past, the robotics industry still finds its widest application in that market. Purchases in 2007 were particularly high in the automobile industry, with a 100 percent increase in orders for spot-welding robots and a 38 percent increase for coating and dispensing robots. However, driven by the need for increased manufacturing efficiency, the automakers and automotive-related industries are moving away from hard automation in favor of flexible automation. Analysts predict greater use of robots for assembly, paint systems, final trim, and parts transfer in the automotive industry. Realistic robot simulation is making an impact by integrating vehicle design and engineering into manufacturing.

One reason for increased practicality of robots is the availability to control machinery and systems through personal or laptop computers. According to Waurzyniak, some advances in computer-guided systems are robots with force-sensing capabilities and 3-D and 2-D vision-guidance capabilities. NASA is using sophisticated computer-guided robot controllers for its space shuttle Endeavor and the Mars landing craft. Each of these systems utilize computer control of some sort, ranging from simple machine-specific tracking to shop-wide data collection across a variety of machinery and instruments to galactic monitoring and control in a unique, outer space environment.

THE FUTURE OF ROBOTICS

To some, the future of robotics has never looked brighter. While robots are now a fixture in factories, robotics experts expect to see their range increasing. The author of Theory of Applied Robotics: Kinematics, Dynamics, and Control (2007) states, “Robots are prospective machines whose application area is widening.” Other observers are even more excited, expecting robots to lead from the factory to other areas of life relatively soon. As the author of Robots: From Science Fiction to Technological Revolution (2005) put it, “Now, on the cusp of the 21st century, [robots] are poised to saturate every aspect of our culture, from medicine, science, and industry to artworks, toys, and household appliances.”

Production of bipedal robots that mimic human movement are being created around the globe. Honda Motor Company's ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) robot is considered the world's most advanced humanoid robot. It can climb stairs, kick, walk, talk, dance, and even communicate and interact via its voice

and facial recognition systems. Honda plans to one day market the robot as an assisted-living companion for the disabled or elderly. Other robots that simulate human movement have been created at Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Holland's Delft University of Technology.

Chip Walter's 2005 article, “You, Robot,” discusses renowned robotics researcher, Hans Moravec, Carnegie Mellon University scientist and cofounder of the university's Robotics Institute. Moravec is known for his longstanding prediction that super-robots that can perceive, intuit, adapt, think, and even simulate feelings, much like humans, will be practicable before the year 2050. His confidence in his predictions led him to open his own robotics firm in 2003, the Seegrid Corporation, to assist him in fulfilling his claims. His path toward that vision is to start simply—to create mobile carts with software and vision systems that can be “taught” to follow paths and navigate independently. Moravec believes that machines will evolve in small steps, eventually reaching the levels of human intelligence and movement. His bedrock belief, on which he bases his technology, is “… if robots are going to succeed, the world cannot be adapted to them; they have to adapt to the world, just like the rest of us.”

Stuart Brown reports that navigation technologies such as the global positioning system (GPS) are allowing industrial robots to move around in the world. GPS in conjunction with inertial navigation systems (INS) and the booming field of silicon micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are impacting robotics from simple automated lawn mowers to complex airplane control systems. Robotics are reaching the micro-level with the exploration of robotic water “insects” equipped with biomechanical sensors that could be used as environmental monitors. The current prototype weighs less than a gram and draws power from ultra-thin electrical wires. An affordable and time-saving alternative to locating gas leaks has been developed in a pipe-inspecting robot crawler; equipped with multiple joints and video cameras, it easily navigates sharp turns and narrow pipes while projecting images of pipe integrity to a monitor. Plans for the future include a sensor that will detect corrosion and cracks in the pipes that do not appear in the video images.

Robots have come of age. While they were initially used for fairly simple tasks such as welding and spray-painting automobiles, these machines have increased tremendously in ability over the last decade, reaching further than simple auto applications. Robotics will remain vital in the decades to come due to expanding scientific fields and increasing demand for more affordable and sophisticated methods of accomplishing common tasks. If robotics experts and forecasters are correct, people will soon see robots leaving the factory and taking their place among the rest of society, performing tasks once imagined only in science fiction.

SEE ALSO Lean Manufacturing and Just-in-Time Production; Quality and Total Quality Management; Simulation

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, S.F. “Send in the Robots!” Fortune (Industrial Management Version), 24 January 2005, 140C–146C.

Ichbiah, Daniel. Robots: From Science Fiction to Technological Revolution. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 2005.

Jazar, Reza N. Theory of Applied Robotics: Kinematics, Dynamics, and Control. New York: Springer, 2007.

Meredith, Jack R., and Scott M. Shafer. Operations Management for MBAs. 3rd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2006.

Robotic Industries Association. “North American Robot Orders Jump 24% in 2007.” Robotics Online, 21 February 2008. Available from: http://www.robotics.org/content-detail.cfm/Industrial-Robotics-News/North-American-Robot-Orders-Jump-24-in-2007/content_id/423.

Siciliano, Bruno, and Oussama Khatib, eds. Springer Handbook of Robotics. New York: Springer, 2008.

“Six Degrees of Robotic Fixturing.” Automotive Manufacturing & Production 110, no. 11 (1998): 80.

Vincent, D.A. “Leading the Charge to a Productive 21st Century.” Robotics World 16, no. 4 (1998): 19–26.

Walter, Chip. “You, Robot.” Scientific American 292, no. 1 (2005): 36–37.

Waurzyniak, P. “Automating the Factory.” Manufacturing Engineering 134, no. 2 (2005): 93–99.

“Your Standard Robot.” Machine Design 70, no. 15 (1998): 56.

Robotics

Robotics is the study of how to design, build, use, and work with robots. Although there is no consensus regarding the definition of the term robot, it is commonly defined as a mechanism that can sense its environment, process what it senses, and act upon its environment based on that processing.

Precursors of Robots

Automatons—mechanisms that perform predefined tasks with some degree of autonomy —are the early predecessors of robots and have existed for more than 1,000 years. In the ninth century, the Chinese built a statue of Buddha surrounded by steam-powered servants that would move in a circle around the central figure. In the eighteenth century, the French constructed small mechanical "scribes" that, when powered by hand, could write up to forty pre-set characters using an attached writing implement. In the nineteenth century, automatons gave way to automation. In 1801 Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1754–1834), a French inventor, designed and built a loom that used a set of punched cards with which the user could produce complex tapestries simply by pushing a pedal.

Grey Walters, a British scientist, built devices in the 1940s that moved toward lights and retreated from contact. Between 1961 and 1963, Johns Hopkins University staff built the "Hopkins Beast" that wandered the halls, stayed away from walls, and plugged itself in for recharging. All of these mechanisms are considered automatons rather than robots because they responded to stimuli without processing them first.

Early Robots

The devices now called robots developed from the work of scientists in three separate fields of engineering: teleoperation , manufacturing, and artificial intelligence (AI) .

American inventor George C. Devol Jr. filed a patent in 1954 for a playback device for controlling machines. Devol's work grew from, among other things, Teleoperation, which began in the 1930s to handle nuclear materials. In 1958 Devol and Joseph Engelberger, an American entrepreneur, filed a patent for the first programmable manipulator (robot arm). The Unimation Corporation was formed in 1961 to put such devices into production. Engelberger's vision was to outfit assembly lines, such as those in automobile factories, with robot manipulators to automate the heavy lifting and assembly of large parts. General Motors (GM) installed the first industrial robot, made by Unimation, on a production line in 1962.

Also in the 1960s, scientists at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) studied artificial intelligence on computers. They wanted to make their work more interesting and applicable to the real world, so the team built Shakey, the first mobile robot, in 1969. Shakey had a camera, a range finder, and bump sensors that allowed it to detect obstacles.

Applications of Robotics

Since the first Unimation robot, the scope and complexity of industrial tasks carried out by robots has steadily increased. Modern automotive factories use robots for assembly, welding, painting, and quality control. Innovation in the Mobile Robotics community has led to the creation of industrial robots that can autonomously harvest grain, mow lawns, and clean spacecraft.

The field of Medical Robotics has adapted and expanded many of the techniques created for robot arms into tools for doctors. A hip replacement, which traditionally requires a 30-centimeter (11.7-inch) incision, can be done with an 8-centimeter (3.1-inch) incision using robotic assistance. These improvements lead to shorter recovery periods for patients and reduce the chance of infection. Robotics allows a doctor to spend less time on standard procedures, and more time on difficult cases and unexpected complications.

Robots are also particularly useful for exploring and working in hazardous environments. Robotic rovers travel to other planets and send back information to scientists. There are robots that clean oil and gasoline tanks, and robots that remove asbestos from underground pipes. The U.S. military is putting a substantial amount of effort into developing robot scouts, advance teams, and tools to save the lives of military personnel in both offensive and defensive situations.

In the transportation field, robots are quickly gaining ground, though the mechanisms are rarely called robots. By 2000, there were automobiles that could autonomously maintain a safe distance behind other cars. Modern airplanes can take off, fly, and land without assistance from the pilot, and are therefore robots by most definitions. The near future will bring cars that do not need drivers, trains that do not need conductors, and planes that do not need pilots. Robotics and robot technologies are also widely used in amusement parks, movies, and toys.

Robotics in Science

Even more varied than the consumer and business applications of robotics are the academic disciplines that have been created to advance the state of the art. Robotics is characterized by a synergy between very practical applications and cutting-edge research. Broadly, while industry focuses on finding robotic ways of doing existing tasks, research focuses on extending the fundamental abilities of robots. This division is not a strict rule, however; many research labs produce usable robots, and industrial development routinely improves basic robotic technology. All areas of robotics are studied, to varying degrees, in academic, governmental, and industrial research laboratories.

In the 1940s, as the mechanisms being controlled in Teleoperation became more complex, Telerobotics, the study of remotely operated robots, was born. As Engelberger created and popularized robots in factories, researchers created the field of Manipulation, or the study of the physics and control of those machines. Mobile Robotics studies techniques for enabling robots to move through their environments. There are wheeled robots, legged robots, and treaded robots. There are robots with one, two, four, six, or more legs, and robots with combinations of treads, wheels, and legs. Medical Robotics, Space Robotics, and Industrial Robotics, among others, are also significant fields of scientific research and study.

Robotics also enhances the work of scientists in other fields. Telerobotics has enabled scientists to study the centers of volcanoes. Mobile Robotics has allowed scientists to find meteors in the Antarctic remotely and to explore the surface and atmosphere of Mars.

All fields of robotics are interdependent, as well as dependent on other engineering and science disciplines. Computer vision and sensor technology allow robots to sense their environments. Advances in artificial intelligence have led to robots with greater abilities to understand their environments, while robotics provides artificial intelligence with the physical capacity to interact with the environment. Of course, these relationships are only two examples. Fundamentally, robotics is the science of innovation by integrating and extending other technologies.

Social Implications of Robotics

When Jacquard introduced his mechanized loom, there were rebellions in Paris. Weavers were afraid that they would be run out of business. When robots are installed in automobile factories, managers rejoice, but workers are concerned that they will be replaced by machines and be out of work.

Robots are labor-saving devices, and, by definition, labor-saving devices result in lower human labor requirements. Although robots cannot replace humans in many ways, there are already hundreds of jobs that have been made easier or eliminated by robots. Throughout history, questions have been raised about the effects of automation on the workforce. There is no consensus on what exactly that effect is. This remains an ongoing debate in the robotic and industrial communities.

One thing that robots will not do any time in the near future is replace humans. Although robots can move and make decisions, and seem to have emotions, robots are not self-aware. That is, they cannot think about their own existence. Scientists and philosophers have also argued that robots do not have a "consciousness" or that they lack a "soul."

Scientists disagree on how long it will be before robots are capable of operating without human assistance or are mistaken for humans. Some scientists, and many philosophers, assert that both tasks are impossible. Other scientists speculate that robots will be able to replace humans by 2030. Most scientists believe that it will take more than a hundred years, perhaps several hundred, before robots are even self-sufficient.

Robotics in Science Fiction

The idea of the robot dates back almost as far as the written word. Homer (9th or 8th century B.C.E.), in the "Iliad," describes Haephestus, the Greek god of the forge, as having golden maid servants that "look like young girls who could speak and walk and were filled with intelligence and wisdom." Early twentieth-century Czech playwright Karel Capek (1890–1938) invented the word robot in his 1921 play, Rossum's Universal Robots (R.U.R.). In that work, Rossum's Universal Robots were beings that looked and acted just like human beings and were invented to serve people. Unlike the robots we think of today, these devices were made of biological parts, but like the modern idea of robots, they were built by people to do things for people.

Between 1921 and 1940, robots made many appearances in books, stories, movies, and plays. Although some of the robots in these fictional accounts were designed to help and serve humans, the majority of them were simply evil, and even the good robots invariably ended up destroying their owner, inventor, or the entire human race. Twentieth-century American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) invented the word "robotics" in "Runaround." In this 1942 short story, he uses the term to describe the study of robots. Asimov's 1950 novel, I, Robot, marked the first piece of writing in which robots were regarded as ultimately non-destructive, and also proposed the "three laws of robotics" that have been used or mentioned in many works of fiction since then.

Robots have made countless appearances in movies, books, stories, and plays since 1942, and they are now represented as good as often as they are evil. More importantly, the concepts created by science fiction authors continue to motivate the scientists and engineers who design robots, such as the Personal Satellite Assistant, being built by NASA, that was directly inspired by Luke Skywalker's light saber-training robot in Star Wars.

The Future

In the mid-twentieth century, when computers were invented, they were easy to recognize. Computers took up entire rooms and used as much power as an entire building. Now, computers are everywhere. There is a computer on your desk, there is a computer in your television, and there is probably a computer in your toaster.

In much the same way, robots started as big machines that were obviously robots. Now, robots have taken on many different forms: automated trams in airports, automatic car washes, and even gas stations that autonomously find your gas tank, open it, and fill it, to name a few. Despite their names and appearances, these mechanisms are, in fact, robots.

As we move to the future, robots will be found everywhere, and robotics will expand to study all of their enabling technologies and their limitless applications.

see also Artificial Intelligence; Asimov, Isaac; Robots.

Salvatore Domenick Desiano

Bibliography

Asimov, Isaac, and Karen A. Frenkel. Robots: Machines in Man's Image. New York: Harmony Books, 1985.

Kortenkamp, David, R. Peter Bonasso, and Robin Murphy, eds. Artificial Intelligence and Mobile Robotics: Case Studies of Successful Robot Systems. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998.

Malone, Robert. The Robot Book. New York, NY: Push Pin Press, 1978.

Moravec, Hans P. Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990.

Reichardt, Jasia. Robots: Fact, Fiction, and Prediction. New York: Viking, 1978.