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What is a robot exactly?
We’ve all read the stories, the ones written in the 1940s about the boxy metallic humanoid robots who should have been doing all of our work twenty years ago and, mysteriously, have yet to appear on the scene. Where are these metal wonders? Why aren’t our factories filled with them?
The answer, of course, is that they are. What writers like Isaac Asimov and others failed to realize is that the most effective, efficient robots would be designed to perform specific tasks – the painting arm in an automobile manufacturing plant, for example, or one of dozens of industrial robots in a meat packing plant.
In fact, one thing we must consider in considering industrial robots is what exactly constitutes a “robot.” What is a robot, really, but an autonomous machine built to perform a function without human control? Industrial robot types like those found in computer manufacturing facilities or auto plants are designed for careful precision work and are programmed to do their work far faster and more effectively than any human could – more effectively, in fact, than a humanoid robot of the type found in old science fiction books ever could either.
What are industrial robots used for?
Industrial robots used for manufacturing applications are certainly the most common type of robot, but there are other types of industrial robots and commercial robots perhaps more familiar to us. One industrial robot type many people may have been made aware of thanks to the recent war is the arms industrial robot – the type of robot designed specifically for use in warfare situations.
The first forms of arms industrial robot were designed for the sort of dangerous, precise work that can be so deadly for human soldiers to attempt – bomb diffusion or mine sweeping, for instance. The Foster-Miller TALON™ system is on the cutting edge of such technology. With a full payload of tools and sensors, the Talon is capable of moving almost anywhere on it’s sturdy tread system and is capable of defusing bombs and searching through rubble that would be dangerous for humans to navigate. It is generally controlled by a remote human operator and was used extensively in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.
Arms industrial robots like the Talon are still being used today in
Iraq
and other areas of conflict around the world. The Talon system has also been updated for modern warfare with the advent of the Swords Talon™ system – the standard Talon robot outfitted with advanced weaponry, allowing the tank like arms industrial robot to conduct advanced urban warfare without ever endangering its human operator. Arms industrial robots like this may very well shape the face of warfare over the next few decades – even now such robots as the Swords Talon are still in the experimental stages.
Robots are used on the home front as well. Robotics corporation Aethon manufactures the popular Tug Robot™, which is used as an automated delivery system in hospitals. Industrial robots used in these kinds of applications carry medical supplies and food throughout large
U.S.
hospitals and then return to their charging stations to await further instruction. Industrial robots used like this make large institutions like hospitals run much more efficiently and save humans vast amounts of menial labor.
Industrial robot types like those discussed are slowly leading into production in the commercial realm. The Scooba™ and Roomba™ robots, from iRobot, are designed to automatically vacuum homes without requiring human input – making them autonomous, one of the primary characteristics for a device to be considered a robot.
For more information about industrial robots, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_robot
What other fields are robots being developed for?
Commercial robots are being developed for other fields as well. Robots can be bought to mow lawns, for instance, or provide companionship – Sony’s Aibo™, a robotic dog, has sold spectacularly well. Aibo can mimic all of the actions of a real dog, even to the point of learning tricks, walking around and playing with toys. The startling realism which robots like these portray are do to enormous advances in the fields of artificial intelligence in recent years as computer hardware increases exponentially in power and decreases in size. These days, your palm-sized iPod™ can hold literally billions of times more than a microwave-sized device of two decades ago.
In the first years of artificial intelligence, programs were complex decision making algorithms. The program was only capable of doing exactly what was programmed into it – if you typed “Hello,” for example, the computer would respond. If you typed “helo,” though, it wouldn’t know what you were talking about – even though any human would be able to tell what you meant. This is “hard wired” intelligence, and is the most standard kind of programming in today’s robots. Industrial robots, for example, by nature do only one thing and have no need to “learn” or adapt to different situations.
Recently, though, software engineers have been developing more advanced algorithms to simulate and even actualize intelligence. Neural net programming works on the same principle as the human brain and allows for learning, complex decision making, and “fuzzy” logic. A neural net intelligence would learn patterns – if you taught a neural net to respond to “hello”, for example, it would also respond to “helo” because it would recognize the pattern in the same way a human mind would. It is likely that programming like this will decide the future of robotics technology.
Do you want to learn about robots? Then you need to know at least a bit about robot gear. Technically speaking a robot is any machine capable of moving via remote control or through sensors and its own power source. Extremely sophisticated robots will have an assortment of gear ranging from gears, servo grips, legs, chasis, and even computer software interfaces. Simple robots only require some wheels, a motor, and a small power source. In small robots AA batteries and frame will suffice.
What kind of gear is available?
There are plenty of websites dedicated to the sale of robot gear, and one could spend endless hours reading up on all the hard and software that make different robots work. The easiest and most enjoyable way to learn the basics of robot gear is to try and make a robot yourself. This is much easier than it sounds, and at its simplest requires you to know nothing about gears, gear trains, torque, resistance ratios or any engineering skills, in fact, beyond what an eight-year-old child can muster.
Hobby sites and retailers offer a number of robot kits ranging in price from $11 to several hundred dollars. One popular model designed by students of Middlesex University in Britain uses CDs for rear wheels, and is an excellent example of how everyday materials like CDs or CDRs can be converted into robot gear. Resourcefulness and adaptability are hallmark traits of robot design and construction. With a few robot kits under one's belt, it may be possible to make a robot from scratch.
That said, almost anything can become a piece of robot gear just as long as the means and will exist. In one instance there might be a robot boy whose function is to pull small arrows from a quiver and shoot them across the room; in another instance the robot might be a buzz-saw wielding, remote-controlled battle machine. Whether motor, sensor, or remote control, robot gear runs the gamut from cheap and functional to top-of-the line reliability and expense. Depending on the purpose of the robot the quality of gear may be more or less. A robot boy who shoots arrows, for example, does not require much torque nor does it need a heavy motor. Robot boy kits, consequently, utilize a set of plastic gears. A buzz-saw battle robot, however, will need as much speed as possible and exceptionally reliable and durable components. In such cases durable materials are custom fit to serve the gladiatorial needs
Why buy them?
There is any number of reasons one might want to buy and/or build a robot of any complexity. For youngsters with a marked interest in mechanics and engineering building a robot can become the ideal science project. Some schools even have 'Micromouse' competitions where students learn how to build a robot that can navigate a maze just like the proverbial lab rat.
Some creative individuals may find a use for simple robots around the home, but in general most simple robots, once activated, provide more entertainment than function. However, the very process of building a robot one can give one a unique and compelling insight into how these creatures are brought into existence.
Of course, one need not build a robot to enjoy a robot, and a number of popular pre-made robots are available including programmable creatures like the relatively simple 'Scribbler' which can draw if given a pen, and the advanced (and recently discontinued) AIBO robot dog which learns and adapts to its environment in sometimes complex, sometimes unpredictable, and always interesting ways. Programmable robots can be taught interesting tricks and in some cases are endowed with artistic expression. Robots like the AIBO can take pictures and share them over the internet via a built in Wi-Fi connection.
What do they do?
Extremely basic robots will use very little gear, sometimes only enough to travel in a straight line. This kind of robot is often called a 'dragster'. While a dragster is a limited and unsophisticated robot, to build such a thing is to gain foundational experience with robot gear and factors like resistance, speed, and circuitry.
One step up the evolutionary ladder is the 'tracker' robot. Sometimes called a 'Micromouse' (although many 'micromice' now operate on remote control) these robots utilize a sensor to detect a line and follow it. In some models the line must be soldered onto a black surface. More versatile models, such as the Line Tracking Snail Robot, can follow any black line such as might be made with a magic marker so long as it is on a white background.
In addition to these fun and basic robots there are robots that look and walk like insects, basic robotic arms with PC interface and servo grips (a good way to grasp the basics of many industrial robots), and a series of robots designed to behave like living creatures. B.E.A.M. Robotics has a number of models that use their solar cells to seek out 'food', and can be modified with animal behaviors like 'predator/prey instincts' which, when fitted onto two robots will place one in the role of predator and the other in the role of prey. The robots use infrared to detect each other and hunt or hide as need be.
The fantastic thing about such add-ons is that they can often be attached to other types of robots like the Micromouse or a robot of custom design. Whether it is CD wheels or hunter/hunted circuitry boards, the function and flexibility of robots are limited only by time and imagination.
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