Future is Robotics

What are Disadvantages of robots?

Business success is not guaranteed by the introduction of robotic systems and robots in the workplace. As in any competitive society, certain companies will move to the front in industries, and other companies will lag behind due to the lack of sufficient financial resources and technical expertise, etc. 

Disadvantages of robotic systems and robots may be as follows: 

• - High initial cost of robotic systems and robots;
• - Possible need for extra space, and new technology, to accommodate robotic systems and robots;
• - Importance of using highly skilled and technical engineers, programmers and others to set up robotic systems and robots to prevent unnecessary future problems and mishaps. 
• - Robotic systems and robots are limited to their functions and only the programmers really know what those functions are. Unless Artificial Intelligence is highly sophisticated, robots may not respond properly in times of an emergency or when some unexpected variance occurs. 

Moral Issues

• - Countries and companies appear to be aggressively working to have consumers idolize robots and robotic systems for their own personal best interests. 
• - Robots and robotic systems replace certain workers causing economic losses with possible resultant shortening of lifespans. 
• - Certain people, due to lack of funds, may not be able to access important uses of robots  for example, certain surgeries using robotic systems. 
• - Certain military robots are pro-war. 
• - The aggressive introduction of robots and robotic systems in the world is making companies and human beings more dependent upon robots and robotic systems and therefore a more dependent society. 
• - Since Artificial Intelligence is becoming more sophisticated and robots will be entering more households, there may be important negative effects on the human family system. 

A Short History of Robots

Robot Timeline

• 1921 - The term "robot" was first used in a play called "R.U.R." or "Rossum's Universal Robots" by the Czech writer Karel Capek. The plot was simple: man makes robot then robot kills man!

• 1941 - Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov first used the word "robotics" to describe the technology of robots and predicted the rise of a powerful robot industry. 

•  Asimov wrote "I, Robot", a story about robots which contained the "Three Laws of Robotics":
• 1- A robot may not injure a human, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
• 2- A robot must obey the orders it by human beings except where such orders would conflic with the First Law.
• 3- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict withe the First or Second Law.

• 1948 - "Cybernetics", an influence on artificial intelligence research was published by Norbert Wiener

• 1959 - Computer-assisted manufacturingg was demonstrated at the Servomechanisms Lab at MIT.

• 1961 - The first industrial robot was online in a General Motors automobile factory in New Jersey. It was called UNIMATE.

• 1963 - The first artificial robotic arm to be controlled by a computer was designed. The Rancho Arm was designed as a tool for the handicapped and it's six joints gave it the flexibility of a human arm.

• 1965 - DENDRAL was the first expert system or program designed to execute the accumulated knowledge of subject experts.

• 1968 - The octopus-like Tentacle Arm was developed by Marvin Minsky.

• 1969 - The Stanford Arm was the first electrically powered, computer-controlled robot arm.

• 1970 - Shakey was introduced as the first mobile robot controlled by artificial intellence. It was produced by SRI International.

• 1974 - A robotic arm (the Silver Arm) that performed small-parts assembly using feedback from touch and pressure sensors was designed.

• 1979 - The Standford Cart crossed a chair-filled room without human assistance. The cart had a tv camera mounted on a rail which took pictures from multiple angles and relayed them to a computer. The computer analyzed the distance between the cart and the obstacles.

What is a Robot?

But what exactly is a robot?

• Sensing First of all your robot would have to be able to sense its surroundings. It would do this in ways that are not unsimilar to the way that you sense your surroundings. Giving your robot sensors: light sensors (eyes), touch and pressure sensors (hands), chemical sensors (nose), hearing and sonar sensors (ears), and taste sensors (tongue) will give your robot awareness of its environment.
• Movement A robot needs to be able to move around its environment. Whether rolling on wheels, walking on legs or propelling by thrusters a robot needs to be able to move. To count as a robot either the whole robot moves, like the Sojourner or just parts of the robot moves, like the Canada Arm.
• Energy A robot needs to be able to power itself. A robot might be solar powered, electrically powered, battery powered. The way your robot gets its energy will depend on what your robot needs to do.
• Intelligence A robot needs some kind of "smarts." This is where programming enters the pictures. A programmer is the person who gives the robot its 'smarts.' The robot will have to have some way to receive the program so that it knows what it is to do.

So what is a robot?