A robot is a machine — especially one programmable by a computer— capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. Robots can be guided by an external control device or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be constructed to take on human form but most robots are machines designed to perform a task with no regard to how they look.
Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, medical operating robots, patient assist robots, dog therapy robots, collectively programmed swarm robots, UAV drones such as General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and even microscopic nano robots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought of its own. Autonomous Things are expected to proliferate in the coming decade, with home robotics and the autonomous car as some of the main drivers.
The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing is robotics. These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble humans in appearance, behavior, or cognition. Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics. These robots have also created a newer branch of robotics: soft robotics.
From the time of ancient civilization there have been many accounts of user-configurable automated devices and even automata resembling animals and humans, designed primarily as entertainment. As mechanical techniques developed through the Industrial age, there appeared more practical applications such as automated machines, remote-control and wireless remote-control.
The term comes from a Czech word, robota, meaning "forced labor"; the word 'robot' was first used to denote a fictional humanoid in a 1920 play R.U.R. by the Czech writer, Karel Čapek but it was Karel's brother Josef Čapek who was the word's true inventor. Electronics evolved into the driving force of development with the advent of the first electronic autonomous robots created by William Grey Walter in Bristol, England in 1948, as well as Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools in the late 1940s by John T. Parsons and Frank L. Stulen. The first commercial, digital and programmable robot was built by George Devol in 1954 and was named the Unimate. It was sold to General Motors in 1961 where it was used to lift pieces of hot metal from die casting machines at the Inland Fisher Guide Plant in the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey.
Robots have replaced humans in performing repetitive and dangerous tasks which humans prefer not to do, or are unable to do because of size limitations, or which take place in extreme environments such as outer space or the bottom of the sea. There are concerns about the increasing use of robots and their role in society. Robots are blamed for rising technological unemployment as they replace workers in increasing numbers of functions. The use of robots in military combat raises ethical concerns. The possibilities of robot autonomy and potential repercussions have been addressed in fiction and may be a realistic concern in the future.
Robots in society
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. The social impact of intelligent robots is subject of a documentary film called Plug & Pray.
Vernor Vinge has suggested that a moment may come when computers and robots are smarter than humans. He calls this "the Singularity". He suggests that it may be somewhat or possibly very dangerous for humans. This is discussed by a philosophy called Singularitarianism.
In 2009, experts attended a conference hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) to discuss whether computers and robots might be able to acquire any autonomy, and how much these abilities might pose a threat or hazard. They noted that some robots have acquired various forms of semi-autonomy, including being able to find power sources on their own and being able to independently choose targets to attack with weapons. They also noted that some computer viruses can evade elimination and have achieved "cockroach intelligence." They noted that self-awareness as depicted in science-fiction is probably unlikely, but that there were other potential hazards and pitfalls. Various media sources and scientific groups have noted separate trends in differing areas which might together result in greater robotic functionalities and autonomy, and which pose some inherent concerns. In 2015, the Nao alderen robots were shown to have a capability for a degree of self-awareness. Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute AI and Reasoning Lab in New York conducted an experiment where a robot became aware of itself, and corrected its answer to a question once it had realised this.
Relationship to unemployment
For centuries, people have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete and increase unemployment, although the causes of unemployment are usually thought to be due to social policy.
A recent example of human replacement involves Taiwanese technology company Foxconn who, in July 2011, announced a three-year plan to replace workers with more robots. At present the company uses ten thousand robots but will increase them to a million robots over a three-year period.
Lawyers have speculated that an increased prevalence of robots in the workplace could lead to the need to improve redundancy laws.
Kevin J. Delaney said "Robots are taking human jobs. But Bill Gates believes that governments should tax companies’ use of them, as a way to at least temporarily slow the spread of automation and to fund other types of employment." The robot tax would also help pay a guaranteed living wage to the displaced workers.
Robots uses
At present, there are two 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. 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 boards.
General-purpose autonomous robots 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. Humanoid robots are still in a very limited stage, as no humanoid robot can, as of yet, actually navigate around a room that it has never been in. Thus, humanoid robots are really quite limited, despite their intelligent behaviors in their well-known environments.
List of autonomous robots
Autonomous robots – robots that are not controlled by humans:
· Aerobot – robot capable of independent flight on other planets
· Android – humanoid robot; resembling the shape or form of a human
· Automaton – early self-operating robot, performing exactly the same actions, over and over
· Autonomous vehicle – vehicle equipped with an autopilot system, which is capable of driving from one point to another without input from a human operator
· Ballbot – dynamically-stable mobile robot designed to balance on a single spherical wheel (i.e., a ball)
· Cyborg – also known as a cybernetic organism, a being with both biological and artificial (e.g. electronic, mechanical or robotic) parts
· Explosive ordnance disposal robot – mobile robot designed to assess whether an object contains explosives; some carry detonators that can be deposited at the object and activated after the robot withdraws
· Gynoid – humanoid robot designed to look like a human female
· Hexapod (walker) – a six-legged walking robot, using a simple insect-like locomotion
· Industrial robot – reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks
· Insect robot – small robot designed to imitate insect behaviors rather than complex human behaviors.
· Microbot – microscopic robots designed to go into the human body and cure diseases
· Military robot – exosuit which is capable of merging with its user for enhanced strength, speed, handling, etc.
· Mobile robot – self-propelled and self-contained robot that is capable of moving over a mechanically unconstrained course.
· Cruise missile – robot-controlled guided missile that carries an explosive payload.
· Music entertainment robot – robot created to perform music entertainment by playing custom made instrument or human developed instruments.
· Nanobot – the same as a microbot, but smaller. The components are at or close to the scale of a nanometer (10−9 meters).
· Prosthetic robot – programmable manipulator or device replacing a missing human limb.
· Rover – a robot with wheels designed to walk on other planets' terrain
· Service robot – machines that extend human capabilities.
· Snakebot – robot or robotic component resembling a tentacle or elephant's trunk, where many small actuators are used to allow continuous curved motion of a robot component, with many degrees of freedom. This is usually applied to snake-arm robots, which use this as a flexible manipulator. A rarer application is the snakebot, where the entire robot is mobile and snake-like, so as to gain access through narrow spaces.
· Surgical robot – remote manipulator used for keyhole surgery
· Walking robot – robot capable of locomotion by walking. Owing to the difficulties of balance, two-legged walking robots have so far been rare, and most walking robots have used insect-like multilegged walking gaits.
By mode of locomotion
Mobile robots may be classified by:
· The environment in which they travel:
· Land or home robots. They are most commonly wheeled, but also include legged robots with two or more legs (humanoid, or resembling animals or insects).
· Aerial robots are usually referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
· Underwater robots are usually called autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).
· Polar robots, designed to navigate icy, crevasse filled environments
· The device they use to move, mainly:
· Legged robot – human-like legs (i.e. an android) or animal-like legs
· Tracks
· Wheeled robot
Robot components and design features
· Actuator – motor that translates control signals into mechanical movement. The control signals are usually electrical but may, more rarely, be pneumatic or hydraulic. The power supply may likewise be any of these. It is common for electrical control to be used to modulate a high-power pneumatic or hydraulic motor.
· Linear actuator – form of motor that generates a linear movement directly.
· Delta robot – tripod linkage, used to construct fast-acting manipulators with a wide range of movement.
· Drive power – energy source or sources for the robot actuators.
· End-effector – accessory device or tool specifically designed for attachment to the robot wrist or tool mounting plate to enable the robot to perform its intended task. (Examples may include gripper, spot-weld gun, arc-weld gun, spray- paint gun, or any other application tools.)
· Forward chaining – process in which events or received data are considered by an entity to intelligently adapt its behavior.
· Haptic – tactile feedback technology using the operator's sense of touch. Also sometimes applied to robot manipulators with their own touch sensitivity.
· Hexapod (platform) – movable platform using six linear actuators. Often used in flight simulators and fairground rides, they also have applications as a robotic manipulator.
See Stewart platform
· Hydraulics – control of mechanical force and movement, generated by the application of liquid under pressure. c.f. pneumatics.
· Kalman filter – mathematical technique to estimate the value of a sensor measurement, from a series of intermittent and noisy values.
· Klann linkage – simple linkage for walking robots.
· Manipulator – gripper. A robotic 'hand'.
· Parallel manipulator – articulated robot or manipulator based on a number of kinematic chains, actuators and joints, in parallel. c.f. serial manipulator.
· Remote manipulator – manipulator under direct human control, often used for work with hazardous materials.
· Serial manipulator – articulated robot or manipulator with a single series kinematic chain of actuators. c.f. parallel manipulator.
· Muting – deactivation of a presence-sensing safeguarding device during a portion of the robot cycle.
· Pendant – Any portable control device that permits an operator to control the robot from within the restricted envelope (space) of the robot.
· Pneumatics – control of mechanical force and movement, generated by the application of compressed gas. c.f. hydraulics.
· Servo – motor that moves to and maintains a set position under command, rather than continuously moving
· Servomechanism – automatic device that uses error-sensing negative feedback to correct the performance of a mechanism
· Single point of control – ability to operate the robot such that initiation or robot motion from one source of control is possible only from that source and cannot be overridden from another source
· Slow speed control – mode of robot motion control where the velocity of the robot is limited to allow persons sufficient time either to withdraw the hazardous motion or stop the robot
· Stewart platform – movable platform using six linear actuators, hence also known as a Hexapod
· Subsumption architecture – robot architecture that uses a modular, bottom-up design beginning with the least complex behavioral tasks
· Teach mode – control state that allows the generation and storage of positional data points effected by moving the robot arm through a path of intended motions
Specific robots
· Aura (satellite) – robotic spacecraft launched by NASA in 2004 which collects atmospheric data from Earth
· Chandra X-ray Observatory – robotic spacecraft launched by NASA in 1999 to collect astronomical data
· Justin
· Robonaut – development project conducted by NASA to create humanoid robots capable of using space tools and working in similar environments to suited astronauts
· Unimate – the first off-the-shelf industrial robot, of 1961
Robots from Australia
· GuRoo
Robots from Britain
· eSTAR
· George
· Robop
Robots from Canada
· Dextre
· hitchBOT
Robots from China
· RS Media
Robots from Croatia
· TIOSS
Robots from Czech Republic
· SyRoTek
Robots from France
· Air-Cobot – collaborative mobile robot able to inspect aircraft during maintenance operations
· Jessiko
· Nabaztag
· Nao
Robots from Germany
· BionicKangaroo – biomimetic robot model designed by Festo
· LAURON
· Marvin
Robots from Italy
· iCub –
Robots from Japan
· AIBO
· ASIMO
· Choromet
· EMIEW
· EMIEW 2
· Enon
· Evolta
· HAL 5
· HOAP
· KHR-1
· Omnibot
· Plen
· QRIO
· R.O.B.
· SCARA
· Wakamaru
Robots from Mexico
Robots from the Netherlands
· Flame
· Phobot
· Senster
Robots from New Zealand
Robots from Portugal
· RAPOSA
Robots from Qatar
Robots from Russia (or former Soviet Union)
· Teletank
Robots from South Korea
· EveR-1
· HUBO
· MAHRU
· Musa
Robots from Spain
· Maggie
· REEM
· Tico
Robots from Switzerland
Robots from the United States
· Albert One –
· Allen –
· ATHLETE –
· Atlas –
· Baxter –
· Ballbot –
· BigDog –
· Boe-Bot –
· CISBOT –
· Coco –
· Cog –
· Crusher –
· Dragon Runner –
· EATR –
· Elektro –
· Entomopter –
· Haile –
· Hardiman –
· HERO –
· Kismet –
· Leonardo –
· LOPES –
· LORAX –
· Nomad 200 –
· Nomad rover –
· Octobot (robot) –
· RB5X –
· Robonaut –
· Shakey the Robot –
· Sojourner –
· Spirit rover –
· Turtle –
· Unimate –
· Zoë –
· Pleo –
· TOPIO –
International robots
Curiosity is the single most important attribute with which humans are born. More than a simple desire to discover or know things, curiosity is a powerful tool, like a scalpel or a searchlight. Curiosity changes us. It is also a way to effect change, perhaps even on a global level.