TEXT 4 – 1st SEMESTER - FEI

Advancements in Robotics and Its Future Uses

INTRODUCTION TO ROBOTS

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a robot?
For many people it is a machine that imitates a human — like the androids in Star Wars,
Terminator and Star Trek: The Next Generation. People still haven't been able to give a robot
enough 'common sense' to reliably interact with a dynamic world. The type of robots that
you will encounter most frequently are robots that do work that is too dangerous, boring,
onerous, or just plain nasty. Most of the robots in the world are of this type. They can be
found in auto, medical, manufacturing and space industries. In fact, there are over a million
of these type of robots working for us today.
But what exactly is a robot? As strange as it might seem, there really is no standard
definition for a robot. However, there are some essential characteristics that a robot must
have and this might help you to decide what is and what not a robot is. It will also help you
to decide what features you will need to build into a machine before it can count as a robot.
A robot has these essential characteristics:  Sensing: First of all your robot would have to be
able to sense its surroundings. It would do this in ways that are not similar 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 move, 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? Well, it is a system that contains sensors, control
systems, manipulators, power supplies and software all working together to perform a task.
Designing, building, programming and testing a robots is a combination of physics,
mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, structural engineering, mathematics and
computing. In some cases biology, medicine, chemistry might also be involved. A study of
robotics means that students are actively engaged with all of these disciplines in a deeply
problem-posing and problem-solving environment.
 SWARM ROBOTICS
Swarm robotics is a new approach to the coordination of multirobot systems which consist
of large numbers of relatively simple physical robots. The goal of this approach is to study
the design of robots (both their physical body and their controlling behaviours) such that a
desired collective behaviour emerges from the interrobot interactions and the interactions
of the robots with the environment, inspired but not limited by the emergent behaviour
observed in social insects, called swarm intelligence. It has been discovered that a set of
relatively primitive individual behaviours enhanced with communication will produce a large
set of complex swarm behaviours. Unlike distributed robotic systems in general, swarm
robotics emphasizes a large number of robots, and promotes scalability, for instance, by
using only local communication. Local communication is usually achieved by wireless
transmission systems, using radio frequency or infrared communication. Potential
application for swarm robotics include tasks that demand for extreme miniaturization
(nanorobotics, microbotics), on the one hand, as for instance distributed sensing tasks in
micromachinery or the human body. On the other hand, swarm robotics is suited to tasks
that demand for extremely cheap designs, for instance a mining task, or an agricultural
foraging task. Artists use swarm robotic techniques to realize new forms of interactive art
installation. Both miniaturization and cost are hard constraints that emphasize simplicity of
the individual team member, and thus motivate a swarm-intelligent approach to achieve
meaningful behaviour on swarm-level. Further research is needed to find methodologies
that allow for designing, and reliably predicting, swarm behaviour, given only features of the
individual swarm members.

FUTURE OF ROBOTICS - ROBOTS USES, TRENDS, APPLICATIONS

The bots until a decade back, used to be just fun and were more toys for tinkerers and
scientists (except in Japan of course). But now the robots are beginning to be seen in many
social places. We are used to chuckling at stories from Japan of robots serving coffee and
greeting visitors to homes. But know what, these mechanical humans are here with us now,
in London, in New York and many other countries. What are scientists predicting for the
bots' future? What do the experts think? And what do those always fascinating sci-fi writers
and futurists say after gazing at their crystal balls? The Future is now - Robots are already a
part of our lives. Industrial robots widely used in manufacturing. Military and police
organizations use robots to assist in dangerous situations. Robots already have a significant
role in medicine. Robots are helping doctors achieve more precision in the operating room,
performing safer, less invasive techniques. Robots are used in the following areas and for the
following purposes:
 Civil use
 Medical surgeries - Surgical robots
 Mobile Robot Suits Material Handling Applications
 Self-healing Mini Robots for Search and Rescue Operations
 Robots Fly into Antarctic Skies
  Robots in the field of MUSIC
 Military use
The Future of Robotics - From vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers to military landmine
detectors, robots are becoming increasingly present in our daily lives. MIT’s Computer
Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory possesses a humanoid robot named Domo,
Israel is developing a robot of the size of a hornet to attack terrorists, but the prototype will
not fly for three years from now, etc.
How Robots Will Affect Future Generations - The future for robots is bright. But, how will
robots affect future generations? Sometimes you can get ideas for the future by looking into
the past and thinking about the changes we've seen as a result of other great inventions, like
the cotton gin, airplane or Internet. Perhaps one day we will have true robotic ''helpers'' that
guide the blind, assist the elderly. Maybe they'll be modular devices that can switch from
lawn mower to vacuum cleaner, to dish washer and window washer. What does the future
hold for robot applications? If you ride in a car, an industrial robot helped build it. If you eat
cookies, there are robot assembly lines to help make and pack them. The computer you use
to send e-mails and use for research almost certainly owes its existence, in part, to industrial
robots. Industrial robots are even used in the medical field, from pharmaceuticals to surgery.
Simply stated, they all are parts of our lives.

EXCERCISES:
1. Match the following technical concepts with their descriptions:
a. android / b. robotics / c. scalability / d. application / e. modular
device
I. it is a device which has several parts that serve smaller functions which
combine to serve the overall purpose of the device. Modules can be removed,
replaced, or upgraded without affecting other components.
II. it is a machine controlled by a computer that is made to look like or behave
like a human.
III. it is the ability of a computing process to be used or produced in a range of
capabilities.
IV. it is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. It
involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots.
V. it is the action of putting something into operation. It is a computer software
package that performs a specific function directly for an end user or, in some
cases, for another operation.

2. Decide whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE:

a. Robots that you will encounter most frequently are robots that do work that is
too easy, interesting, onerous, or just plain nasty for a human.
 b. Swarm robotics is a very old approach to the coordination of multirobot systems
which consist of large numbers of relatively simple physical robots.
c. The future for robots is bright.
d. The first thing a robot must be able to do is to sense its surroundings.
e. Robots are helping doctors achieve more precision in the operating room,
performing safer, less invasive techniques.

3. Match the following words from A with their synonyms in B:

A: interact / awareness / enhance / engage / encounter
B: come across / collaborate / improve / involve / cognizance

4. Complete the following sentences with ONE word from the list:
characteristics / swarm / research / precision / task
a. However, there are some essential __________ that a robot must have and this
might help you to decide what is and what not a robot is.
b. Well, it is a system that contains sensors, control systems, manipulators, power
supplies and software all working together to perform a _______.
c. It has been discovered that a set of relatively primitive individual behaviours
enhanced with communication will produce a large set of complex ___________
behaviours.
d. Further _________ is needed to find methodologies that allow for designing, and
reliably predicting, swarm behaviour, given only features of the individual swarm
members.
e. Robots are helping doctors achieve more _________ in the operating room,
performing safer, less invasive techniques.

5. Rearrange the following words to make complete sentences:

a. MUST / THERE / SOME / THAT / A / ARE / ROBOT / ESSENTIAL / HAVE /
CHARACTERISTICS
b. SPACE / CAN / IN / ROBOTS / MEDICAL / INDUSTRIES / AUTO / BE /
MANUFACTURING / FOUND / AND
c. MOVE / A / TO / ROBOT / BE / NEEDS / ABLE / TO
d. POWERED / A / MIGHT / SOLAR / ROBOT / ELECTRICALLY / BE / OR
e. IN / NOW / ARE / PLACES / THE / BEGINNING / BE / ROBOTS / SEEN / SOCIAL /
MANY / PLACES