Robotics, as the name suggests, is the science and study of robots.
The term robot comes from the Czech word ‘Robota’ meaning
‘forced labour’ which was coined by Karel Capek in 1921.
Robots, as by what comes first to the mind, are
man-made computerised machines which performs
tasks on human commands or by themselves and seek to make work easier for human beings.
A robot is an integrated system made up of sensors, manipulators, control systems,
power supplies and a software, which work co-dependently in order to perform a task.
The study of robot therefore requires a multidisplinary approach which includes
subjects like science, physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering,
structural engineering, mathematics, computing as well
as biology, chemistry and medicine may also be involved.
Making of robots has never been an easy task and
not all machines can be classified as robots.
There are certain characteristics that makes a machine to be called as a robot.
Those characteristics are:
Sensing: One of the most important aspect of a machine to be called as a
robot is its ability to sense the environment in which it is working.
The sensing ability of robots are very not much different from that of humans.
They are engineered to have light sensors which performs the function
of eyes, touch and pressure sensors which perform the function of hand,
chemical sensors which performs the function of nose, hearing
and sonar sensors which perform the function of ears
and taste sensors which perform the function of tongue and all
of these sensors together make a robot aware of its surrounding.
Movement: A robot has the ability to move and locomote from one place to another like
Sojourner or either move one of its parts like
Canada Arm to carry out movement of products.
This can be done by the use of rolling wheels,
walking legs or propelling on thrusters.
Energy: A robot is required to have a power source to carry around tasks.
A robot can get its energy through solar charging, electrical charging or battery
charging depending on the nature of the task to be performed by the robot.
Intelligence: One of the most important characteristic
of the robot is that it is required to be intelligent.
The robot is required to have its ‘smarts’ to be able to complete tasks
on human command and a robot gets its ‘smart’ by the programmer.
It is essential for the robot to have some way
of receiving program for its efficient working.
The humans have their earnest desire to do their work with maximum
possible ease and comfort and to make this happen, they invented robots.
Taking an example of screwing a nut over a toaster again and
again, day after day, for numerous days, months or years.
This would be a difficult task to perform for the humans.
In such scenarios, robots function well to perform such repetitive tasks.
Manufacturing of bombs and grenade etc exposes a human being to a danger
to life and therefore robots are engineered well to perform such tasks.
A robot is also considered ideal for going in
buildings where there is a possibility of bomb.
Robots are also installed in factories like that of cars, candy bars and
electronics to carry out its manufacturing and production processes.
The use of robots has expanded to the fields of medicine,
military, underwater and to explore other planets.
Robots have been proven to be a boon for the
mankind since the time of its construction.
The use of robots is encouraged as its use is
much cheaper than the use of human resources.
It has also been found that it is easier for
robots to carry out tasks in even dangerous
or difficult situations which may seem impossible for the human beings to perform.
Robots can explore inside the gas tanks and volcanoes, diffuse a bomb, travel the
mars and go to places with extreme conditions (high or low temperature, pressure etc)
or contaminated places where survival of humans is next to impossible.
The robots can do repetitive tasks multiple number of times without getting bored in
less times and with much more accuracy cutting down on losses, mistakes or hazards.
Also, the robots never get sick, don’t require sleep, don’t need
food, doesn’t require to take rest and never complain about the work
proving to be best of the reasons why use of robots is encouraged in today’s times.
The robots can be made from a variety of materials,
the most common being metals and plastics.
The making of robots is not an easy process and requires ample
amount of knowledge, will power, strength and patience.
However, there are three basic components which are found in every variety of robots.
These components are:
The Controller: The controller is referred to as the ‘brain’ of the robot
which is programmed to respond to commands for completion of the task.
The command given to the robot by the controller is detailed in nature
as it provides with every minute information required to make the move.
Mechanical Parts: It consists of parts like
pistons, grippers, wheels and gears that helps
the robot to carry out functions such as
holding, griping, turning, twisting and lifting.
These parts require regular source of energy through means
of charging to be able to complete the commanded task.
Sensors: The robots are also endowed with sensors which
allows the robot to make an estimate about its surrounding.
These sensors help the robots to determine sizes, shapes, space
between objects, direction and other properties of substance.
Some even have the capability to determine the pressure that
needs to be applied to pick an item without destructing it.
All these components of the robots working in relation with each
other for obtaining the desired output through the work of robot.
Artificial Intelligence also known as the machine intelligence is incorporated
into the robots to give them the ability to exhibit human-like behaviour.
The main aim of the artificial intelligence was to recreate the human intelligence.
Some robots are capable of learning through situations and
using the learned knowledge to make future decisions.
The robots can even count the number of cookies
that they are packing into boxes or can estimate
the time interval of the interchanging of traffic light colors to regulate traffic etc.
The face recognition software, complicates scheduling software, or games that requires
players response are all examples of artificial intelligence which are presently used.
All the things in and around come with its set of pros and cons and this
therefore indicates that there are certain limitations to the use of robots.
The robots are not able to take decision of their own
i.e. they lack decision-making ability and perform
only those tasks that they are programmed for.
Even though they are engineered to be artificially intelligent and possess the
ability to learn they still are limited by the commands from the controller.
The field of science is never-ending and continuously advancing field and robotics
is a part of it which started to gain importance in the mid-21st century.
The manufacture of robots has been proven to be useful in various fields and its
production continues for achieving maximum profits and development benefits.