Robotics is the science and technology and application of robots. Stories of artificial helpers and
attempts to create them has a long history and is the basis of much science fiction.
Robots are generally used to help with jobs that are too dirty or boring for most human beings.
The first prgrammable humanoid robot was about 1206 AD. We can make a robot to look like
almost anything we want. The most fantasized about are ones that have a humanoid appearance.
Think of a repetative task and generally there is probably one on th market that can do what you
want.
Remember Rosey the robot on The Jetsons, or the robot on Lost in Space. We have come a long
way, but we aren't quite that far yet. It is only a matter of time. There are already robots that can
do simple tasks like cleaning the floor, or doing the laundry. But these won't be ready for the
public until about the year 2010. The cost of the robots is another matter.
The robot is based around the structure, which is like the skeleton of the human body. It is the
main support system.
Next, you have the actuatorsor "muscles" of the robot. This is quite complex, and I won't go into
now.
Manipulators are the way an object is manipulated. This generally is done by grippers, or
effectors.
Then there is locomotion to worry about. Do you have a flat surface that it will work on? Then it
will probably be a rolling robot. It can be two wheels, four wheels, or on tracks.
If there are stairs, or uneven terrain the problem becomes more complex. Walking is difficult to
solve, especially if you compare it to how a human walks. If The robot has locomotion, I am
assuming it is going from point A to point B. Does it need memory to get to point A and memory
to get to point B? It will probably need something similar to radar to be used for crash avoidance.
Scientists and researchers are constantly trying to hone the robot into something better.
Robots make our life a lot easier. They are in every facet of our life. The computer, garage door
opener, unmanned reconnaissance planes, satellites, lawn mowers, a GPS in our car. These are all
of robots we we use every day and probably don't think about it.
As you can tell, robots can get very complex very quickly. The fancier you make it, the more
compkex and expensive it becomes. You are trying to tell an inanimate object how to do
something halfway human, and that is complex.
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People who go all Lou Dobbs about robots. People say things like: All robots look alike. Robots
should speak English. Robots are taking all the jobs. Robots don't pay enough taxes. Robots
reproduce like bunnies. I don't want my child playing with a robot, or goodness gracious,
marrying a robot.
An acquaintance of mine, who discriminates against robots, but never actually met one, re
ceived a
Roomba for Christmas "I pushed its power button," she said. "It was so cute when it sounded the
"charge," and scurried across the floor gobbling up dust bunnies. I love Roomba," she said. "But I
still don't like robots." It is typical to think that your robot is somehow different from other robots.
Those other robots can not be trusted.
It may take another generation, one where our children are raised amongst robots, for them to gain
acceptance. Like the washing machine and the automobile, robots are part of our future.
It is true that robots can be hard to tell apart. I remember Sarah Connor in Terminator II. She damn
near wet her pants when a series 800-Model 101 showed up, a few years after she'd sent its twin to
the scrap heap. Given a little time, however, she got acquainted with the big, muscle-bound
machine. She fantasized about keeping him on as dad and husband. After all, he got along well
with the boy, was a good provider, and would stop at nothing to protect her family.
Although robots are loyal and dependable, they do screw up once in a while. I'm thinking of HAL
in 2001, A Space Odyssey. He definitely made a mistake of judgment. I still think he deserved a
second chance? For every HAL, there are dozens of R2-D2's and 3CPO's. And that cute little
WALL-E.
Occasionally, there is a bad egg, like ED-209 in RoboCop. Or the Battle Droids in Star Wars. But
are they worse than rottweilers and pit bulls? Surely, some of them can be rehabilitated, and make
good pets.
From an economic point of view, you can't beat robots. They work day and night. They rarely call
in sick. They add to the nation's GDP, and don't require pensions or health care. They are terrific
with numbers and rarely have math anxiety. RoboDoc performs delicate surgeries 24/7 and he
never gets the shakes.
But, you ask, "What if they go into politics?" Will they impose their culture, their language, and
their way of life on us? Forget about it. No one can resist Big Macs, vacations to Disneyland, and
shopping at Walmart. This is America..
Face it, robots are here to stay. They are willing to do ANYTHING. They make great maids and
gardeners, sweepers and scrubbers, mowers and choppers. There are robots that care for the
elderly, wash their dirty bottoms and soon perhaps, play Yahtzee with them. There are robots that
imitate pets yet don't require walks nor litter boxes. Even robots that'll go the fridge, grab a cold
beer, and bring it to you. If it's eager to watch the Super Bowl, and play Wii Tennis, you got
yourself a great roommate.
As far as intermarriage with a robot, didn't they try that in The Stepford Wives? Maybe it was just
too soon.
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Most of us are still of of the mindset that robotics is something that is rather futuristic. We still
may have pictures in our hea
d of humanoid robots, flailing their arms and either attacking the
Earth from other planets or perhaps protecting us in some way or another. The fact of the matter is,
humanoid robots are still very much futuristic but much of the future of robots is already in
existence today. Robots are used in a number of different settings that you might find rather
interesting. Here is a little bit about the future of robotics and the fact that much of it is already in
existence with what we are doing now.
One of the ways in which robots are most often used is in an industrial setting. The automotive industry, for example, makes use of robots on their assembly lines to do a number of different
tasks. Unfortunately, this has put many individuals out of a job because the robot was able to do
what they used to do on the assembly line more efficiently. Not only that, once the robot is put into
place they are able to take care of these repetitive tasks, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
One of the ways in which robotics is used on a regular basis is in spot welding. Although this used
to require a human touch, much of the welding that is now done by robots is so accurate and
precise that a human could not possibly take care of it in that way. Many times, this welding needs
to be done in an assembly line environment so the same simple task is done over and over again. It
will be difficult for anybody to improve on what is already existing in these robotics unless they
make them less apt to have difficulties from breaking down.
Robots are also able to help us to get out of dangerous situations in many cases. A good example
of this is spring painting. Humans used to have to take care of spray painting in the automotive
industry and other industrial settings. This put them at risk because they were constantly being
exposed to dangerous chemicals, even if they wore protective clothing. A robot is not only able to
be in these rooms without having to worry about health concerns, they are able to do the painting
more evenly and accurately than their human counterparts.
Finally, robotics are often used in the development and building of computer chips. These chips
are often too small for humans to work on themselves so if or not for the robotics that are put to
use in these factories, much of the computer science that we have today would not be in existence.
Although they will continue to improve on this and other things in the robotics industry, the fact of
the matter is that the modern-day use of robotics is already futuristic.
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Developing a humanoid robot has long since captured the human imagination and will be the
continued focus in the future of robotics. Scientists say there are two obstacles to creating a robot
with human or super-human intelligence: vision and processing sensory information. "It
is almost impossible to predict when machines will become as clever as humans," admits Ronald Arkin, a
robotics expert at the Mobile Robot Laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia. "Although work in magnetic
resonance imaging holds great promise, researchers can now watch areas of the brain light up as
individuals carry out specific mental tasks. When we have that knowledge, we can pass it on to
computers."
Motor vehicle production is one area where robotics automation is already being used. Yet
imagine a world where we can read, have a glass of wine, talk freely on our cell phones or take a
nap while our personal automobile drives itself from our workplace to our doorstep. Or perhaps
we'll abandon the wheeled prototypes altogether and kick back in our personal flying car like
numerous science fiction films predict. So how far are we from such a future?
Well, in 2007, the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency had 83 robotic system vehicles
driving through a 60-mile urban course, navigating around other vehicles, pedestrians and
obstacles; all without incident. Just three years ago, robotic vehicles couldn't even drive straight
across the wide-open desert without crashing. "The robotics industry is developing in much the
same way the computer business did thirty years ago," Microsoft founder Bill Gates observed.
So what is in store for the future of robotics in the workplace? The US military is one of the
biggest donators to robotic research, as they hope to replace human lives with robotics automation,
reducing our casualties in war. Robots are already completing reconnaissance missions,
disassembling explosives and firing on enemy combatants.
Military chiefs are aiming to make a third of all ground vehicles driver-less by 2015. Researchers
are also looking at robots similar to those featured in Isaac Asimov's "I Robot" that cooperate
together in a swarm-like way to complete complex tasks. Just the size of a small bug, these insect
swarms look unassuming but are capable of jamming communication lines, gathering intelligence
and firing at enemy combatants.
The future of robotics is taking aim at the rapidly aging population, with the end goal of providing
for the elderly in places like the US which will see 97 million baby boomers in need of care or in
Japan, where 22% of the population is over 65. Currently $1 billion is spent each year researching
how autonomous robots can care for the elderly. Secom's "My Spoon" robot, for instance, can feed
disabled people by breaking up food into chewable morsels and spooning it into their mouths.
"Paro," another Japanese invention, looks like a baby seal and responds to the affection of lonely
elderly patients, while also monitoring their heart rate and health symptoms.
机器人是机器人的科学技术和应用。人造佣工，并尝试建立他们的故事，有着悠
久的历史
，是许多科幻小说的基础上。
机器人通常用于帮助工作，是对大多数人过脏或无聊。
第一prgrammable人形机器人约1206公元。我们可以让机器人看起来像几乎
任何我们想要的。最幻想的是那些有一个人形的外观。认为一个repetative任务，
一般有可能是个市场之一，可以做你想做的。
记住Rosey摩登家庭机器人，或迷失在太空机器人。我们已经走过了很长的路
要走，但我们没有想象中的那么远。这只是一个时间问题。目前已经有机器人，
可以做简单的任务，如擦地板，洗衣服。但这些不会为市民准备，直到大约2010
年。机器人的成本则是另一回事。
机器人根据周围的结构，这是一样的人体骨架。这是主要的支持系统。
接下来，你必须在actuatorsor机器人的“肌肉”。这是一个相当复杂的，到现
在我不会去。
机器人是一个对象进行操作的方式。这通常是通过吸盘，或效应。
再有就是运动，不用担心。你有一个平坦的表面，它会工作吗？然后，它可能会
是一个滚动的机器人。它可以是两个轮子，四个轮子，或在轨道上。
如果有楼梯，或不平坦的地形，这个问题变得更加复杂。步行是难以解决的问题，
特别是如果你把它比作人类各界如何。如果该机器人具有运动，我假设它会从A
点到B点是否需要内存去点A和内存B点去？它可能会需要类似的雷达被用于
避免碰撞。
科学家和研究人员正在不断努力，更好的磨练到的东西的机器人。
机器人让我们的生活轻松了许多。他们是在我们生活的各个方面。计算机，车库
门开启，无人侦察机，卫星，割草机，在我们的车的GPS。这些都是我们每天
使用的机器人，可能不会去想它。
可以看出，机器人可以很快变得非常复杂。鸽友你做它，更compkex和昂贵的，
它变得。您正试图告诉一个没有生命的物体，如何做到一半人类的东西，这是复
杂的。
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所有关于机器人的娄多布斯的人去。有人说这样的话：所有的机器人看起来很像。
机器人应该会讲英语。机器人采取的所有工作。机器人不支付足够的税收。机器
人重现像兔子。我不希望我的孩子玩机器人，或天哪，娶个机器人。
我的一个熟人，谁歧视的机器人，但从来没有真正遇到了一个，收到了圣诞的伦
巴“我推它的电源按钮，”她说。 “这是太可爱了，当它敲响了”充电“，并
忙不迭地板整个吞噬了粉尘兔子。我爱的Roomba，”她说。 “不过，我还是
不喜欢的机器人。”这是典型的想从其他机器人，机器人是有点不同
。这些机器
人可以不被信任。
这可能需要一代又一代，我们的孩子，其中包括机器人提出，为他们获得认可。
洗衣机和汽车一样，机器人是我们未来的一部分。
这是真正的机器人可能很难分辨。我记得在终结者II萨拉·康纳。她该死附近湿
她的裤子时，一系列800-101型显示，几年后，她已经给它的孪生一堆废铁。
然而，由于一点点时间，她结识大，肌肉绑定机。她想像他作为父亲和丈夫。毕
竟，他与男孩相处得很好，是一个很好的供应商，并会不惜一切保护她的家人。
虽然机器人是忠诚可靠的，他们也搞砸过一段时间。我想的HAL在2001年，
太空奥德赛。他肯定作出了错误的判断。我仍然认为他应该得到第二次机会吗？
对于每一个HAL，有数十家的R2-D2的和3CPO的。和可爱的小墙 - E。
偶尔，有一个坏鸡蛋一样，ED-209铁甲威龙。或在“星球大战”的战斗机器人。
但他们比罗威纳犬和斗牛差吗？当然，他们中的一些可以修复，并做好宠物。
从经济角度来看，你不能击败机器人。他们日夜工作。他们很少请病假。它们添
加到该国的国内生产总值，不需要退休金或医疗保健。他们与号码了不起的，很
少有数学焦虑。 ROBODOC执行细腻手术的24/7，他从来没有得到的震动。
但是，你问，“如果他们进入政治？”他们将他们的文化，语言，和他们的生活
方式强加给我们？忘掉它。没有人能抵挡巨无霸，迪士尼乐园度假，并在沃尔玛
购物。这是美国..
面对它，机器人在这里停留。他们愿意做任何事情。他们使伟大的女佣和园丁，
清洁工和洗涤器，剪草机和直升机。有机器人，照顾老人，洗脏裤，很快也许，
他们一起玩Yahtzee的。有机器人，模仿宠物不需要散步，也没有垃圾箱。甚至机器人去冰箱，抢了冰凉的啤酒，并把它给你的。如果它渴望观看超级碗，玩
Wii网球，你自己一个伟大的室友。
至于与机器人通婚，他们没有尝试在娇妻？也许是太快了。
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我们大多数人的心态仍然是机器人，而未来的东西是。我们仍然可以在我们的人
形机器人的头部有照片，挥舞着他们的武器，无论是进攻地球或其他行星也许我
们在一些这样或那样的保护。事实上，人形机器人仍然非常未来，但未来的机器
人大部分是已经存在的今天。机器人的使用在许多不同的设置，你会发现相当有
趣。这是一个关于未来的机器人，事实上，它已经是存在的，与我们现在正在做
什么的一点。
在这种机器人是最常用的方法之一是在工业环境中。汽车行
业，例如，利用其装
配流水线上的机器人，做一些不同的任务。不幸的是，这已经把许多人失去了工
作，因为机器人是能够做什么，他们更有效地使用在流水线上做。不仅一次到位
机器人，他们能够采取这些重复性的任务，每天24小时，一年365天照顾。
在机器人定期的方式之一是在点焊。虽然这使用，现由机器人来完成焊接的需要
人情味，多是如此的准确和精确的，一个人不能以这种方式照顾。很多时候，这
种焊接需要在装配线环境，所以同一个简单的任务做了一遍。这将是困难的，任
何人，以改善这些机器人已在现有的，除非他们打破有困难，他们不太容易。
机器人也能帮助我们在许多情况下，危险的情况下。一个很好的例子，这是春天
的画。人类曾经有过要照顾喷涂在汽车行业及其他工业设置。这把在危险之中，
因为他们不断地被暴露在危险化学品的，即使他们穿着防护服。机器人不仅能够
在这些房间，而不必担心健康问题，他们能比他们的人类同行更均匀，准确地做
画。
最后，机器人通常用于计算机芯片的开发和建设。这些芯片往往是人类自己，如
果不投入使用，在这些工厂中，许多我们今天不会存在计算机科学，机器人，所
以太小。虽然他们将继续以改善在机器人产业和其他的东西，事实上是现代机器
人的日常使用已经是未来。
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发展的人形机器人早已占领了人类的想象力，并在未来的机器人将持续关注。科
学家们说，有两个障碍，创造一个人类或超人类智能的机器人：视觉和处理感觉
信息。 “这几乎是不可能预测时，机器将成为为人类聪明，”承认，在佐治亚
州亚特兰大市的移动机器人实验室的机器人专家罗纳德·阿金。 “磁共振成像
的工作，虽然拥有巨大潜力，研究人员现在可以看光脑的领域，个人进行了具体
的心理任务。当我们拥有的知识，我们可以通过电脑。”
汽车生产是一个领域，已被用于机器人自动化。然而，想象的世界里，我们可以
读，有一杯酒，谈自由在我们的手机或小睡，而我们的个人汽车驱动从我们的工
作场所，我们的家门口。或者我们会放弃轮式原型完全踢在我们个人的飞行汽车
像许多科幻电影预测。因此，如何有多远，我们从这样一个未来吗？
那么，在2007年，美国国防部高级研究计划局有83机器人系统的车辆，开车
60英里的城市当然，周围其他车辆，行人和障碍航行，一切平安无事。就在三
年前，机器人车辆无法甚至开车穿过敞开的沙漠，没有崩溃。 “机器人产
业发
展电脑业务做了30年前大致相同的方式，微软创始人比尔·盖茨观察。”
那么，什么是在为未来的机器人在工作场所的商店吗？美军是机器人研究的最大
的捐赠者之一，因为他们希望机器人自动化取代人的生命，减少我们在战争中的
伤亡。机器人已经完成侦察任务，拆卸爆炸物和射击敌人战斗。
军事首领的目标是使三分之一的所有地面车辆到2015年的司机。研究人员还着
眼于阿西莫夫的“我机器人”，在群样的方式来完成复杂的任务合作特色的机器人类似。只是大小的一个小bug，这些昆虫群看起来毫不起眼，但有能力，通信
线路的干扰，搜集情报和敌人战斗射击。
未来的机器人在人口迅速老龄化的目的，最终目标是在像美国这样的地方，会看
到需要照顾，或在日本，其中22％的人口超过97万婴儿潮为老人提供65。目
前为1亿美元，每年花在研究如何自主机器人可以照顾老人。例如，世强的“我
的勺子”机器人，可以养活分手到咀嚼少量的食物和勺子往嘴里塞的残疾人
士。 “帕罗”，另一位日本人发明的，看上去像一个小海豹和响应孤独的老年
患者的感情，同时监测他们的心率和健康症状。