Some Information On Robots
A robot is basically a machine that can function automatically and does not require any human intervention. The earliest robots were developed around the 1930's and they had very small range of movements defined for them, being simplest movements of hands and feet. These robots were quite a few in numbers and were not commercially produced. These were the earliest steps in robotics taken up by scientists and researchers to understand the complexity of the human mind and the amount of effort required by them to map it into a robot.
A robot is basically a unit of collaborated hardware and software that works together as a single unit to perform a predefined task. The hardware is essentially a key set of parts that enables proper movement of the system and is easy to design. It is usually the software part that is tricky. The inbuilt software should guide the bot on all its tasks, the functions it is needed to perform. Designing of the software as well as testing it out for the hundreds of exceptions that exist in the "real world " has been the trickiest thing for the developers of latest robotic technologies.The only thing that prepares them is extensive testing and usage in the real world so that all their issues can be addressed and sorted out.
Technologies used in the past
Initially the technologies that were used were very costly and grants were not so high so the robots that were built were small and were less powerful as compared to today's robots. The earliest robots were wired or wire controlled and the pressing of a button had it doing some predefined tasks like moving forward or backward or sideways .After a few years as the industry progressed the robots became wireless, they were being controlled via electromagnetic waves. As times progressed, the range of the transmitters and receivers increased and it became easier to operate them. But still these were not enough to be used in the industry to replace workers. Much more work was required on these robots. After a few decades of working with the latest technologies the scientists were able to bring to us the first andro-human bot The ASIMO in the 1990's. It could walk like humans, could interact with a few real world objects and it kick started a new era in the developments of robotics. The ASIMO was a wireless robot with many inbuilt functions like running, walking and facing the speaker when someone talks in front of it. Basically the era that is gone was of simple robotics with fixed functions and low adaptability.
Latest technology used in Robots
The latest robots that are used are now self aware , are aware of their surroundings and they act accordingly. There has been a large amount of behind the scenes development that has been going on since the 1990s and it has resulted in increasing the capabilities of these robots manifold. The hardware and the software has been combined in such a way that now a human perceives and reacts according to its environment. The robots can now adapt and configure itself on its own so that no more outside control is required. The only thing holding it back are the initial investments that is way too high for mass production.
The latest technologies have enabled the robots to have a brain. The latest robots are either used in factories to perform tasks that are potentially fatal to humans or the tasks that are routine and require little human intervention. These robots are now simply controlled by giving a command to their CPUs which will control and enable it to perform all the tasks that are expected of it. The combination of hardware and software has resulted in an excellent growth in the endless possibilities of robotics. Google has made a car that is able to drive itself and does not require the presence of a driver and the California Govt has already passed a law for it. Tests are currently on and in mid 2013 driverless cars might become a reality. The future is around and possibilities are enormous, what more could you possibly want?
Although the robots shown in the movie irobot still be a few decades away from now.
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