Lets Talk About Robotics : Facts And Information For Beginners 2023
From chess to hospital surgery, from submarines to space, from making cars to cleaning the house, when we are seeing the use of robots and AI everywhere, not knowing about robotics is like being left behind.
That is why today we will talk about this fascinating part of science. What is robotics, what does it work on, what are its benefits, and what is the history behind it; With robotics engineering as a subject, and its practical aspects, everything will be discussed today!
What is Robotics?
Simply put, without a complicated definition, robotics is the branch of science that deals with computers that can move, interact with the real world, and perform complex tasks that humans cannot. Yes, you heard it right, the device I mentioned in the previous line, the robot is a type of computer! Surprisingly, it is true.
Be that as it may, robotics began with the creation of very small devices, which were not as electronic as they are today, and in many cases were very complex, which had to be very fast to operate.
In this article, we will know how it came to the present stage. Robotics is basically about robots, so let's first understand what we mean by robots.
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What is Robot?
A robot generally refers to a machine that can understand or measure the environment around it through some indicators and can perform a specific task smoothly and autonomously. Nowadays, robots often refer to electronic devices, although this was not the case in the beginning.
All robots have some common features that distinguish them from other machines, such as,
- Their material existence exists. That is, they do not just move from computer to computer, from code to code. They can be seen, touched, and actually tested.
- They have sensing features. That is, they can come to a conclusion by measuring the environmental parameters. Like light, temperature, rainfall, etc. It all depends on what they are made for. Sensors are used in robots for this.
- They have a strong connection to the computer at the backend, which is called computation. That is, what they are ordered to do, they follow that formula, and they cannot do anything on their own.
- The robot always needs a power supply, so the power is connected only through wires. Designers have found a better solution than this through batteries. It also has a downside, the heavier the battery, the more it will hinder the movement of the robot.
- Robots are generally used for heavy tasks that would be difficult for humans to perform or for delicate tasks where precision is critical.
- Robots are capable of working in many hostile environments such as underwater, space, medical surgery, etc. Some robots work in bomb disposal! Robots can be freely used for such risky tasks.
Difference between Robots and Robotics:
The difference between robots and robotics is very clear, robotics is a manufactured object, and robotics is the science that studies them. Robotics is actually quite a broad field, it has connections with mechanical and electronic engineering as well. Again, the software that works for the movement of the robots, robotics has to keep in touch with computer science and software engineering!
The first use of the words robot and robotics:
The word robot was first used in a Czech play in 1920 when it was used to refer to something artificial and humanoid (ie human-like). The word robot comes from the Slavic word robota, which means someone being forced to do something. The term originated in the view that peasants were forced to work in nineteenth-century feudal Europe.
The term robotics was first used in 1942 by Isaac Asimov. Famed sci-fi author Asimov also gives three sources of robotics, a term that came into use by him, and is frequently used in everyday robotics discussions today.
History of Robotics:
To say from the very beginning, it must come from the twelfth century, then the Islamic golden age is going on. At a time when Europe was plunged into darkness during the Middle Ages, Arab-Persian polymaths were making extraordinary contributions to various branches of knowledge. One such person was Badiuzzaman Abul Iz Ibn Ismail Ibn Razzaz Al-Jazari, popularly known as Al-Jazari for short.
He designed a stunning elephant clock, which could operate by itself, and keep accurate 24-hour time. He also created 50 other mechanical devices, all beautifully illustrated. That is why he is called the Father of Robotics.
And speaking of modern times, in 1961, the first robot named Unimet was made in New Jersey. It was actually a giant robotic arm weighing 1 ton that could be programmed. Soon after, car companies started making robots. But at that time they were just robotic arms, heavy and difficult to operate. When the IRB-6 came out in 1974, it was a big deal, as it was the first to be controlled by a microcomputer.
The problem in the 1970s was that machines were getting better but they were getting too fast to interact with the real world. It was released in the 1980s when vision was added to robots for the first time. Since then, scientists and engineers have not looked back, the remaining two decades are going to be a great festival of excellence! Gradually, as these industrial robots have improved in movement, vision, or seeing and responding to other sensors has only progressed!
Wabot-1, said to be the first full-scale humanoid robot, was developed in 1973 at Waseda University in Japan. It could walk, move things and even talk. Its successor, the Wabot-2, also made many improvements.
Gradually, engineers began to realize that robots would perform best if they were designed for a specific task. For this purpose, in the last ten years, many robots have been developed to help with household tasks, such as cleaning the dirt in the room, mowing the lawn, cleaning the windows, or cleaning the swimming pool.
Robotics Engineering as a subject:
Robotics as a subject is a very promising field, closely related to some amazing branches of engineering. For example, mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, and computer science engineering have to work directly with robotics. The potential of a subject is usually measured by how open the field of research is and how many job opportunities there are. Robotics is a very fast-growing field in our country and expanding the future market. As there are job opportunities here with artificial intelligence, the doors of both work and research are open in the sectors like automation, cybernetics, etc.
Application areas of Robotics:
The field of application of robotics mainly refers to robots, but also includes several other areas:
- Safety and Security: Imagine if you see robots replacing security guards in an organization? Thieves and robbers will also be afraid. Also, there will be no question of favoritism on various issues. And will play a role as a security consultant with great success. A US company called Nightscope has already started using robots as assistants to security guards!
- Space observation: Astronauts have to face many difficult situations in space, in these cases, robots will be useful. For example, bringing soil samples from the surface of Mars could be an example! NASA is already using robots in space for some of the more difficult tasks, where human work is risky. These uses will increase in the coming days.
- Entertainment Sector: Robots can play a big role in the entertainment market. Automated robots can play a very effective role in repetitive tasks in the cinema industry, such as taking shots and editing. Disney World's use has already begun to take off.
- Health and Agriculture: Robots are a very promising innovation in these two sectors that are close to life. The da Vinci robot is already performing many touch-up surgeries, operating on the heart, head, neck, and various organs. Similarly, the robot that works to clean the weeds in the crop field is called Acrobatics! It runs on solar energy and uses a camera to see where the grass is growing. And talking about future possibilities, it is infinite, there are many sectors still unexplored in this regard!
- Manufacturing and Military: The manufacturing sector is the oldest sector where robots have been used. What started with robotic hands has gone beyond our imagination today. In this era of automation, no one knows where this possibility will lead in the future. Robots are also widely used in military work. Because, naturally, the cost of human life is very high, whereas the use of robots in the military sector is quite helpful in carrying out many risky tasks and operations.
Also, robots and robotics are being used more and more often!
Importance of Robotics
After seeing so many practical aspects of robotics, there is nothing to reiterate its importance. A sector that started with just a mechanical hand, even earlier by making automatic watches, it is surprising to see where the sector has ended up today. Automation will increase in this age of technology, but it remains to be seen how we can adapt to this phenomenon. As this sector is bound to grow, it will be beneficial for us if we adapt to robotics and plan to move forward with it.
References:
- Robotics: Crash Course AI #11, CrashCourse.
- Brief History of Robotics, SciShow.
- Robots: Crash Course Computer Science #37, CrashCourse.
- Medieval robots? They were just one of this Muslim inventor’s creations, National Geographic.
- How Engineering Robots Works: Crash Course Engineering #33, CrashCourse.
- Top 10 Applications of Robotics in 2020, GeeksforGeeks.
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