Page 149 - TechPluse_C8_Flipbook
P. 149

Clickipedia



                   The term ‘robot’ was coined by novelist and playwright Karel Capek in the year 1920. The
                   term ‘robot’ was first used to denote fictional characters in a 1921 play ‘Rossum’s Universal
                   Robots'.


                 Robots are made up of a vast variety of electronic components, sensors, servo motors, flexible-
                 axis devices, chips and microprocessors. But they have an edge over other machines as they can
                 be programmed to have a certain degree of autonomy.
                 The branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science that deals
                 with the design, construction, operation and application of robots, as well as computer systems
                 for their control, sensory feedback and information processing is called Robotics. In other words,
                 robotics is the engineering science and technology of robots, their designing, manufacturing

                 and application.
                 Clickipedia



                   The word robot comes from the Slavic word robota, which means forced labour. The term
                   robotics  was  first  used  in  print  by  Issac  Asimov,  in  his  science  fiction  short  story  ‘Liar’
                   published in May 1941.


                     USES OF ROBOTICS

                 Robots are used in various sectors, but they can be broadly classified into two types—industrial
                 robots and service robots.

                 Industrial robots are mainly used in manufacturing industries such as automotives industries.
                 These robots are programmed using computers.

                 Service robots include domestic robots that clean the carpet or cut grass in the garden and
                 move  on  their  own.  They  are  fully  or  semi-autonomous  robots  and  controlled  by  electronic
                 circuits. Some of the service robots are simple versions with very few IC (Integrated Circuit) chips
                 while others have more than hundred ICs.

                 The integration of computer programming into the field of robotics has resulted in amazing
                 technological advancements. Programmed robots can now track cyclones and weather conditions.
                 With the help of computers it is possible to view images from satellites.
                                                        Clickipedia
                 Robotics  has  also  helped  in  the
                 development  of  space  probes           A robot  Dante  II  monitored  the
                 that collect information about the       volcanic  activity  of  Alaska’s  Mount
                 solar  system  as  well  as  the  sun.   Spurr  in  the  year  1994.  The  robot
                 Scientists  are  working  on  a  robot   descended  into  the  crater  and  used
                 that is capable of digging the dirt      video  cameras  to  transmit  images  to

                 from  moon  and  collecting  it  in  a   satellites.


                                                                                               AI and Robotics       147
   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154