Neil Wilkins - Robotics: What Beginners Need to Know about Robotic Process Automation, Mobile Robots, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Autonomous Vehicles, Speech Recognition, Drones, and Our Future

Robotics

What Beginners Need to Know about Robotic Process Automation, Mobile Robots, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Autonomous Vehicles, Speech Recognition, Drones, and Our Future

Copyright 2019

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Introduction

T he following chapters will discuss everything that you need to know about robotics. As you look at the world around us, more and more robotics has been applied to our lives.

Because of how important robotics is becoming in our lives, it is important that you understand how robotics works and some of the myths that are often told about robotics.

There are many topics in this book, and you will read about some of the experts and what they have to say about robotics. It is important to understand everything about robotics before you decide to write it off as a hoax or something worse.

Chapter 1: The Basics of Robotics

R obotics is considered an exhaustive branch of science and engineering. Robotics encompasses different fields of engineering such as electronics, information, mechanical, computer science, and so much more! It is typically related to the use of robots, how they are invented, how they operate, and the computer system that is used to control the robot. It also includes feedback from sensors as well as the processing of information that the robot has to use.

The robotic technologies are used to create machines that are going to take the place of humans by replicating human actions. Robots can be used in many situations for any number of purposes. However, when you look in todays society, they can be used in dangerous environments that humans should not be in, such as the detection of bombs and even the deactivation of bombs. Robots can also be used in manufacturing processes where humans are not going to be able to survive because of space, air quality, or any other number of dangerous situations where humans are being placed in danger and are most likely not going to be able to survive. Robots can take on almost any form, and they can even be made to resemble what a human looks like. Doing this is said to help people accept robots as they replicate behaviors that are typically performed by people. Some robots can replicate hoisting, talking, walking, perception, and almost anything that a human can do. Many of the robots seen today are going to be inspired by the environment that they are going to be working in. These robots are going to contribute to nature because they are contributing to the bio-inspired field.

The concept of creating robots dates back to classical times. However, the research for it and the potential to create the perfect robot did not actually get put into action until the start of the 20th century. All across the course of history, people have assumed that robots are going to imitate human behaviors and handle tasks similar to how humans do every day. Now, you can see that robotics is a quickly growing field thanks to advances in technology.

Etymology

The word robotics comes from robot. This word came to the publics attention by a Czech writer by the name of Karel Capek when his play was first published sometime in 1920. The origins of the word robot can be traced back to the Slavic word roboa which translates to labor or work. In Capeks play, it starts out in a factory that makes robots, and these creatures were mistaken for humans (the idea of androids). However, it was not Capek that made up the term robot, but he did write a letter in reference to the development of the word which was found in the Oxford English Dictionary stating that the word robot was created by Josef, Capek's brother.

However, when you look at the Oxford English Dictionary, it tells you that the word robotics was used first by Isaac Asimov in a science fiction story he wrote which was published in 1941. Asimov was not aware that he was creating a new word because of the technology and science that is seen in electrical devices. Therefore, he assumed that the word robotics was going to only refer to the work that is done with robots. In his other works, Asimo says that it was a short story from 1942 when he first used the word robotics where he first proposed the concept of The Three Laws of Robotics. But, since Liar predates Runaround by at least ten months, Liar is where the word first came about.

History

It was in 1948 that Norbert Wiener first created the cybernetics principles which are the basis for practical robotics.

The first fully autonomous robot made an appearance during the 20th century. The very first digital that was programmable was named Unimate, and it was put to use in 1961 so that it could remove the car pieces from the die casting machine so they could be stacked. Robots in both commercial and factory jobs are used worldwide today, and they can perform jobs cheaper while being more accurate and more reliable than a human being. They are also employed in jobs that are not going to be suitable for humans because they are too dull, dangerous, or dirty. Robots are typically used in mass production, fabrication, mining, transport, packing and packaging, surgery, the exploration of both Earth and space, safety, weaponry, and laboratory research.