What does it do?
Robotics is where science, engineering and technology all meet up. The idea of robotics is to replicate human tasks and actions and replace menial human jobs, such as factory work and manufacturing just for a start. As technology advances what is considered robotics is suspect to change. For example in 2005, 90% of all robots were found in automotive factories assembling cars, whereas in today's robotics they are used to explore harsh environments, assisting with healthcare and more. While the robotics world is ever-growing there are some characteristics that remain constant and that is that all robots consist of some sort of mechanical construction, they need components that control power and machinery usually with electricity. The most common purpose of robotics is to assist in the automotive industry to perform tasks that would be considered simple and repetitive and also quite dangerous. Robotics in basically just high-end automated factory tooling.
First and foremost, the primary goal of robotics is to make life easier for humans and save us from putting ourselves in danger by doing dangerous tasks that could be completed using robotics. Another use of robotics is that they can be sent into space and gather research and information on places like the moon and mars. The first robot was actually sent into space in 1957, it was known as sputnik 1. The second space robot was Mariner 2 and 4 which occurred in 1962 which Mariner 2 was used to do a flyby of Venus and Mariner 4 was the first to take proximal photos of Mars.
In 1975 NASA commenced their ‘viking project’ where they launched two robots into space, Viking 1 and 2. The purpose of these robots were to photograph and survey Mars’ surface and also deploy landers onto the planet in order to collect data with the purpose of helping scientists find out if life already existed on Mars. Fast forward to more recent times and the Canadian Space association uses a robotic arm to install and replace equipment such as cameras and heavy batteries used on their space station. The robot is referred to as “Dextre” and it has hands designed to be able to grip both bulky and fragile equipment alike.
Stationary robots are robots that are bolted to some kind of surface and are not at all mobile, they are usually just a robotic arm that are designed to do tasks such that require precision and repetition such as picking, assembling, welding and more. Articulated robot arms are flexible with their movement and can be powerful meaning that they can lift heavy items compared with other types of robot arms the articulated robot arm is most comparable with the human arms because it has 6 axes or joints. Articulated robots are used mainly for tasks such as pick and place, spot welding, the joints make the articulated robot arms an excellent choice for the automotive manufacturing as they have access to harder to reach places. Autonomous mobile robots are a rapid growing segment of the industrial robot market. Wheeled carts are typically used for transporting goods in warehouses. They are typically equipped with sensors and computing power with electric motors that let them move around a factory and create an internal map of it. Recent advances in technology enable a robotic arm to be added to the wheeled cart which in turn lets the cart do all the work in picking and replace the need for a person working there altogether.
Another use of robots is drones, the use case for drones are endless, they can be used for deliveries, photography, film, recording measurements of things and many more. Amazon are already working on implementing drones for their deliveries of goods and groceries. Underwater robots are used by police to film and search the bottom of bodies of water for evidence of crime scenes that involve water. Furthermore they can be used for exploration of the deeper parts of the ocean that humans aren’t physically capable of because of their ability to resist the water pressure and not needing to be able to breathe underwater.
What is the likely impact?
The impact of robotics to our society is to improve the quality of life and safety in the workforce by eliminating the need for humans to perform dangerous jobs such as bearing heavy loads handling dangerous or toxic substances. The use of robotics in manufacturing has and will continue to save lives of many workers in the industry, it also cuts costs for the businesses and saves time. However, there can also be interpreted with negative implications by the advancement of robotics it will obviously remove the need for humans to complete certain simple jobs and has already and will continue to cause a loss of jobs as the advancement of the technology progresses.
Benefits are limitless for research and knowledge purposes when it comes to sending robots into space, helping answer age old questions of whether other planets could be hospitable to humans and potentially create an alternative place for us to live without putting anyone at risk because all the dangerous work is currently being done with robots. As stated the most likely negative impacts will be that there will be a huge job loss in the physical labor side of factory work and production work however it’s likely that there will be a need for more engineers and scientists to help further develop the knowledge and maintenance of these robotics. .
How will this affect you?
The way that robotics would affect me in my everyday whether it be 5, 10 or 20 years down the track is that it would just all together create a more convenient lifestyle as technology advances. I would never need to worry about working in a hazardous environment again because robotics would allow robots to do this instead of me. It would overall create a more efficient and productive workplace in factories and warehouses as unlike people robots don’t need to take breaks, sleep or eat and can work 7 days straight without breaking for food or sleep. While robotics has been around for a while it’s still got a long way to go and in my opinion the possibilities of where the industry can do are limitless and literally to the sky and beyond.
