Robotics

1
Robotics

• Nicholas Flint
• Computer Literature
• May 1, 2007

2
Main Points

• In the Beginning
• Robots Today
• Domestic Invasion
• Household Robots
• Robots as Pets
• Movers and Shakers
• Robots in the Govt.
• NASA

• Rovers
• Precision Surgeons
• Actuators and Sensors
• Current Works
• Robot Contests
• Ultimate Goal
• Final Question
• Special Thanks

3
In The Beginning

• Czech writer Karel Eapek coined the term in 1921
  for his play R.U.R. (Rossums Universal Robots)

4
Robots Today

• Over one million house hold robots
• Perform everyday typical boring tasks
• 1.1 Million Industrial Robots
• Perform tasks that require much precision

5
Domestic Invasion

• Majority worked as brainless machines in
  industrial factories
• Butler robots seemed like a long shot until
  recently.
• Computing power and advances have made software
  smart enough to make robots much more useful

6
Household Robots

• Robotic vacuum cleaner
• Mops
• Lawn Mowers
• Pool Cleaners
• Security Bots
• Baby-Rockers

7
Robots as Pets

• Sonys Aibo

8
Movers and Shakers

• Away from the domestic front some robots are
  designed to change their form weather its
• Shape-Shifting tetrabots
• Self-Cloning robots

9
Robots in the Government

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
• Remote Control Spy planes that is lost contact
  with pilot can essentially fly them selves
• Pentagon has started created UAVs to respond
  with firepower in battle
• Also used to monitor forest fire

10
NASA

• Robonaut to perform dangerous space walks
• Robotic Rovers on Mars to explore planet
• Probes Huygens landed on Titan and Russias
  Venera 9 landed on Venus are also classified as
  robots

11
Rovers

• Used to explore deep ocean or ice capped waters
• Heat resistant robots can be used to monitor
  volcanoes
• A rover has even been used to explore the
  Egyptian Pyramids

12
Precision Surgeons

• Assist surgeons in procedures
• Most successful is the da Vinci robotic surgical
  system
• Used for keyhole surgeries, gall bladder removal,
  brain surgery and even heart bypass

13
Actuators and Sensors

• Despite all the success their still trying to
  improve actuators (control how robots move),
  sensors (allow them to detect their environment)
  and ultimately continuing to make them smarter

14
Current Work in Progress

• While there is much research in making robotic
  arms and hands the difficulty lies in making
  electronic skin sensitive enough to detect
  fragile and slippery objects by touch alone
• A robot that mimics human speech is also a work
  in progress

15
Robot Contests

• Baseball catching contests to improve dexterity
• Goldfish-catching contests to improve underwater
  maneuverability
• Even horse and camel racing contests to replace
  jockeys

16
Ultimate Goal

• By 2050 scientists hope to have a soccer team of
  robots that are capable to work as a team with
  the ability to run and kick.
• The ultimate goal is for this team of robots to
  be able to beat the best soccer team in the world

17
Final Question

• Scientist worry that if we eventually have robots
  smart enough to do our dirty work for us then
  they will also be smart enough to refuse to do
  the work. Then would we suddenly have a
  robotic-rebellion on our hands?

18
Special Thanks

• To Carl Flint
• The YUSA Corp. of Washington Ch. Ohio
• And lastly New Scientist Tech website
• http//www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/robo
  ts/dn9973