Transcript Robotics History The idea of a robot is not new. For thousands of years people have been imagining intelligent mechanized devices that perform.

Robotics History
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The idea of a robot is not new. For thousands of
years people have been imagining intelligent
mechanized devices that perform human-like
tasks. We have built automatic toys and
mechanisms and imagined robots in drawings,
books, plays and science fiction movies.
Robotics History
Where did the word 'robot' come from?
The term "robot" was first used in
1920 in a play called R.U.R. or
Rossum's Universal Robots by the
Czech writer Karel Capek. The word
robota is the Czech word for forced
labor or serf.
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The plot of the play was simple: man
makes a robot then the robot kills
man! Many movies that followed
continued to show robots as harmful,
menacing machines.
Robotics History
The term 'robotics' refers to the study and
use of robots. It was first used by the
Russian-born American scientist and writer
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992). He was best
known for his many works of science fiction.
He also wrote the three “Laws of Robotics for
which he is also famous.” The laws are….
•A robot may not injure a human being or, through
inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
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•A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings,
except where such orders would conflict with the First
Law.
•A robot must protect its own existence as long as such
protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Robotics History
More recently, movies
like the 1977 Star Wars,
portrays robots such as
"C3PO" and "R2D2" as
man's helpers.
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"Number Five" in the movie
“Short Circuit" and C3PO
actually take on a human
appearance. These robots,
which are made to look like
human are called androids.
Robotics History
However, robots of today are not exactly the walking,
talking intelligent machines of of movies, stories and our
dreams. Today, we find most robots working for people
in factories, warehouses, and laboratories.
In the future, robots may show up in other places: our
schools, our homes, even our bodies.
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Robotics History
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Fully functioning androids
are many years away due to
the many problems that must
be solved. However, real,
working, complicated robots
are in use today and they are
changing the workplace.
These robots do not
resemble the android
concept of robots. They are
industrial manipulators and
are really computer
controlled "arms and hands".
Robotics History
Robots have the potential to change our economy, our
health, our standard of living, our knowledge and the
world in which we live. As the technology progresses, we
are finding new ways to use robots.
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Each new use
brings new hope
and possibilities to
improve our lives
and safety, but
they also present
potential dangers
and risks.
Robotics History
Benefits of Robots
Robots offer specific
benefits to workers,
industries and countries.
If introduced correctly,
industrial robots can
improve the quality of life
by freeing workers from
dirty, boring, dangerous
and heavy labor.
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Robotics History
Robotics for Agriculture
Robots for farming, called
“agrobots”, have been
developed in the world
and it is predicted that
they will be more popular
in the 21st century, since
some of them have been
already sold by some
companies in Japan.
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A tomato and cherry tomato harvesting robot, a
cucumber harvesting robot, strawberry harvesting
robots, a multi-operation robot to work in grapevine
yards, and a flower cutting robot are some examples.
Robotics History
HAZBOT III is part of an Emergency Response Robotics
Project, a project begun in 1991 to apply robotics technology
to the safe handling of hazardous materials. Robots such as
HAZBOT also hold potential for use in mining and law
enforcement. It's almost standard now to have robots on
bomb squads in major cities.
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Robotics History
And Space
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The Mars 2003 Rover
Project is designed to
had two scientific rovers
that went to Mars. Each
rover searched for
evidence of liquid water
that may have been
present in Mars’ past.
The rovers are identical
to each other, but
landed at different
regions of Mars.
Robotics History
And Space
The planet Saturn, with its
famous icy rings, and its moon,
Titan, are the prime scientific
targets of the international
Cassini mission, the most
ambitious and far-reaching
planetary exploration ever
mounted.
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NASA's Cassini spacecraft was successfully launched on
October 15, 1997. It’s robotic rover reached Saturn in
July 2004 and completed its mission in June 2008. Click
here to visit the NASA website for details on the Cassini
mission.
Robotics History
And Future
Future missions to
space will include
many robotic vehicles
designed to perform
specific tasks, both
autonomous and
telerobotic.
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Robotics History
Jobs
NASA Programs:
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Jet Propulsion Lab's Robotics Program
Intelligent Mechanisms Group (IMG)
Other Careers:
Automation -the use of computers and robots to
control industrial machinery.
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Animatronics - the use of electronics and robotics
in mechanized puppets to make
them appear to be alive.
Mechanical Engineering – the design, building,
and maintenance of mechanical
robotic systems.
Robotics History
Robotic Terminology
Articulated - Jointed arm.
Robot - Mechanical device that performs
human tasks, either by remote
control or automatically.
Robotics - Study and use of robot
technology.
Telerobotics - Robots that are operated
remotely.
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Robotics Glossary
Au-ton-o-mous
adj.
1. Not controlled by others or by outside
forces; independent: an autonomous
judiciary; an autonomous division of a
corporate conglomerate.
2. Independent in mind or judgment;
self-directed or self-governing.
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Robotics Glossary
Android:
A machine or automaton in the form
of a human being.
An automaton that is created from
biological materials and resembles a
human being. Also called humanoid.
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