Robotics technology is the intersection of science, technology, and engineering for producing machines known as robots, which are widely utilized to replicate human actions. The major objective of the robotics technology is to improve the performance of the organization and thereby produce better outcome. Robotics technology finds its broad range of applications in several industries, which comprise healthcare, agriculture, domestic, manufacturing, and others.
When it comes to robots, reality still lags science fiction. But, just because robots have not lived up to their promise in past decades does not mean that they will not arrive sooner or later. Indeed, the confluence of several advanced technologies is bringing the age of robotics ever nearer — smaller, cheaper, more practical and cost-effective.
Brawn, Bone & Brain
There are 3 aspects of any robot:
- Brawn — strength relating to physical payload that a robot can move.
- Bone — the physical structure of a robot relative to the work it does; this determines the size and weight of the robot in relation to its physical payload.
- Brain — robotic intelligence; what it can think and do independently; how much manual interaction is required.
Because of the way robots have been pictured in science fiction, many people expect robots to be human-like in appearance. But in fact what a robot looks like is more related to the tasks or functions it performs. A lot of machines that look nothing like humans can clearly be classified as robots. And similarly, some human-looking robots are not much beyond mechanical mechanisms, or toys.
What Is Robotics?
Robotics is the intersection of science, engineering and technology that produces machines, called robots, that substitute for (or replicate) human actions. Pop culture has always been fascinated with robots. R2-D2. Optimus Prime. WALL-E. These over-exaggerated, humanoid concepts of robots usually seem like a caricature of the real thing…or are they more forward thinking than we realize? Robots are gaining intellectual and mechanical capabilities that don’t put the possibility of a R2-D2-like machine out of reach in the future.
As technology progresses, so too does the scope of what is considered robotics. In 2005, 90% of all robots could be found assembling cars in automotive factories. These robots consist mainly of mechanical arms tasked with welding or screwing on certain parts of a car. Today, we’re seeing an evolved and expanded definition of robotics that includes the development, creation and use of bots that explore Earth’s harshest conditions, robots that assist law-enforcement and even robots that assist in almost every facet of healthcare.
APPLICATIONS OF ROBOTICS
- Helping fight forest fires
- Working alongside humans in manufacturing plants (known as co-bots)
- Robots that offer companionship to elderly individuals
- Surgical assistants
- Last-mile package and food order delivery
- Autonomous household robots that carry out tasks like vacuuming and mowing the grass
- Assisting with finding items and carrying them throughout warehouses
- Used during search-and-rescue missions after natural disasters
- Landmine detectors in war zones
