Robotics: Rise of The Machines

Robot's Evolution

Robots have been around long before electricity was discovered. Shocking (no pun intended) if like many people, the term ‘robot’ conjures in your mind’s eye, bolts, nut, wires and sheets of metal fastened together in a shape of a human. Truth is, that picture isn’t exactly complete. According to TechTarget a robot is a machine designed to execute one or more tasks automatically with speed and precision. By that definition the clepsydra, a clock that measures time using the flow of water invented by Babylonians around 1400 BC qualifies and is considered one of the first “robotic” devices in history. Electricity wasn’t discovered until much later in the 17th century; the result of Benjamin Franklin‘s experiments.

The term 'robot' in reference to the programmable machines we’ve all come to know and love was popularized by a Czech Playwright by the name of Karl Capek In 1921. The term is derived from the Czech word robota which translates to forced labor. In the play, the robots revolt against the human race and take over the world.

21 years on, Alexander Asimov, a Russian American writer writes a short story about robots called Runaround. In it, Asimov delineates the famous “Three Laws of Robotics” to which all robots must adhere. These were

1. A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

The first Programmable robot did not appear until the mid-20th century in 1954 when a man named George Devol filed a patent for an industrial robot spawning the beginning of a new era in robotics’ history. The robot was named Unimate and it went on to be integrated into the assembly line of General Motors Company. Its primary task was to transport die castings from the assembly line and welding these onto auto mobile parts. 

                 


Another moment of note in robotics history came in 2000 when Honda created a humanoid robot called ASIMO. The robot was capable of autonomous navigation and could walk and run almost well as a human can. The latest version of ASIMO as of 2017 is argued to be the world’s most advanced humanoid robot.

                                                      

Inevitably, robots found their way into the medical field. A good example of a robot making a difference in medicine might be The Da Vinci System. The Da Vinci system is a computer-assisted robotic system that enhances a surgeon's capability to operate within the abdomen in a less invasive way during laparoscopic surgery. The advantage of robotically-assisted laparoscopic surgery over conventional means is that with the former there is a higher degree of precision and post-operative discomfort and scaring are minimized.

Healthcare is not the only area getting a face lift from Robotics. Space exploration wouldn’t be what it is without the reconnaissance that probes provide. Probes with varying degrees of autonomy have been exploring outer space since the mid-1900s. The most recent voyage being that of NASA’s Mars Rover “Curiosity” which touched down on Mars soil in 2012. Curiosity is equipped with state of the art equipment some of which includes an Alpha Particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS), a Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), a Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and almost half a dozen cameras. As of August the 9th 2017, Curiosity is still operational and maintains contact with NASA. 

Curiosity self-portrait

If there was ever a crescendo in the robotics symphony it is now. There has not been more research in robotics at this rate in all of history. In the last two decades alone we've seen robots evolve from the vacuum cleaning Roomba in 2002 to a socially intelligent humanoid robot called Pepper. 

Whether this rapid advancement is a good or bad thing however, is an entirely different matter. We've all heard about how a robot uprising is probable and quite possibly imminent. The theory and cause for apprehension is that in a bid to create fully autonomous artificial intelligence a runaway reaction will be triggered such that the artificially intelligent agent will re-write its own software to become more and more intelligent in a perpetual cycle of self-improvement. The result will be an intelligence explosion and a superintelligence exceeding by far that of mankind; a phenomenon that has come to be known as the singularity. 

Depending on whom you ask, The Technological Singularity is either hogwash or as real as the air we breathe. The arguments on either side of the theory are backed only by conjecture at this point so really it’s anyone’s guess. One thing is certain however, robotics and research into robotics will continue to advance come what may.

Author : Webguy

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