第1个回答 2013-07-03
Robotics is the science and technology and application of robots. Stories of artificial helpers and attempts to create them has a long history and is the basis of much science fiction.
Robots are generally used to help with jobs that are too dirty or boring for most human beings.
The first prgrammable humanoid robot was about 1206 AD. We can make a robot to look like almost anything we want. The most fantasized about are ones that have a humanoid appearance. Think of a repetative task and generally there is probably one on th market that can do what you want.
Remember Rosey the robot on The Jetsons, or the robot on Lost in Space. We have come a long way, but we aren't quite that far yet. It is only a matter of time. There are already robots that can do simple tasks like cleaning the floor, or doing the laundry. But these won't be ready for the public until about the year 2010. The cost of the robots is another matter.
The robot is based around the structure, which is like the skeleton of the human body. It is the main support system.
Next, you have the actuatorsor "muscles" of the robot. This is quite complex, and I won't go into now.
Manipulators are the way an object is manipulated. This generally is done by grippers, or effectors.
Then there is locomotion to worry about. Do you have a flat surface that it will work on? Then it will probably be a rolling robot. It can be two wheels, four wheels, or on tracks.
If there are stairs, or uneven terrain the problem becomes more complex. Walking is difficult to solve, especially if you compare it to how a human walks. If The robot has locomotion, I am assuming it is going from point A to point B. Does it need memory to get to point A and memory to get to point B? It will probably need something similar to radar to be used for crash avoidance.
Scientists and researchers are constantly trying to hone the robot into something better.
Robots make our life a lot easier. They are in every facet of our life. The computer, garage door opener, unmanned reconnaissance planes, satellites, lawn mowers, a GPS in our car. These are all of robots we we use every day and probably don't think about it.
As you can tell, robots can get very complex very quickly. The fancier you make it, the more compkex and expensive it becomes. You are trying to tell an inanimate object how to do something halfway human, and that is complex.
2
People who go all Lou Dobbs about robots. People say things like: All robots look alike. Robots should speak English. Robots are taking all the jobs. Robots don't pay enough taxes. Robots reproduce like bunnies. I don't want my child playing with a robot, or goodness gracious, marrying a robot.
An acquaintance of mine, who discriminates against robots, but never actually met one, received a Roomba for Christmas "I pushed its power button," she said. "It was so cute when it sounded the "charge," and scurried across the floor gobbling up dust bunnies. I love Roomba," she said. "But I still don't like robots." It is typical to think that your robot is somehow different from other robots. Those other robots can not be trusted.
It may take another generation, one where our children are raised amongst robots, for them to gain acceptance. Like the washing machine and the automobile, robots are part of our future.
It is true that robots can be hard to tell apart. I remember Sarah Connor in Terminator II. She damn near wet her pants when a series 800-Model 101 showed up, a few years after she'd sent its twin to the scrap heap. Given a little time, however, she got acquainted with the big, muscle-bound machine. She fantasized about keeping him on as dad and husband. After all, he got along well with the boy, was a good provider, and would stop at nothing to protect her family.
Although robots are loyal and dependable, they do screw up once in a while. I'm thinking of HAL in 2001, A Space Odyssey. He definitely made a mistake of judgment. I still think he deserved a second chance? For every HAL, there are dozens of R2-D2's and 3CPO's. And that cute little WALL-E.
Occasionally, there is a bad egg, like ED-209 in RoboCop. Or the Battle Droids in Star Wars. But are they worse than rottweilers and pit bulls? Surely, some of them can be rehabilitated, and make good pets.
From an economic point of view, you can't beat robots. They work day and night. They rarely call in sick. They add to the nation's GDP, and don't require pensions or health care. They are terrific with numbers and rarely have math anxiety. RoboDoc performs delicate surgeries 24/7 and he never gets the shakes.
But, you ask, "What if they go into politics?" Will they impose their culture, their language, and their way of life on us? Forget about it. No one can resist Big Macs, vacations to Disneyland, and shopping at Walmart. This is America..
Face it, robots are here to stay. They are willing to do ANYTHING. They make great maids and gardeners, sweepers and scrubbers, mowers and choppers. There are robots that care for the elderly, wash their dirty bottoms and soon perhaps, play Yahtzee with them. There are robots that imitate pets yet don't require walks nor litter boxes. Even robots that'll go the fridge, grab a cold beer, and bring it to you. If it's eager to watch the Super Bowl, and play Wii Tennis, you got yourself a great roommate.
As far as intermarriage with a robot, didn't they try that in The Stepford Wives? Maybe it was just too soon.
3
Most of us are still of of the mindset that robotics is something that is rather futuristic. We still may have pictures in our head of humanoid robots, flailing their arms and either attacking the Earth from other planets or perhaps protecting us in some way or another. The fact of the matter is, humanoid robots are still very much futuristic but much of the future of robots is already in existence today. Robots are used in a number of different settings that you might find rather interesting. Here is a little bit about the future of robotics and the fact that much of it is already in existence with what we are doing now.
One of the ways in which robots are most often used is in an industrial setting. The automotive industry, for example, makes use of robots on their assembly lines to do a number of different tasks. Unfortunately, this has put many individuals out of a job because the robot was able to do what they used to do on the assembly line more efficiently. Not only that, once the robot is put into place they are able to take care of these repetitive tasks, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
One of the ways in which robotics is used on a regular basis is in spot welding. Although this used to require a human touch, much of the welding that is now done by robots is so accurate and precise that a human could not possibly take care of it in that way. Many times, this welding needs to be done in an assembly line environment so the same simple task is done over and over again. It will be difficult for anybody to improve on what is already existing in these robotics unless they make them less apt to have difficulties from breaking down.
Robots are also able to help us to get out of dangerous situations in many cases. A good example of this is spring painting. Humans used to have to take care of spray painting in the automotive industry and other industrial settings. This put them at risk because they were constantly being exposed to dangerous chemicals, even if they wore protective clothing. A robot is not only able to be in these rooms without having to worry about health concerns, they are able to do the painting more evenly and accurately than their human counterparts.
Finally, robotics are often used in the development and building of computer chips. These chips are often too small for humans to work on themselves so if or not for the robotics that are put to use in these factories, much of the computer science that we have today would not be in existence. Although they will continue to improve on this and other things in the robotics industry, the fact of the matter is that the modern-day use of robotics is already futuristic.