E-Business
Issue No. 7 - October/November 2002
I Robot
by David Twiss
They’ve been around for less than 50 years, but we’ve been talking about them for a long time. The ancient Greek poet Homer described golden mechanical maidens, built by Hephaistos, the Greek god of metalsmiths.
The word robot comes from the Czech word rabota, meaning drudgery or slave—like labour, and was first used to describe fabricated workers in the 1920s play, Rossum’s Universal Robots, by Czech playwright Karel Capek.
The term robot conjures many different images, depending mainly on your age. Two of my favorites are the robot from the 1960’s TV series ‘Lost In Space’, and Robby the robot from the even earlier 1956 film The Forbidden Planet, notable for the ‘straight’ role played by Leslie Nielson.
Our lives are touched by robots in so many ways: the car, TV and VCR are all significantly assembled by robots. Even your blood when it’s being tested, is handled by robot test machines.
Robots are ideal for jobs that require repetitive, precise movements. Some 90% of all robots are in factories, and half of them make cars. Robots, while not cheap, are usually highly dependable. They don’t get bored, don’t get paid, and don’t get sick, take breaks or holidays, or even stop for lunch.
Many robots either perform repetitive pre—programmed tasks or are remotely controlled to some extent, but more interesting are autonomous robots. These robots explore their environment and ‘decide’ themselves what to do next.
In June this year, scientists in London experimenting with autonomous robots were surprised when one of their charges ‘escaped’ by forcing its way out of the small makeshift paddock in which it was being kept. The robot traveled down an access slope, out through the front door of the facility and was discovered as it tried to leave via the main road entrance.
In the past 10 years so—called intelligent robots have come a long way. They walk on their own legs, climb ...
