Artificial intelligence meets the real World

There is no end to the applications of robotics, evoking a lot of interest across different sectors of the economy. At the same time, there are fears of robots taking over humanity. Its time you get more familiar with this science in its early stages, today and in future Subhranshu Sekhar Samal, atirek Wribhu and r S. Sathyamurthy

!aser welding by a robot The word "robot originates from the #$ech word for forced labour or serf. It was introduced by playwright %arel #apek, whose ficional robotic inventions were much like r &rankensteins monsters'creatures created by chemical and biological methods rather than mechanical. (ut the current mechanical robots of popular culture are not much different from these fictionalbiological creations. The International Standards )rgani$ation *IS)+ definesa robot as an automatically,controlled, re, programmable, multi,purpose and manipulative machine, with or without locomotion, for use in industrial automation applications. -obotics is a fieldof multi,discipline engineering that deals with design, development and application of robots and the use of computer for their manipulation and processing. .volution of robotics The history of robotics can be traced back to ancient /reece. According to /reek mythology, the /reek god of fire and forge'0ephaestus'was served by mechanical robots. Another historical record suggests an ancient .gypt origin for robotics, where priests used steam,activated mechanisms to open the doors of their temple. (efore the first electrician was born, the earliest reference to a robot was in ancient #hina, in the form of an organic robot given by an artificer called 1an Shi to %ing 2u of 3hou around 4555 (#. The robot was made of leather and glue with actual human organs, and it ceased functioning when the organs were removed. It was around 675 (# when veteran /reek mathematician Archytas constructed a mechanical bird named "pigeon'a robot powered by steam, which could fl. It was the firs recorded model airplane and a milestone in the history of robotics. (etween 4755 and 4855, odd mechanical marvels were springing up all over .urope. !eonardo a 9inci was the ne:t known robot designer after the ancient period. 0e invented a mechanical man in knights armour. ;ohn ee of .ngland invented a flying wooden beetle during the .li$abethan era. Another machine was 9aucansons "digesting duck in 4<6=, which was able to annoy real ducks, >uack, eat grain and produce fake faeces. The duck was even referred to by 9oltaire, albeit rather cryptically? @Without the duck of 9aucanson you have nothing to remind you of the glory of &rance.A Isaac asimovs laws of robotics !aw $ero. A robot may not inBure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. &irst law. A robot may not inBure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second law. A robot must obey orders given by human beings, e:cept where such orders would

conflct with the first law. Third law. A robot must protect its own e:istence as long as such protec,tion does not conflictwith the firstor second law. (asic re>uirements of a robotic system Some basic features of a robot include? 2obility. It possesses some form of mobility. Crogrammability. It implies computational or symbol,manipulative capabilities that a designer can combine as desired. So the robot is basically a computer, which can be programmed to accomplish a large variety of tasks. After being programmed, it operates automatically. Sensors. Sensors sense the environment and give useful feedback to the device. 2echanical capability. -obots act according to the environment rather than merely functioning as a data processing or computational device. &le:ibility. -obots operate with a range of programs and manipulate and transport materials in a variety of ways. -obotics, then and now 4854 A punch,card,controlled te:tile machine called ;ac>uard loom 48=5 &irst autonomous vehicles *Tesla+ 4=DD &irst reference to "robot in #apeks play -ossums Eniversal -obots 4=68 Collard and -oselund devised programmable paint sprayer 4=FG e9ol'a general,purpose magnetic playback device for controlling machines 4=FG .ckert H 2auchly devised .IIA# electronic computer 4=F8 2IT Crof. Wiener published #ybernetics 4=7D &irst numerical control machine built at 2IT 4=7F uvoll designed first programmable robot *Enimation'first robot company+ 4=7= Clanet #orporation marketed the first commercially available robot 4=GD /2 installed first industrial robot on an assembly line 4=GF Artificial Intelligence labs opened at 2IT and S-I 4=G< 2ark II robot imported to ;apan for paint spraying 4=G8 S-I built Shakey'first mobile robot operated using AI techni>ues 4=<5 &irst robot arm developed at Stanford 4=<6 TJ'first minicomputer,controlled industrial robot *used e:tensively in the industry+ 4=<G -obot arms used on 9iking 4 and D space probes 4=<< AS.A *.urope+ built first microcomputer,controlled robot 4=85 s and on -apid growth in the robot industry *;apan becomes the biggest player+ Source? http?KKwww.cs.binghamton.edu Scope of robotics -obotics re>uires the application of mechanical engineering, electricalKelectronic engineering, computer,based integrated manufacturing, biological mechanics and software engineering. 9aucansons digesting duck developed in 4<6= A good depth in following maBor subBects is re>uired to deal with robotics technology? 4. Artificial intelligenc D. .ngineering physics *mechanics+ 6. #omputer,aided design and computer,aided manufacturing F. #omputational geometry and simulation 7. -obot motion and path plan,ningKdetection G. .lectronic control, communica,tion and navigation systems

<. 2aterial science and technology 8. )ptical engineering -obots are being used in industries, nuclear science, sea,e:ploration, servicing of electric signals transmission, designing of bio,medical e>uipment, etc. The interdisciplinary field of roboics also findsapplications to pursue research in various sectors. A good background in mechanics, control and algorithms is the primary re>uirement for doing any work in robotics. In addition to this, if one would like to get involved in aerial robotics such as unmanned aircrafts, the basic knowledge of aerodynamics and aircraft mechanics is essential. -obotics can be broadly divided into mechanical design and control algorithms. There is lot of research happening to improve the motion of robots through a good structural design and enhance their efficiencyand adaptability through better control design, computer vision and artificialintelligence. #hallenges Standardisation is a maBor hurdle. As no standard operating systems and software are currently in use, there e:ists diversity in the possible configurationsin which a robot can be built and also in the hardware used. It is often necessary to write programming codes from scratch when dealing with new robots. )ther issues such as concurrency, cost, compliance control, robot locomotion *particularly for legged, amphibious and flying robots+, humancomputer interactions and cognitive computer vision are also facing a great deal of scrutiny with considerable research going on in each area.

A high level of specialisation is re>uired to work on any particular aspect of robotics. 0ence there are not too many options for taking up robotics as a degree itself, especially at the undergraduate level. -obotics still remains a popular course as an elective subBect for engineering students. )pportunities in india Innovation coupled with consolidated research and development in robot technology has catapulted Indias scientificposition to a level that e>uals other advanced countries in recent years. It is, however, a known fact that robots are not widely used by Indian companies. )ut of G55 to <55 robots widely used in India, most are used in engineering institutes and research organisations *see Tables I and II+. -obotics education is taking shape and many universities are introducing courses in robotics and automation at the postgraduate level as main or elective subBects. Seminars, workshops and conferences are also conducted by universities and institutes at regular intervals to proBect the recent developments in robotics technologies at national and international levels. These activities have inspired a notable number of under,graduate students to pursue higher studies in the field of robotics and autmation in India and abroad. Students participation in various robotics contests, meets and e:pos at international level has also increased marginally in recent years from India. Crivate institutes play a big role in robotics training for participation in these events. -esearch on robotics and related technologies is being carried out at various centres to e:plore the possible applications of robotics in various fields *refer Table II+ In India, studies related to robot technology and its implications are supported by the epartment of Science and Technology * ST+ and epartment of Scientificand Industrial -esearch. The ST, epartment of Information Technology and 2inistry of .arth Sciences *formerly epartment of )cean evelopment+, facilitates -H in various areas of national interest.

&uture of robotics There is no limit to the applications of robotics technology. These range from household to deep sea, space to classroom, and medical to communication. 0umanoid robots will impact various aspects of our lives from our workplace to healthcare. In the near future, robots with artificial cognition may develop a will of their own and potentially turn against people spontaneously. To produce intelligent human,like robots that are able to have their own thoughts and take independent actions, technology has to incorporate into the machines a stable and conscientious mindset. &or serving the society in the form of a teaching tool, one may consider a robo,teacher. Incorporating more knowledge at the university level, there might be a robo,professor, who would possibly complete a teaching module from a remote place via the Internet. In the future, we may even order a robot,replica that speaks, reacts, responds and behaves Bust like us, preserving our essence in artificial form for eternity. (ut robotics research is still in infancy and many targets need to be met before all this becomes a reality. So we can follow the saying? @The -oad to success is always under construction.A