1.

Where do the ideas for different kinds of robots come from? 

The term "robot" conjures up a multitude of photographs, from Star Wars' R2D2 and
C3PO to human-like robots that exist to represent their makers (perhaps in the form
of the cooking and cleaning Rosie in the iconic cartoon series The Jetsons); to the
Rover Sojourner, which explored the Martian surface as part of the Mars Pathfinder
mission. A researcher has coined the term "robotics." The term was coined in 1942
by Russian-born American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov in his short story
"Runabout." Asimov was much more positive about the role of the robot in human
society than Capek. In his short stories, he usually portrayed robots as helpful
servants of man, and he saw robots as "a nicer, cleaner breed."

Early Conceptions of Robots

Around 3000 B.C., Egyptian water clocks used human figurines to strike the hour
bells, and was one of the earliest instances of a mechanical mechanism designed to
perform a specific physical operation on a daily basis. Archytus of Taremtum, the
inventor of the pulley and the hammer, also invented a flying wooden pigeon in 400
B.C. During the second century B.C., hydraulically powered sculptures that could
voice, gesture, and prophesy were widespread in Hellenic Egypt.

Petronius Arbiter produced a doll that could act like a human being in the first
century A.D. In 1557, Giovanni Torriani designed a wooden robot that could retrieve
the Emperor's everyday bread from the market. Robotic developments peaked
(before the twentieth century) in the 1700s, when numerous brilliant, yet inefficient,
automata (i.e. robots) were developed. The nineteenth century was also riddled with
modern robotic inventions, such as Edison's talking doll and Canadians' steam-
powered robot. While these historical inventions may have planted the first seeds of
inspiration for the industrial robot, technological achievement in the field of robotics
in the twentieth century outnumbers past advances a thousandfold.

The first modern robots

George C. Devol, an engineer from Louisville, Kentucky, invented the first robots as
we know them in the early 1950s. He developed and copyrighted "Unimate," a
reprogrammable manipulator from "Universal Automation." He tried unsuccessfully
to market his product in the industry for the next decade. In the late 1960s,
businessman/engineer Joseph Engleberger purchased Devol's robot patent and
modified it into an automated robot, forming Unimation to manufacture and sell the
robots. Engleberger is recognized in the field as "the Father of Robotics" for his
contributions and accomplishments.
2. Can you think of a situation in which a robot would be necessary or at least
helpful?  What specific characteristics would designers need to include in such a
robot?

Robots should do tasks that they excel at or that humans dislike, such as moving
large objects, measuring chemicals, and crunching numbers. This frees people
up to do what they do best, such as adapting to changing circumstances and
devising new solutions to problems.   When doing things, robots may also act as
a backup to humans, but they must consider how their parts of the job relate to
the parts their colleagues are performing, and how they may be able to help if
needed. In order for work to be completed, robots and humans must
communicate with one another. They must be familiar with each other's
equipment and capabilities, and they must have confidence that it will not
malfunction. There are certain important features that a robot must have, which
can assist you in determining what is and is not a robot. It will also assist you in
determining what functionality you will need to incorporate into a computer before
it can be considered a robot. First and foremost, the robot must be capable of
sensing its surroundings. It will do so in ways that are close to how you see your
surroundings. Light sensors like eyes, touch and pressure sensors like hands,
chemical sensors like nose, sound and sonar sensors like ears, and taste
sensors like tongue can provide the robot with knowledge of its surroundings. A
robot must be able to navigate through its surroundings. A robot must be able to
drive, whether it is rolling on wheels, walking on legs, or being propelled by
thrusters. A robot must be capable of self-power. A robot could be powered by
the sun, electricity, or batteries. The source of your robot's energy will be
determined by the task at hand. Any type of intelligence is needed for the robot.
This is where programming comes into play. A programmer is the one who gives
the robot its intelligence. The robot would need a way to receive the software so
that it learns what to do.