Domain

Explanation

Robo?

• An electromechanical machine created to do something useful
• Robot is derived from robota, coined by Karel Capek in the 1917 short story "Opilec"

Machines?

• Robots in all varieties are artificial machines designed with specific uses in mind
• Ideally, robots would perform useful work that people would not be able to do (like rescue in flames, deep sea expedition), would not like to do (like fast, repetitive assembly line operations) & would not want to do (like entertainment, experimentation, fighting)
• In general, there are two types:

1. Specialized: task-specific machines that designed solely for a single task; would not work under unexpected circumstances; the common drink-dispensing machines
2. General-purpose: complex machines that are expected to continue some functions under unexpected circumstances; the convertibles or Frankenstein?

Thought robots are out?

• Naturally after the industrial revolution, people have the impression that robots are those ugly, mindless, serious workers of the industrial age that take jobs away from us
• Robots are definitely not in
• However, recent trends & future needs are indicative of the re-emergence of robots in unforeseen ways (that people can even delight in):

1. One reason for the unpopularity of robots is the technology aspect; recent research & development efforts have addressed these issues; with better, capable & robust technologies, robots would become suited to their work & human surroundings
2. The other reason for their unpopularity is their design & appearance; like MS-DOS (text-based) and Windows (GUI), by changing the outward user-interface, yet improving the underlying technologies have made "robots" more appealing & thus more acceptable
3. Marketing: robots are intended as tools and machines; through marketing, perceptions can be changed to associate robots as fun (homebrew housebots), entertaining (fighting bots), challenging, fashionable & of course, status symbols (remember Sony's robodog)
4. Due to technological revolution, robots need not be limited to large-size, physical, mechanical machines; they may be created as nanobots (miniscule bots smaller than the thickness of hair), software agents (programmed systems that work in virtual environment, online & offline), explorers (for treacherous terrain on Earth or other planets)
5. The increasing volatility of the natural environment (weather changes & extremes) and the human environment (globalization, pollution, extremism) necessitate the continuous tracking & regulation, which only robots can be expected to perform reliably and unbiasedly

• In addition, robots can be specifically designed & programmed to perform independent, often dangerous tasks like clearing mines, handling toxic situations, security surveillance & many possibilities as both technology & perceptions mature & adapt
• Remember the droids in Star Wars - the Vookies (traders & trainers of robots & parts), Watto (merchant in pit droids & parts) - they are scavenging the trash to make new robots: this is the ultimate in recycling

Surely not the future depicted in Terminator?

• As a rule, I never discount any possibility, but in my humble opinion, that kind of scenario is still far from reality - not even as close as the nearest galaxy
• It is also too premature to discuss this far-fetched scenario
• This is a common pitfall of any development effort - when people think too far off that they lose their focus
• Ever try those adventure crossings with only two ropes - if U look at the wrong places (like into the canyon below), U are looking for trouble; but if U concentrate solely on the crossing itself, putting your legs & hands properly, one by one, U get by fine

Common forms of robots?

• Presently, there should be two forms - mechanical & virtual
• Virtual robots are increasingly used due to the networking, but the mechanical ones are dominant
• The mechanical robots are the domain of Robotics
• Varying in uses & designs, they come in different shapes
• A common framework is used for all robots:

Inputs (senses) Robot (brains) Robot (behaviours)

How to design robots?

• Robots need not be those sophisticated ones used for space exploration
• Indeed, any simple machine capable of simple tasks is a robot which you & I can homebrew
• Follow this procedure by Gordon McComb:

1. Specifications: [primary] - what tasks, inputs, outputs, power & mobility; [secondary] - recognition, sensors, corrections, appearance
2. Sensors: [sensor parametrics] - interpretation using different types of sensors; [sensor fusion] - multiple sensors interpretation; [subsumption] - prioritize sensors
3. Brains: [controllers] - processing of sensors interpretation into action sequences; [decision making] - choice of action sequences
4. Behaviours: [robustness] - behaviour independent of environmental differences; [interpretation] - integration & differentiation of sensors; [correction] - error correction (talk about learning from your mistakes)
5. Robot groups: [peer-peer] - interaction on equal standing; [queen-drone] - one robot acts as the leader (queen bee) & the others follow its orders & each other as peer-peer; [convoy] - different groups with their own queens & drones
6. Failure compensation (able to stand up after failures): [compensation] - redundancy inherent; [due to] - mechanical, electrical & programming; [multitasking] - prioritize which to compensate & how much

Help on robotics?

• Robot Universe
• Robo construction
• comp.robotics.misc
• Robo Store
• Alpha Innovations
• Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems