Applications of Robots 1 APPLICATIONS OF ROBOTS The word robot was introduced by Czech writer Karel Capek in his play

R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) which was written in 1920. It is derived from the word Robotovat which means to slave or to work. The Robot Institute of America, (1979) defines a robot as A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move materials, parts or tools or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks. By general consensus, the word robot describes a machine that can emulate the actions or appearance of an intelligent creature and possesses two main qualities. First it must be able to receive information from its current environment, and second it should do something physical. Most robots are designed to be a helping hand. They help people with tasks that would be difficult, unsafe, or boring for a human to do. Robots have been used in a variety of applications which can be divided into three main categories: military, health sector/medical and space exploration. The first usage area is military.The military is a dangerous place for humans. This makes it a logical application for robotics. According to an article Packbot (Robertson, 2002) Militaries have started to use robots to help protect troops while also being able to gather intelligent. The U.S. military is currently using robots to diffuse bombs and to transport goods in danger zones. These vehicles use sensors and coordinates to guide themselves through streets and rough terrain to supply ammunition and food stuff to soldiers. In the U.S., the Armys first battlefield robot, intended to check the trails and send back pictures. Its name is Packbot and it is being used by the U.S. Military for discovery missions in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. I dont have to be anywhere near this cave,Merritt mentioned in Packbot (2002), standing outside the opening. By looking through eye piece I can switch cameras so I can see exactly what I need to see. Soldiers do not need to risk their lives to survey areas where militant factions may be hiding ready to attack. Packbot can go on scouting missions and will possibly even be sent into combat. Soon robots could be sent into enemy territories not just to explore but to kill humans.There are many advantaged to use robots in military. Machines don't get tired. They don't close their eyes. They don't hide under trees when it rains and they don't talk to their buddies. Thats why robots have been used in

Applications of Robots 2 military.In addition, it is possible for robots to assist in search and rescue operations where conditions make it unsafe for humans to enter. Another usage field is health sector.Medical robots are one of the most helpful applications of robots. They are used in various medical practices,including difficult surgical procedures. Healthcare Robots are used sometimes for operations. There are robots being used to deliver medical supplies, food trays, medication and just about anything to nurse stations. Robots are used also to make medicines. One example of medical robot is Surgery Robot.When having a problem with a part of body or brain, doctors have to operate. Several times later, doctors get tired and so its natural for doctors to use robotics technologies . Medical robots are also used to assist patients in recovery and in the performance of routine tasks for patient care. According to Satava, doctors are also experimenting with mobile robots with video conferencing which will allow them to monitor patients at other hospitals and locations to view the patient,ask questions,read patient records,view X-rays and test results. Although the robot does not physically examine the patient it, allows face-to-face contact between the doctor and patient with the help of a screen attached to it. They are also used when doctors are away from patients, which allow patients to establish direct contact with doctors. In addition, work is being done to use robots in the treatment of autistic children. Researchers implement, test, and analyze robots that have computational models of social abilities. As Newman (2004), these robots participate in controlled social experiments to help human social behavior and social development. Today a large number of prostate procedures are performed with robots, and a significant number of robot assisted cardiac procedures are performed daily. Using robots in health sector will become more and more important day by day. Space exploration is the last usage area of robots. There are many areas of this world that are too dangerous or too difficult for humans to get to; space is one of these areas. According to an article Robots in space, all space robots are basically quite similar, in that each has a controller, sensors, actuators, radio communications and a power supply. The sensors provide information about the robot's environment. The controller processes the information from the sensors and instructions radioed from ground control, and sends appropriate command signals to the actuators. The actuators and drive convert the command Applications of Robots

3 signals into actions. In outer space,robots have long been used for scientific research and discovery. One new application is where a robot works alongside a human teammate. This is the goal of NASA Johnson Space Centers humanoid robot Robonaut.This robot is designed to go outside the space shuttle and perform space walks and other humanlike tasks . NASA will like to send both astronauts and robot into Mars and robot can help build bases also explore together with astronaut and do some maintenance work.Robot has a solar panel to generate power as a communication device to communicate with base on Earth.Camera and other sensors to observe the environment and also it has a small gripper to pick up some surface materials and analyze on the spot and send the information back to Earth. A continuation of using a robot to travel into space, where it could be treacherous for humans, robots can keep humans out of harms way when there needs to be interaction in a dangerous environment. In conclusion, robots are used in military,medical and space exploration and day by day robots have become more abundant in our daily and professional lives. As robotics continues to grow, there are many questions that arise on how robots will affect our lives, our society, and our futures.

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Reference List

1) Robertson,Nic. "Meet Packbot: The newest recruit." http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/08/01/packbot/index.html 2) Karel Capek(1920) R.U.R.(Rossums Universal Robots) http://www.rogerclarke.com/SOS/Asimov.html 3) Past,Present and Future of Intelligent Robots /Volker Grafe and Rainer Bischoff/ 4) Where the word robotcame from http://www.wordsources.info/words-mod-robots.html 5) Robot Systems Technology Branch at NASA's Johnson Space Center http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/ 6) Robots in Space www.ashwaubenon.k12.wi.us/hs/jagtv/5018/robots_in_space.ppt 7) Rodriguez,B.(Ed.)(2003) in Webster Dictionary