ROBOTICS AND ITS APPLICATIONS

DIGITAL ASSIGNMENT – 3
N.ATUL
16BME1122
1) What important characteristics can be added to the existing commercial robots, to improve
them for future use.
Ans. In order to improve the present existing commercial robots to our necessities, we have to
go through their disadvantages and focus on improving those aspects in order to get to the next
generation of intelligent robots.
Some of the disadvantages of robots are:
Potential Job Losses
One of the biggest concerns surrounding the introduction of robotic automation is the impact
of jobs for workers. If a robot can perform at a faster, more consistent rate, then the fear is that
humans may not be needed at all. While these worries are understandable, they are not really
accurate.

The same was said during the early years of the industrial revolution, and as history has showed
us, humans continued to play an essential role.The employment rate has grown rapidly during a
period where they have gone from using around 1,000 robots to over 45,000.

Initial Investment Costs

This is typically the biggest obstacle that will decide whether or not a company will invest in
robotic automation, or wait until a later stage. A comprehensive business case must be built
when considering the implementation of this technology. The returns can be substantial and
quite often occur within a short space of time. However, the cash flow must be sustainable in
the meantime and the stability of the company is by no means worth the risk if the returns are
only marginal. Yet, in most instances there will be a repayment schedule available, which makes
it a lot easier to afford and control finances.

Increased throughput and reduction in defects both need to be considered along with the
capital expenditure when deciding whether or not there is a business case for investment.

Hiring Skilled Staff

Over the past decade manufacturers have found it harder to source skilled staff members to fill
the specialized roles in their factories. The introduction of automation adds another layer to
that conundrum as the robots require programming and a knowledge of how to operate them.
In reality, this opens up further opportunities for existing employees to be trained and expand
their own skill set. An automation company can assist with the initial installation and set-up
process, and with the right expertise staff can learn and adapt to manage the robots in the
long-term.

Improvements that can be achieved by distinct characteristics:

1. New materials, fabrication methods

Gears, motors, and actuators are fundamental to today’s robots. But tremendous work is
already being done with artificial muscles, soft robotics, and assembly strategies that will help
develop the next generation of autonomous robots that are multifunctional and power-
efficient.

2. Creating bio-inspired robots

Robots inspired by nature are becoming more common in robotics labs. The main idea is to
create robots that perform more like the efficient systems found in nature. But the study says
the major challenges involved with this area have remained largely unchanged for 30 years – a
battery to match metabolic conversion, muscle-like actuators, self-healing material, autonomy
in any environment, human-like perception, and computation and reasoning.

3. Better power sources

Robots, typically, are energy-inefficient. Improving the battery life is a major issue, especially
for drones and mobile robots. Thankfully, increased adoption of these systems is leading to new
battery technologies that are affordable, safe and longer-lasting.

4. Communication in robot swarms

Robot swarms are tricky because they need to sense not only the environment, but also each
robot in the swarm. They need to communicate with the other robots, too, while acting
independently.

Perception-action loops are fundamental to creating autonomous robots that function in

unstructured environments. Robot swarms require their communication ability to be
embedded in this feedback loop. Thus, perception-action-communication loops are key to
designing robot swarms. There are currently no systematic approaches for doing this across
large groups.

5. Navigating unmapped environments

There has been significant progress made when it comes to robots perceiving and navigating
their environments. Just look at self-driving cars, for example. Mapping and navigation
techniques will continue to evolve, but future robots need to be able to operate in
environments that are unmapped and poorly understood.

6. AI that can reason

The study calls AI the “underpinning technology for robotics,” but acknowledges that “we still
have a long way to go to replicate and exceed all the facets of intelligence that we see in
humans.” The key is to combine advanced pattern recognition and model-based reasoning to
develop AI that can reason and has common sense.

7. Brain-computer interfaces

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) enable some device and machines to be controlled by your
mind. BCIs could be quite useful in augmenting human abilities in the future, but developing
the technology for wider adoption is the challenge.

The equipment for sensing brain signals is expensive and cumbersome, and the data processing
can be tricky. There’s also a long period of training, calibration and learning.
8. Social robots for long-term engagement

Humans are, generally, adept at interpreting social behavior. Robots are not. The study says the
three biggest challenges of building social robots that truly interact with humans are modeling
social dynamics, learning social and moral norms, and building a robotic theory of mind

9. Medical robotics with more autonomy

From minimally invasive surgery, hospital optimization, to emergency response, prosthetics,

and home assistance, medical robotics represents one of the fastest growing sectors. But the
challenge is building reliable systems with greater levels of autonomy.

10. Ethics

Stop me if you’ve heard concerns about robot ethics before. All kidding aside, it’s a major
challenge, and the robotics industry is well aware of. The study breaks down ethical problems
into five topics:

1. Sensitive tasks that should require human supervision could be delegated entirely to
robots
2. Humans will no longer take responsibility for failures
3. Unemployment and de-skilling of the workforce
4. AI could erode human freedom
5. Using AI in unethical ways

2) Identify the trends in future application area of Robotics.

Robots currently are primarily used in a Industrial setting and especially in manufacturing and
assembling large materials. In the Future, robots will be an integral part of our every day life.
Some areas where robots can be introduced are, At Homes, Robots can be used in our homes
to make our everyday life easier by actively taking care of our homes right from cleaning till
cooking food for us. They will become a vital part in a day’s routine and there are a lot of jobs
that we are currently doing that can be done way better and faster by these robots in our
house.
Roads/ Driving Self-Driving cars are already being developed and are becoming more and more
popular by the day. Driving itself is used as a form of travel and having a robot do it for you
while you focus on some other task can not only help you save time, but also make the roads a
safer place by causing lesser accidents as accidents are a product of human error and there is
no such thing as error in a robot.
Medical Robots are relatively new but exist. These robots currently only aid in performing
surgery but there is scope for improvement in the way that we can make robots perform whole
surgeries by themselves. We just have to go to a robot surgeon, pick what surgery, and the
robot does it for you. Though this seems unrealistic, this is entirely possible
Farming is one of the only places where robots of today are not present as farming is a very
human involved field that needs a lot of skills right from knowing what crop to plant till when to
harvest. Hence robots, if they are able to automate this, will greatly help humans and help
eradicate world hunger.
Search and Rescue Certain prototypes are being developed but non are at a respectable level
yet. If this is made possible, then it will save a lot of life and allow us humans to stay safe while
sending this robots to a dangerous locations.