A ROBOT IS A MECHANICAL OR
VIRTUAL
ARTIFICIAL AGENT, THAT IS GUIDED BY
A
COMPUTER PROGRAM OR ELECTRONIC
CIRCUITRY.
ROBOTS CAN BE AUTONOMOUS,
SEMI-AUTONOMOUS
OR REMOTELY CONTROLLED AND
RANGE
FROM HUMANOIDS SUCH AS ASIMO AND TOPIO TO NANO ROBOTS, 'SWARM' ROBOTS, AND
INDUSTRIAL
ROBOTS. BY
MIMICKING
A LIFELIKE APPEARANCE OR AUTOMATING MOVEMENTS, A
ROBOT
MAY CONVEY
A
SENSE OF INTELLIGENCE OR THOUGHT OF ITS OWN. THE BRANCH OF
TECHNOLOGY
THAT
DEALS WITH ROBOTS IS CALLED ROBOTICS.
MACHINERY
WAS
INITIALLY
USED
FOR REPETITIVE FUNCTIONS, SUCH AS LIFTING WATER AND GRINDING
GRAIN.
WITH
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES MORE COMPLEX MACHINES WERE DEVELOPED, SUCH AS
THOSE INVENTED BY HERO OF ALEXANDRIA IN THE 1ST CENTURY AD, AND THE AUTOMATA OF
AL-JAZARI
IN THE 12TH CENTURY AD.
AS
MECHANICAL TECHNIQUES
DEVELOPED
THROUGH
THE INDUSTRIAL AGE, MORE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS WERE
PROPOSED
BY NIKOLA
TESLA,
WHO IN 1898 DESIGNED A RADIO-CONTROLLED BOAT.
ELECTRONICS
EVOLVED INTO
THE
DRIVING FORCE OF DEVELOPMENT WITH THE ADVENT
OF
THE FIRST ELECTRONIC
AUTONOMOUS
ROBOTS CREATED BY WILLIAM GREY WALTER IN
BRISTOL,
ENGLAND IN 1948.
THE
FIRST DIGITAL AND PROGRAMMABLE ROBOT WAS
INVENTED
BY GEORGE DEVOL IN 1954
AND
WAS NAMED THE UNIMATE. IT WAS SOLD TO
GENERAL
MOTORS IN 1961 WHERE IT WAS
USED
TO LIFT PIECES OF HOT METAL FROM
DIE
CASTINGMACHINES AT THE INLAND FISHER
GUIDE
PLANT IN THE WEST TRENTON
SECTION
OF EWING TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY.
ROBOTS
HAVE REPLACED HUMANS
IN
THE ASSISTANCE OF PERFORMING THOSE REPETITIVE AND
DANGEROUS
TASKS WHICH
HUMANS
PREFER NOT TO DO, OR ARE UNABLE TO DO DUE TO SIZE
LIMITATIONS,
OR
EVEN
THOSE SUCH AS IN OUTER SPACE OR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA
WHERE
HUMANS
COULD
NOT SURVIVE THE EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS.
THERE
ARE CONCERNS ABOUT THE
INCREASING
USE OF ROBOTS AND THEIR ROLE IN SOCIETY. ROBOTS
ARE
BLAMED FOR
RISING
UNEMPLOYMENT AS THEY REPLACE WORKERS IN SOME FUNCTIONS.
THE
USE OF
ROBOTS
IN MILITARY COMBAT RAISES ETHICAL CONCERNS. THE POSSIBILITY OF
ROBOT
AUTONOMY
AND POTENTIAL REPERCUSSIONS HAS BEEN ADDRESSED IN FICTION AND MAY
BE
A REALISTIC CONCERN IN THE FUTURE.
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