Robots are an iconic part of popular culture. Stories like I, Robot, Blade Runner, RoboCop, and Star Wars have enthralled people and taken over the public imagination for decades and decades. While some fictional representations of robots are positive and aspirational (think Pixar’s Wall: E and Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise), other representations are more paranoid and paint robots as a threat.
In truth, existing robots are much less dramatic, and most are simply used to assist in carrying out work functions!
What Are Robotics Really Used For?
Many different industries use robotics—from basic robotic arms to fully autonomous drones—to carry out various tasks more efficiently, quickly, and safely than humans can.
For example, the manufacturing industry is one that has really adopted the use of robotics for a variety of functions. Robotic arms on production lines can increase efficiency, and automated forklift trucks can transport large volumes of goods in a safer way than human drivers can.
It is not just manufacturing where robots can carry out potentially dangerous tasks so that humans don’t have to. Drones are used extensively for military purposes, and bomb disposal robots are often used by law enforcement agencies so that the lives and safety of human workers aren’t put at unnecessary risk. Automated robots can also monitor potential crime scenes and carry out “patrols” in order to detect issues and report them to human police officers.
Robotics also plays a significant role in agriculture, where automated machines can fertilize crops, spray pesticides, plant seeds, pick fruit, and carry out many other farming tasks. This can increase production and efficiency by many times.
Robots are also being used in the hospitality industry, from robotic chefs that produce pre-programmed recipes to smart refrigerators and dishwashers.
There are very few industries that have not been influenced by the field of robotics in at least some small way!
How Could Robotics Shape the Future?
There is clearly a huge number of uses for robotics across many different industries. While this technology is currently extremely expensive and limited to only the most advanced businesses and organizations, it is certainly likely that the use of robotics will dramatically increase over the next few decades and become a part of all of our daily lives. After all, just think what happened with computers—the huge computers used to carry out pioneering scientific research a few decades ago have been overtaken in power many times over by the smartphones most of us now carry in our pockets!
For the owners of large companies that can afford robotics, the potential future applications of robotics could be hugely beneficial. However, a potential disadvantage that robots may bring is that of replacing human workers—if robotics technology follows that of computers and becomes many times more powerful and less expensive, the number of jobs available for human workers could dramatically decrease. In the future, different economic models may have to be tried to tackle this problem. Robotics is a hugely promising technology for society, but it will have to be used in the right way!
What are the differences between real robots and fictional robots?
But the difference between real and fictional robots is the level of consciousness, autonomy and physical look. Many fictional robots are shown to acquire emotions and other human capabilities as in the movies Chappie, Transformers and Terminator.
Is Robot A science fiction?
What is Robot Science Fiction? Robot Science Fiction is, as its name indicates, Science Fiction that has a central theme of robotics. Robots, Androids, and Artificial Intelligences are related types of technology that are significant to Robot Sci Fi. A robot is an artificial device, or being, that is mechanical.
Does robotics have a future?
According to a Forrester report, robots will eliminate 6 percent of all jobs in the U.S. by 2021. McKinsey’s assessment is even more expansive — they believe that by 2030 one-third of American jobs could become automated
What is the difference between a robot and a machine?
Robots are self-governing machines capable of making decisions without an external trigger. A machine, on the other hand, has to be operated by a human to act. For example, some robots have rain sensors that trigger them to perform a pre-programmed instruction like turning on an umbrella
What 5 characteristics do most robots share?
Intelligence. Human intelligence is derived from the elaborate and interconnected network of neurons within the human brain. …
Sense Perception
Dexterity
Power
Independence
Who was the first fictional robot?
In Lyman Frank Baum’s children’s novel Ozma of Oz, the first-ever introduction of a humanoid-appearance mechanical man that would satisfy the later “humanoid robot” definition occurred in 1907
