8.+Robotics

=__Robotics__= =TASK 1=

Robots. With the advancement in technology robots will most likely be in the near future. And with the coming of robots so will the change in the way humans live and work. This will raise many philosophical, political, social and environmental questions that will have to be answered in order for the development of robots to progress. In science fiction robots become so intelligent that they decide to take over the world because humans are deemed inferior life forms. In real life, however, they might not choose to do that, they might choose to assist and work by us. Another thing to consider is will they be able to choose. Will they have free will? We would have to make new laws for robots such as Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. A robot is not equal to a human and the two cannot be compared equally as both have their pros and cons. A robot cannot replace a human and vice versa as a human cannot replace a robot. Some believe and look forward to having robots assist us in the future where others only see the many health, social, environmental and economic issues that come from the development of robots. I am going to present the Pros and Cons of robots plus some interesting facts about robots, they’re progress and how they are already helping and working alongside humans.

The Positives There are many positives to robots assisting and bettering our day to day lives. Some believe that they are inevitable in our future with the way technology continues to develop and finds new ways to assist us in the many aspects of our lives. Robots can assist us in many jobs that are dangerous, stressful, repetitive or difficult without the emotional element or hesitance. They would be able to do jobs quickly and efficiently with precision that would come from years of practice for a human but is already installed in the robot. Robots would be installed with the experience and capabilities of many and could perform many tasks and with technology always developing they would be able to be modified in order to serve and assist you in the best possible way. If the robot was to become faulty or non functional then a new one could be installed with all their backed up experiences so that the new one would not have to be modified specially for you a second time. They would be able to do all of the same work and assist you in the same way as the one previous. Robots could constantly be updated with new programming and software. They would be able to get the newest updates for a program and would be able to function more efficiently, quickly and safely. Robots could be used for as a defensive mechanism without using any offensive tactics. They would be able to react to the situation and would be able to defuse a threatening situation using pre installed experiences without human assistance and if they became damaged in situation then they could be repaired or recycled and humans would not be harmed in situation. The robots could be made out of materials resistant to any weapons so that if they were threatened by weapons then they would take little damage. With the assistance of robots in our day to day lives humans would have more time for more enjoyable and less stressful activities for themselves and with their families and friends. They would be able to go out and socialise as well as do activities and take up hobbies that would not have been possible or would have been hard to continue without the extra time gained, less stress and less to worry about from the assistance of robots. Humans would have more time and energy which would result in happier and less stressful lives which would increase a person’s life expectancy. Robots would be able to perform repetitive tasks that could harm humans in the long run. They would be able to perform the tasks precisely for hours on end without getting distracted, bored or stressed like a human would. When humans do repetitive tasks they’re eyesight gets blurry and hazy as well as getting cramps and boredom can make a human lazy while distractions capture the attention of the worker both resulting in tasks not being completed to the required standards. Over the past couple of years robots have been able to map and navigate the surface of Mars, this has given us information about whether or not Mars could be used as sustainable planet like Earth. Not only that but scientists are developing robots that would be able to help cultivate plants on Mars so that Mars would be able to support human and animal life.

The Negatives Although there are many positive to robots in our futures there are also as many negatives. Even though robots are inevitably going to be in our future doesn’t mean that they will replace the work of humans. It is possible that robots assisting and most likely doing simple chores for us would make human kind lazy. This would be a continuous health problem for many as humans are becoming lazier and affecting their health by not exercising and staying indoors too much. Obesity levels continue to climb in all age groups and it is estimated that we spend around 5% of our time outdoors each day. Would these statistics decrease with the development of robots? Would we become so dependent on them that we would no longer be able to do simple tasks? An example of this is the movie //Wall-E.// The humans leave the Earth in a terrible state to be cleaned up by others (robots) and then become so lazy that robots must perform tasks such as getting from one place to another because people are too lazy and overweight to do so and do not even speak to people face to face but use technology to communicate. Is this a foresight into the future for our world? Another negative to robots is that they are still a machine. They might be programmed to do tasks and have the moving parts and computer programming to work and function correctly but a human would need to constantly be present in order to oversee that the robot works and functions correctly. A human would need to be there in-case something goes wrong and would have to troubleshoot the mechanics or the software if the robot stops function like it is meant to. Today even without robots we have this problem with people, people who are tired, stressed or not concentrating need to be overseen for them to work properly and to keep their minds focused on the task in front of them. Energy sources are also a bump in the road to developing a robot. Batteries have too many chemicals in them and would damage the environment even more so for them to be a solution. We don’t want to exhaust gases into the air causing more pollution even steam from fuel cells is not a good solution. Rechargeable robots could be an option, while we sleep robots could recharge and be ready to work the next day. This is already happening today with many of our technology. Solar powered robots could also be a possibility. With our supply of solar power from the sun robots would have a never ending supply of power and it would not be harmful to the environment like many other energy sources. With the development of robots doing jobs that are difficult, dangerous, menial, boring, repetitive or stressful and could be done quicker would result in many people losing jobs and being out of work without the necessary skills for the jobs of the future. Many would be unemployed and this could cause another economic crisis but of even greater statistics. Robots are not meant to replace humans. They are still a machine and are meant to assist us in jobs that are too dangerous, need precision or are repetitive.

The Interesting There are many interesting things about robots. Actually everything about robots is interesting. In this section I will tell you some facts and information that I have found that talk about the progression of robots. I found out that there would need to be minimal requirements to start a robotic breakthrough. A robot would need the following capabilities to function properly and to the adequate standards of the creators: Object recognition capabilities of a 2 year old child, language understanding of a 4 year old, manual dexterity of a 6 year old. And for introducing the robots into social context we would need social understanding of an 8 year old child. According to research commissioned by the UK Office of Science and Innovation's Horizon Scanning Centre that after the development of robots that they will one day demand the same citizens rights as the human population. Computer vision systems are able to locate textured objects as well as track and analyze faces. This is used by organisations and groups such as the armed intelligent forces and defense forces. By 2050 robot “brains” will start to rival that of human intelligence based on computers that execute 100 trillion instructions per second.

=TASK 2=


 * Part 1**




 * Part 2**



(From Left to Right, Top to Bottom) Metropolis-1927 Bladerunner-1982 A.I Artificial Intelligence-2001 Bicentennial Man-1999 Star Wars-1977-2008 Doctor Who-2005 Robots-2005 Invader Zim-2001 Teen Titans-2006 Indiana Jones-Raiders of the Lost Ark-1981 Terminator-1984-2009 I Robot-2004 Wall-E-2008
 * Robots Through Movie History**


 * TASK 3**


 * __MY ROBOT__**

FEATURES OF MY ROBOT

The purpose of my robot is that it helps assist in the library with the returning and locating of the books in a changing environment with a set catalogue of the books. The robot has many features that will help complete its tasks efficiently that will save time for the librarians and helps the development of our school environment.

The robots way of transporting itself is the two wheels built into the bottom of the robot. The technology of developing working legs and feet for a robot is very complicated and there are many problems that keep this development in the future when we can overcome such problems. I have gone with a simpler and more reliable way for my robot to move its self around. The robot has three sensors, one in its head and two on its lower body. This is to sense any objects that may be in the way. The one on its head will serve for objects that may be hanging from our library ceiling (such as artworks) and the one down the bottom on the front of the robot will serve the purpose of detecting any obstacles and for the robot to respond and move around it. The sensor on the bottom back of the robot helps when the robot is moving backwards so as to rotate or back up to go in a different direction.

There are also two barcode scanners for which the robot will use to scan the books. This serves the purpose of locating where the books are or should be placed. In an environment where the library is non changing then the robot will have no problem locating where it will find the correct book or location as it will have an pre installed map of the library and a catalogue of all the books and where they are stored in the library. The robot will simply scan the barcode on the book and in its map drive will locate where the book will be stored. It will then scan along the books and will need to locate the book that comes before and after the one it is storing and will then place the book in its correct place. For locating a book a human would need to type in key features such as the title of the book, author and genre and the robot will locate which section of the library it will be in and will scan along the books in that section to locate the book.

When someone is locating a book as pre mentioned there is a keyboard and monitor that has the library’s book catalogue that will tell someone where to find the book they are looking for. The keyboard clips into the screen when not in use and flips out when needed.

The robot has grippers as hands to grasp, hold and move objects around. The development of separate fingers such as ours like the technology of working feet and legs is not as complicated but is still something that will take alot of time and experimenting to develope.

When storing books the robot has a trolley attached to it so that it can carry a large amount of books and not have to return for some every so often. The trolley plugs into the robot and the robot has a sensor that ‘feels’ the weight of the trolley. There is a set weight for the trolley and if there is a book in the trolley the robot will sense its weight and will store it away in its correct section. The robots top half of its body rotates 360 degrees. This helps the robot be able to store and locate books in all directions rather than having to turn around. This works as there is an inner motor that rotates and the when the robot ‘knows’ that it has to turn around to store or locate a book then it automatically will rotate the top half of its body to do so.

As you have noticed the robot does not look very human like and this is because the thought of a human robot is a scary concept to some and in the library we want a calm and relaxing environment not a environment where students and teachers alike are freaked out to enter the library or use the new developed technology (robot). Robots that resemble humans are inevitable and are being developed already but some prefer robots that do not look like a person who has had a lot of bad plastic surgery.

These are the features of my robot that will help it complete the tasks of storing and locating books in the library. Hopefully in the future the school will be able to afford such a development and that the development of such a robot will be possible. :D