A Fascination with Robots

What are Robots?

In general, a robot is a programmable contraption, a machine that mimics the actions, thinking and even appearance of a human. And it is generally agreed that to qualify being called a robot, the contraption must do two things:

1) Get and process data from its surroundings,
2) Perform some labor-intensive task–such as move objects around at the very least.

The word robot is rooted in the Czech word robota. It connotes drudgery or slave-like labor. It found its first language exposure in the 1920 play was first used to describe fabricated workers in a fictional 1920s play by Rossum’s Universal Robots by Czech playwright Karel Capek.

In the play, a scientist invents robots for home use, helping families to perform routine tasks. But once the robots are deployed to fight wars, they turn against their human masters and rule the world. This sounds like a common theme in many fictional movies over the last decade.

The Movies

There have been fictional movies with robots in the storyline starting back since the early days of Hollywood. Over the last 40 years, there’s the highly destructive cyborg, half human and half robots made famous with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator series. But the most famous of these are R2D2 and C3PO in the Star Wars movie saga. It was also about this time when serious research and development into robotic technology have started. They wouldn’t gain much headway though until computers and software programs reached maturity in the last mid 90s.

Real Robots

Robots are not just for the movies or science fiction. They are getting real. Perhaps not as sophisticated as C3PO or the Terminator, but right now, in just about every manufacturing plant, laboratory or military installation around the world, robots are working. They are assembling and spray-painting cars at Toyota and BMW automotive factories. They are walking and exploring live and potentially active volcanoes, diffusing bombs in the Middle East, and assisting surgeons in hospitals.

Historical narratives and anecdotes have ancient poet Homer describe maidens and metallic helpers for the Greek god of forge, Hephaistos. Medieval Jewish legends have Golems made of clay that had robot-like traits. And in the15th century, Leonardo da Vinci had drawings and plans for a mechanical man.

But it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that real robots started appearing, first as research prototypes and getting more pervasive application in the industrial areas. The advent of cheap mass produced consumer goods have made robots, however, primitive, a mainstay in manufacturing plants.

The automobile industry is home to the robotic pioneers that have made possible the cars we have today. Then came developments in robots that allowed them specific functions like diffusing bombs or exploring dangerous war torn areas for mine fields, to mention some.

As technology makes more capable thinking computers, smarter chips, more miniaturized actuators and motors, robots are increasingly making their appearance in the lives of 21st century man. Scientists and engineers are working to improve the robots we have in our factories. There are already robotic appliances for the home using Artificial Intelligences called “fuzzy logic” features. The real challenge is to make them move and “think” with more human-like qualities but having the speed and precision of computers.