Robots are designed to carry out multiple tasks automatically, quickly and with precision. They are meant to make work easier as well as better. They help to build better products and to perform tasks that are difficult and sometimes dangerous for human beings.
Automation has expended from manufacturing where robotic machine tending helps to ease manufacturing tasks to agriculture and homes as well. Smart homes are the new thing homeowners are increasingly opting to automate their homes. There are many varieties of robots for a wide variety of tasks to perform.
Types of Robots
Robots are as varied as the tasks they are designed for. The following is a look at the different types of robots.
1. Androids
If you are a sci-fi enthusiast, the term android in relation to robots is not new to you. There are many television shows that depict the android in various roles. Some are friendly bots that want to befriend humans. Others are working to take over the world and enslave the human race.
However, you will not find many robots off the screen built to resemble humans. The tasks performed by industrial robots, for instance, cannot be support by a human-like robot. A human can, however, control a robot remotely sometimes from extremely far away.
There are two types of robots that can be controlled this way by humans.
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A Telechir Robot
This one is controlled by a human operator remotely. The robot gives the operator a sense of being present on location. This could be in a remote place, an alien environment or even a dangerous one.
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Telepresence Robots
These ones enable you to feel like you are physically present. They make it possible to monitor your home, have remote business meetings or monitor health care as well as childcare.
2. Autonomous Robots
These ones act as independent systems that are fitted with computers referred to as controllers. One example is the smart robot which is a very advanced robot. It contains a built-in AI system that is programmed to learn from its surroundings.
3. Insect (Swarm) Robots
These ones work in fleets of as many as thousands. The fleet is usually controlled by one operator. They are named swarm or insect robots because they resemble a colony of insects with the same behaviours.
Clusters of Robots
Robots are often clustered according to the period they were widely used. Thus, you will find clusters such as the following:
1. Firs-Generation Robots
- They date from the 70s
- They consist of machines that cannot be programmed
- They are immobile and are not fitted with sensors
2. Second-Generation Robots
- They date from the 80s
- They may come fitted with sensors
- Their controllers may be programmable.
3. Third-Generation Robots
- They date from the 90s to the present
- They are found in both mobile and stationary types
- Their programming is avant-garde
- They can be both autonomous and swarm
- They come complete with speech recognition and synthesis as well as a flurry of other sophisticated features
4. Fourth-Generation Robots
- These ones are still being researched and developed
- Contain features such as self-assembly, Artificial Intelligence, nanoscale size and self-replication
Androids have some similarities with humans in that they are mobile. They are fitted with wheels that propel them around or they move along a track drive. Some people feel like the android is the ultimate robotic creation.
However, the most advanced robots have no resemblance to human beings. In fact, some may take forms that have yet to be seen.
Conclusion
Robots come in a variety of forms for various tasks. Some are used in manufacturing environments and motor vehicle assembly. Others may be designed to penetrate hard to reach or dangerous situations such as security situations.
Robots have come a long way from the sentries to now. They have also grown in sophistication through the years. They continue to evolve and add more advanced features. There is no doubt the robot of the future will be even more sophisticated than the present offerings.
