Robotics: Types of Robots and Benefits - Literature review Example

? Robotics: Types of robots and benefits Table of Contents Human Operated ……………………………………………………………………………. 3 Robotic operating systems ……………………………………………………………. 3 Remotely operated ……………………………………………………………………. 4 Semi Autonomous ……………………………………………………………………………5 CESAR Project by MIT ………………………………………………………………. 6 Human Thought Controlled Robot ………………………………………………....... 6 Fully Autonomous ………………………………………………………………………….. 7 Humanoid Robots …………………………………………………………………….. 7 ASIMO – Honda ……………………………………………………………………… 8 Works Cited …………………………………………………………………………………. 9 In the 80’s, when most people heard the word “robot”, an image of R2D2, the mechanical sidekick in the Steven Spielberg movie Star Wars, often came to mind. The character moved and sounded like a human being but was made of aluminum. Because of the advancement in technology, the word now triggers not only one but a variety of robots which have become so much a part of society they have even taken over some tasks only individuals traditionally do. Robots can generally be categorized by how involved humans are in the machines functions. Thus, robots can be grouped into human operated, semi-autonomous and fully autonomous. Human Operated As the term connotes, human operated robots need people to make them work. Unlike R2D2 who could move on his own, human operated robots could only function when an individual was at the helm of the controls. In these sense, this kind of machines was further divided into those with robotic operating systems and ones that are remotely operated. Robotic operating systems ROS or Robot Operating System is a framework used to develop robot software by providing “a structured communications layer above the host operating systems of a heterogeneous computer cluster. (Quigley, et. al)” Simply put, it acts like a ‘manager’ to a group of operating systems designed for a specific need. Robots used in medical procedures such as risky surgeries provide an example of a human-operated robot with a robotic operating system. “Medical robots are assisting in urological, neurological, gynecological, cardiac, orthopedic, gastrointestinal, pediatric and radio-surgical procedures. (Allan)” The robots themselves do not do the procedure. This use of robots can further be divided into: supervisory-controlled where the surgeons inputs instructions in a program that robot executes; telesurgical where “the surgeon manipulates the robot’s hand from a distance using real-time imaging and haptic feedback (Allan)” and shared-control where they depend on a robot’s steady hand while working with instruments used in the surgery. Although some people may think it is unconventional and unsafe not having an actual doctor perform an operation with his own hands, the medical profession has recognized that medical robots are actually beneficial to both the doctors and patients. The robotic hand is part of specialized equipment used to assist surgeons in performing risky operations. It was solely made for that purpose and thus has little room for error. In addition, employing the aid of the equipment has cut back the time that it formerly took doctors to finish traditional surgeries. Moreover, fatigue would never play a role when robotic hands employ surgical instruments. On November 20, 2008, the first robotic bladder reconstruction happened to a 10-year old girl who had had an abnormally small bladder since birth. (Surgeons) In place of a six-inch incision at her belly a customary bladder reconstruction would need, there were just several small cuts from the robotic tools. The girl, who had avoided drinking much fluid all her life, was able to start drinking six hours after the operation and was able to go home in four days. According to the doctors, the use of the robotic equipment reduces pain, recovery time, and complications. Remotely Operated Robots have not only made their difference in the world of medicine. These human-like machines have also made their presence indispensable to situations that require human intervention but are inhospitable for people. An example would be a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) which is connected to a ship on the surface where operators, via the ROV, are doing repairs on an underwater pipeline. (Sayers) Robots manipulated remotely are the result of the mental skills of their operators combined with the physical capability of the machines. The efficiency of remotely controlled robots is no more evident than in a search and rescue operation. Generally, this kind of situation presents a setting that is risky for the rescuers and victims alike. The element of time plays a vital role in being able to maneuver one’s self inside the environment to reach for the victim and carefully come out of said environment safely./ “Remote-controlled search and rescue robots... have already been used in rescue missions where human and animal participation would have been too difficult or dangerous. (Sprey)” In the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombing, remote-controlled robots were used to search the debris for victims. (Remote) Sandi National Labs’ Gemini-Scout, a robot that can be controlled with a standard Xbox 360 remote, was designed to cope with the usual problems that come with a mine disaster. It “can get down into a mine quickly, search for survivors and assess threats so human searchers can get into place as quickly as possible. (Dillow)” Meanwhile, the BEAR (Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot), a robot that can lift and carry up to 500 pounds with its hydraulic arms, is being developed by the U.S. Army to “help make the rescue of injured soldiers safer without putting more lives at risk.” (Ostrovsky) Semi-Autonomous Because technology can only progress, in the case of robots, developments have been made to partially remove human intervention. Semi-autonomous robots are those that “can process acquired data…build a high-level representation of the surrounding environment… act in the environment (e.g. navigate) with only a limited interaction with the human operator. (La Cesa, et. al.) CESAR Project by MIT Developed by MIT, the CESAR Project is an example of a robot with limited human intervention. CESAR which stands for Computer Executed Semi-Autonomous Robot is an all-terrain robot that can drive itself. The robot has the ability to moving on rough terrain for reconnaissance missions. (CESAR) It has also been equipped with several enhancements such as a sonar and bump sensors so it can automatically identify and steer clear of obstacles blocking its path. Although it is not completely controlled by a human being, CESAR has a laptop to enable humans to override its programming, if needed. Unlike most tele-operating robots used in rescue missions, CESAR is not hindered by the “limitation of current wireless communication technology. (Suthakorn, et.al)” Thus, with CESAR it would be manageable to remove soldiers from risky missions without fear of any connecting cable becoming dislodged and consequently disrupting the effort. Human Thought Controlled Robot Another example of a semi-autonomous robot is that controlled by human thoughts. A project by Rajesh Rao from the University of Washington, the robot is controlled by brainwaves collected by an electrode cap on a person’s head. (Goudarzi) The cap transmits the signals into commands for the robot’s movement. As of now, these signals are limited to instructing the robot to pick up objects or go somewhere. Rao envisions this kind of semi-autonomous robots to assist disabled persons and aims to give the robots ability to perform more complicated tasks. This would enable them to adapt to unexpected situations and ensure the safety of the elderly. Fully Autonomous As there is only moving forward in the world of technology, the science of robotics has gone from creating robots that are controlled by humans to those that can move on their own to an extent to, ultimately, ones that can completely function on their own without the help of humans. The basic idea behind a fully autonomous robots is “to program the robot to respond a certain way to outside stimuli. (Harris)” The air platform HERTI is an example of an autonomous robot. It “can take off, complete a full mission… land and, when couple with BAE System’s Imagery Collection & Exploitation (ICE) system, can provide imagery and intelligence collection services. (BAE)” A much more familiar autonomous robot, however, is the humanoid. A humanoid robot is more acceptable to people because of its appearance and behavior. It has the figure of a regular human being albeit mechanical and can perform certain activities like a person. Humanoid Robots DARwin, which stands for Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence, is an example of a fully autonomous humanoid robot and the first and only U.S. humanoid robot that has qualified for the RoboCup soccer tournament. (Muecke) The RoboCup, which is short for Robot World Cup Initiative, was established in 1993 in line with several Japanese researchers’ idea of creating grand challenge problems in artificial intelligence. (A Brief) Since its conception, researchers and scientists from around the world have somehow made it a benchmark in the development of fully autonomous robots. DARwin’s researchers decided that the event was a good avenue to test and show everyone the robot’s strength and skills. DARwin is part of a research being done at the Robotics and Mechanisms Lab in Virginia Tech (Muecke) to study bipedal gaits. To prepare DARwin for the RoboCup, NI technology was employed in the research. The LabVIEW graphical development platform was used to make software that was adaptable and resulted in efficient research. It was also DARwin’s brain which made him able to execute higher-level tasks. This proved to be very beneficial because it not only saved time but increased the speed of research and development. LabVIEW was also used to make DARwin more life-like in movement. ASIMO - Honda The ASIMO from Honda is another example of an autonomous robot. It is also a humanoid robot which makes it more identifiable to people. ASIMO can work indoors and unlike current humanoid robots, researchers have given it a sensory system as well as functions to understand and interact with humans and to perform a variety of tasks. (Honda) Various applications have been used in developing robot intelligence for humanoids. The robot Cog has humanlike intelligence resulting from distributed computer systems outside its body. (Honda) Another humanoid Flo has a system with an internal map. (Honda) There are those that recognize objects, humans, and behaviors and still those that can adapt to new situations. Works Cited “A Brief History.” RoboCup.org. n.d. Web. 23 March 2012. Allan, Roger. “Robotics Give Doctors A Helping Hand.” Electronicdesign.com. 19 June 2008. Web. 23 March 2012. BAE Systems. "HERTI Autonomous UAV." Defense Update - Military and Defense Technology News. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. "CESAR The Semi-Autonomous Robot." MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. Dillow, Clay. “Rescue robot just made for mine disasters.” Futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com. n.d. Web. 25 March 2012. Goudarzi, Sara. "Human Thoughts Control New Robot." Science News – Science Articles and Current Events.15 December 2006. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. Harris, Tom.  "How Robots Work". HowStuffWorks.com. 16 April 2002. Web. 28 March 2012. Honda R&D Co. Ltd. "The Intelligent ASIMO: System Overview and Integration." Oct. 2002. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. La Cesa, S. et.al. “Semi-autonomous Coordinated Exploration in Rescue Scenarios.” RoboCup 2007: Robot Soccer World Cup XI. Eds. Ubbo Visser, Fernando Ribeiro, Takeshi Ohashi & Frank Dellaert. Germany: Springer-Verlag, 2008. 286-293. Print. Muecke, Karl. "Development of a Fully Autonomous Humanoid Robot for Novel Locomotion Research and as the First U.S. Humanoid Entry to RoboCup." - Solutions. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. . Ostrovsky, Gene. “Remotely Operated Robot For Rescuing Injured Soldiers.” medGadget.com. 24 November 2010. Web. 27 March 2012. Quigley, Morgan, et. al. “ROS: an open-source Robot Operating System.” Computer Science Department. n.d. PDF File. “Remote-controlled Robots Search World Trade Center Rubble.” JOM. 2001. Web. 26 March 2012. Sayers, Craig. Remote Control Robotics. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1999. Print. Sprey, Karen. “Focus on search and rescue robots at RoboCup 2009.” Gizmag.com. 6 July 2009. Web. 26 March 2012. "Surgeons Perform World's First Pediatric Robotic Bladder Reconstruction | E! Science News." E! Science News | Latest Science News Articles. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. Suthakorn, J. et.al. “On the design and development of a rough terrain robot for rescue missions.” 2009: 1830-35. ACM Digital Library.Web. 22 March 2012. Read More