Robotics in Our Daily life

So in the previous post , we already mentioned about what exactly a robot is. But for those viewing this for the first time , let us mention it again.

"A robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually an electro mechanical machine that is guided by a computer program or electronic circuit "

So where do such mechanical agents come in use? Look around yourself , do you see any robo around you? Of course not much , if you are in some developing country. But the growth of robotics in people's daily need hasn't been much rapid. We , Neurobotics India keeping the above mentioned factor in mind are working to diminish this gap between the Humans and the AI.

Though not well known , there are a lot of robots that have been made to assist us in our daily Life.

Autom : The Healthcare coach

1. Healthcare Robots :

A number of robots have been designed , keeping health issues in mind. These robots act as your daily assistance and helps you to be fit. 

Autom is a well known healthcare robot that keeps you motivated.The more you tell it about yourself, the more customised its responses will be, as it learns over time and gets to know you.

HAL : Hybrid assisted Limb

HAL is another robotic technology meant for the handicapped.HAL stands for Hybrid Assisted Limb, and is made by the Japanese firm Cyberdene. It responds to bio-signals detected on the wearer’s skin that are sent to the muscles, which make the robotic limbs move.

 



2. House Hold Help:


Navibot CornerClean:  Samsung has launched a new robot called Samsung Navibot CornerClean.There have been robot vacuum cleaners before, but this is the most advanced yet. It features a pop-out brush, for getting into those difficult-to-clean corners.It’s smart, too. Using a built-in camera, it captures 15 images per second of its surroundings, effectively mapping your home. It’ll use this to calculate the most efficient cleaning path for each room, as well as avoid bumping into obstacles or falling down stairs.

Wheel Me : Everybody needs a massage after a tiresome day. Imagine having a robot who gives you a perfect one? DreamBot’s WheeMe fits in the palm of your hand, and drives over your back and shoulders, massaging you with its serrated rubber wheels and rotor finger. It won’t fall off thanks to its sensors letting it know where it is, so you can just lie there and relax. It’ll turn itself off after 15 minutes, or if you want to stop it, just sit up, and WheeMe will switch off.

3. Humanoids :

Many of us have heard about humanoids. The word itself explains us about it , A droid which is an almost perfect replica of human intelligence.

The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morpho-logically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton.

Some of the world famous Humanoids are :

Honda's ASIMO

• ASIMO

   ASIMO , which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility is a humanoid designed by the Honda Corp ,which says it is the “world’s most advanced humanoid robot.” Honda’s website explains that ASIMO can run and walk — even on uneven slopes and surfaces. It can climb stairs, reach for and grasp objects and it also has facial recognition.With its camera eyes, the robot “maps its environment” and can register objects, avoiding collisions with both stationary and moving objects.The current version of ASIMO is more than 20 years in the making, with 11 robotic predecessors. Honda first started working on creating a walking robot in 1986.                                                                           

• iCub

iCub is a 1 metre high humanoid robot testbeds for research into the field of  artificial intelligence.It was designed by the RobotClub Consortium of several European universities and built by Italian Institute of Technology, and is now supported by other projects such as iTALK..

iCub: It's not just a kid.

       

Dimensionally, the iCub looks like a 3 -5 year old child.The iCub has the ability of crawling, using visual guidance with optic marker on the floor. It can even solve various complex 3D mazes. The robot has already showed the capabality of playing sports like archery , darts . It can be trained to hit the centre of the target.The robot using its biometric fingures can also grasp objects like balls,plastic bottles etc.

• TOPIO :

TOPIO : Taking sports to the next level

Ever thought of a robot playing Ping pong? Welcome to the 21st century , where artificial intelligence is doing the impossible. TOPIO ("TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot") is a bipedal humanoid robot designed to play table tennis against a human being. It has been developed since 2005 by TOSY, a robotics firm in Vietnam. It can easily recognise fast moving objects , and has a fast and accurate moment control.

So isnt it amazing how Artificial Intelligence is taking over everyhwhere? But as the legend says excess of everything is bad for you , the advancement in robotics may itself be a threat to the human civilisation.
In our next post we will be covering : The possible downsides of advancements in AI on human civilisation.


Do you want us to post tutorials for making basic autonomous robots? Views and Comments will be appreciated.

Robotics and its laws

We hear the term robot many times in our life. But none of us knows what "actually" a robot is. The most basic remote controlled car is also a robot and the complex machinery being used in the industries are themselves a special class of robots.

If we go by the actual definition , Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing. These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble humans in appearance, behavior, and/or cognition. Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robots.

So that was about the term "Robotics". But what about a Robot?

A robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually an electro mechanical machine that is guided by a computer program or electronic circuit. Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO)

Terminators :  Fictious example of AI gone wrong

But if we talk about robots or robotics , we should know about the basic laws that governs there existence among us. Of course an out of control robot can pose a serious threat to the human civilization ( You may have watched the terminator series already for example).

Coming to the laws , there are three laws of robotics. These three laws were not written by any scientist or a researcher but surprisingly by a fiction writer named "Isac Asimov" ( Honda's ASIMO's ??) . These rules were introduced by him in the year 1942 in "Runaround". Since then these rules have been widely accepted by the scientists in the real world itself.

The three laws are :

Isaac Asimov

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

Over the years the original laws have been altered and elaborated on by Asimov and other authors. Asimov himself made slight modifications to the first three in various books and short stories to further develop how robots would interact with humans and each other. Later Asimov also added the law called   "Zeroth Law" which precedes the above mentioned 3 laws. The law states the following :

    " A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm."

Thus these laws have now been adopted by various scientists in the world and the various robots we see around us are governed by these laws .


In the next post we will be covering the Topic : Introduction to application of robotics in our day to day life.


Comments regarding the posts will be appreciated.