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In practical usage, a robot is a mechanical device which performs automated tasks, either according to direct human supervision, a pre-defined program or, a set of general guidelines, using artificial intelligence techniques. These tasks either replace or enhance human work, such as in manufacturing, construction or manipulation of heavy or hazardous materials.
A robot may include a feedback-driven connection between sense and action, not under direct human control. The action may take the form of electro-magnetic motors or actuators that move an arm, open and close grips, or propel the robot. The step by step control and feedback is provided by a computer program run on either an external or embedded computer or a microcontroller. By this definition, a robot may include nearly all automated devices.
Alternately, robot has been used as the general term for a mechanical man, or an automaton resembling an animal, either real or imaginary. It has come to be applied to many machines which directly replace a human or animal in work or play. In this way, a robot can be seen as a form of biomimicry. Anthropomorphism is perhaps what makes us reluctant to refer to the highly complex modern washer-dryer as a robot. However, in modern understanding, the term implies a degree of autonomy that would exclude many automatic machine tools from being called robots. It is the search for ever more highly autonomous robots which is the major focus of robotics research and which drives much work in artificial intelligence.
Though we tend to think of robots as tremendously sophisticated, thanks typically to their anthropomorphic physical design and our excess of indoctrination to the robots of 1960s television, the fundamental elements are very simple. Motion is achieved by motors controlled by digital circuits that incorporate a key power semiconductor switching element called a thyristorThe thyristor (also called a silicon-controlled rectifier or SCR) is a solid-state semiconductor device similar to a diode, with an extra terminal which is used to turn it on. Once turned on, the thyristor will remain on (conducting) as long as there is a or silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR). The robot turns when only one of two parallel motors is actuated: for example, stopping the left motor while running the right motor causes the dummy to turn left. Digital signals fed to the motor control circuitry determine which motors move at which times. The problem can range from very simple (e.g., turning left or right) to very complex (e.g., controlling an elbow and wrist to move an item from a conveyor belt to a shelf). The signals can be sent by an outside element (e.g., a human operator) or by internal circuitry that makes "decisions" based upon observations of the robot's environment and may alter these decisions based upon whether the motion is proceeding satisfactorily (see feedbackIn cybernetics and control theory, feedback is a process whereby some proportion or in general, function, of the output signal of a system is passed (fed back) to the input. Often this is done intentionally, in order to control the dynamic behaviour of th).
Underlying simplicities notwithstanding, combinations of various computer systems and electromechanical subsystems can produce the appearance of profound sophistication, e.g., a "chess-playing robot" that really should be viewed as two discrete systems: (1) chess-playing software that has nothing to do with robotics; and (2) a robot that interacts with the chess board. The latter requires the abilities to [a] locate a chessman on the board based upon its expected coordinates, [b] lift the man, [c] remove any captured man from the board, and [d] reposition the first man--all without breaking or knocking down chess pieces or committing other environmental faux pas.
The idea of artificial people dates at least as far back as the ancient legend of CadmusDragon's teeth by Maxfield Parrish, 1908 Cadmus or Kadmos (Greek: ), in Greek mythology, was the son of the king of Phoenicia and brother of Europa. His father is either Agenor or Phoenix son of Agenor. See Agenor and Phoenix. After his sister had been ca, who sowed dragon teeth that turned into soldiers; and the myth of PygmalionPygmalion is a Greek name, probably going back to Phoenician roots. Pygmalion or Pygmaion according to Hesychios of Alexandra is probably a Cypriote form of Adonis, a Levantine vegetation-god. Bearers of the name include: # Pygmalion, king of Tyre, brothe, whose statue of GalateaThere are a number of persons, celestial bodies, ships and geographical locations called Galatea Mythological figures #A nymph in Greek mythology, see Galatea (mythology) # the name of the maiden who was originally a statue carved by Pygmalion, created in came to life. In classical mythology, the deformed god of metalwork ( Vulcan or HephaestusHephaestus (also Hephaistos or Hephaestos is the Greek god of fire and the forge. He is called Vulcan or Mulciber ("softener") in Roman mythology and Sethlans in Etruscan mythology. He is the Greek God of the forge, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculp) created mechanical servants, ranging from intelligent, golden handmaidens to more utilitarian three-legged tables that could move about under their own power. Jewish legend tells of the Golem, an clay statue animated by Kabbalistic magic. Similarily, in the Younger Edda, Norse mythology tells of a clay giant, Mökkurkálfi or Mistcalf, constructed to aid the troll Hrungnir in a duel with Thor, the God of Thunder.
The first recorded design of a humanoid robot was made by Leonardo da Vinci around the 1495. Da Vinci's notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings for a mechanical knight that was apparently able to sit up, wave its arms, and move its head and jaw. The design was likely based on his anatomical research recorded in the Vitruvian Man. It is not known whether or not he attempted to build the robot (see: Leonardo's robot).
The first known functioning robot was created in the 1738 by Jacques de Vaucanson, who made an android that played the flute, as well as a mechanical duck that reportedly ate and defecated. E.T.A. Hoffmann's 1817 short story "The Sandman" features a doll-like mechanical woman, and Edward S. Ellis' 1865 "Steam Man of the Prairies" expresses the American fascination with industrialization. A wave of stories about humanoid automatons culminated with the "Electric Man" by Luis Senarens in 1885.
Once technology advanced to the point where people foresaw mechanical creatures as more than toys, literary responses to the concept of robots reflected fears that humans would be replaced by their own creations. Frankenstein ( 1818), sometimes called the first science fiction novel, has become synonymous with this theme. When Capek's play RUR introduced the concept of an assembly line run by robots who try to build still more robots, the theme took on economic and philosophical overtones, further disseminated by the classic movie Metropolis ( 1927), and the popular Blade Runner ( 1982) and The Terminator ( 1984). With robots a reality and intelligent robots a likely prospect, a better understanding of interactions between robots and human is embodied in such modern films as Spielberg's A.I. (movie) (2001) and Proyas' I, Robot (2004).
Many consider the first robot in the modern sense to be a teleoperated boat, similar to a modern ROV, devised by Nikola Tesla and demonstrated at an 1898 exhibition in Madison Square Garden. Based on his patent 613,809 for "teleautomation", Tesla hoped to develop the "wireless torpedo" into an automated weapon system for the US Navy.
The first electronic autonomous robots were created by Grey Walter at Bristol University, England in 1948.
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