12-01-2011, 11:43 AM
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What is Robotics/A.I
• Robotics is the study of the design, construction
and use of robots.
• Artificial intelligence is the branch of computer
science that deals with writing computer
programs that can solve problems creatively;
"workers in AI hope to imitate or duplicate
intelligence in computers and robots"
Definition of a Robot
• "A reprogrammable, multifunctional
manipulator designed to move material, parts,
tools, or specialized devices through various
programmed motions for the performance of a
variety of tasks" .
• Or a simpler version
• An automatic device that performs functions normally
ascribed to humans or a machine in the form of a human.
What is a Robot
• The term robot derives from the
Czech word robota, meaning
forced work or compulsory
service, or robotnik, meaning
serf.
• First used to describe fabricated
workers in a fictional 1920s play
called Rossum’s Universal
Robots by Czech author Karel
Capek.
Robots in Early History
• Ancient Greek poet Homer described maidens of gold,
mechanical helpers built by Hephaistos, the Greek god
of metalsmiths.
• The golems of medieval Jewish legend were robot-like
servants made of clay, brought to life by a spoken
charm.
• In 1495, Leonardo da Vinci drew plans for a
mechanical man.
• Real robots were only possible in the 1950s and 1960s
with the introduction of transistors and integrated
circuits.
First Commercial Robot
• After the 1950’s the first
commercial robot
nicknamed the
'Unimate‘, was created.
• The first Unimate was
installed at a General
Motors plant to work
with heated die-casting
machines .
Following the early instances of robots in plays
and science fiction stories , robots then started
to appear on television shows, like Lost in Space
and then in Hollywood movies.
• In Lost in Space the robot demonstrated human
characteristics such as feelings and emotions.
• Scientists today are still a long way off from
programming robots which can think and act
like humans.
