Rodney Brooks: How robots will invade our lives

Making the future: How robots and people team up to manufacture things in new ways

BACK IN THE 1980s, when America’s carmakers feared they might be overwhelmed by Japanese competitors, many in Detroit had a vision of beating their rivals with “lights-out” manufacturing. The idea was that factories would become so highly automated that the lights could be turned off and the robots left to build cars on their own. It never happened. Japan’s advantage, it turned out, lay not in automation but in lean-production techniques, which are mostly people-based.

Many of the new production methods in this next revolution will require fewer people working on the factory floor. Thanks to smarter and more dexterous robots, some lights-out manufacturing is now possible. FANUC, a big Japanese producer of industrial robots, has automated some of its production lines to the point where they can run unsupervised for several weeks. Many other factories use processes such as laser cutting and injection moulding that operate without any human intervention. And additive manufacturing machines can be left alone to print day and night.

Yet manufacturing will still need people, if not so many in the factory itself. All these automated machines require someone to service them and tell them what to do. Some machine operators will become machine minders, which often calls for a broader range of skills. And certain tasks, such as assembling components, remain too fiddly for robots to do well, which is why assembly is often subcontracted to low-wage countries.

Industrial robots are getting better at assembly, but they are expensive and need human experts to set them up (who can cost more than the robot). They have a long way to go before they can replace people in many areas of manufacturing. Investing in robots can be worthwhile for mass manufacturers like carmakers, who remain the biggest users of such machines, but even in highly automated car factories people still do most of the final assembly. And for small and medium-sized businesses robots are generally too costly and too inflexible.

But the next generation of robots will be different. Not only will they be cheaper and easier to set up, they will work with people rather than replacing them. They will fetch and carry parts, hold things, pick up tools, sort items, clean up and make themselves useful in myriad other ways.

Various efforts are under way to produce such robots, especially for smaller companies. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute, for instance, is involved in a European initiative to develop robots that are safe enough to operate alongside workers (at present, most industrial robots still have to be caged in case they accidentally hit someone) and capable of understanding simple instructions, including voice commands.

The present generation of factory robots is akin to early mainframe computers in offices, reckons Rodney Brooks, a co-founder of iRobot, an American firm whose products include the Roomba, a robotic vacuum-cleaner, as well as military robots. Those big computers were run by experts, a long way away from most users, until personal computers arrived. “But the PC didn’t get rid of office workers, it changed the tasks they did,” says Mr Brooks. Often that meant doing more sophisticated work. In 2008 he founded Heartland Robotics to produce a range of machines that would serve as the equivalent of the PC in robotics.

Mr Brooks’s lips are sealed about what these machines will be like, although his views about the future of robotics provides a clue. As Toyota discovered with lean manufacturing, production-line workers, given the chance, can come up with plenty of good ideas to improve productivity. If people on the factory floor or in workshops are provided with easy-to-use robots they can become more productive, says Mr Brooks. Bring together these new robots with innovative manufacturing technologies, and you could get a manufacturing renaissance.

That would make things easier for start-ups, but scaling up is notoriously difficult because the capital costs of equipping a factory are often too high for investors to stomach, or the payback period is too long. In some businesses advanced production technologies could bring down those costs, reckons Martin Schmidt, an electrical-engineering expert at MIT. Mr Schmidt has started a number of companies that make tiny devices such as miniature sensors. He thinks that the production equipment for such devices might be shrunk too, even to tabletop size, cutting capital costs. In industries where that happens, says Mr Schmidt, “I think we will see some disruption.”

Mass-produced goods will continue to be made in factories using traditional subtractive methods for a long time yet, although with increasing automation and flexibility, as practised by the mass-market carmakers. There will also be some super-high-tech factories, like those of GE and Rolls-Royce, that make smaller quantities of highly specialised products such as jet engines. There will be millions of small and medium-sized firms that will benefit from new materials, cheaper robots, smarter software, an abundance of online services and 3D printers that can economically produce things in small numbers. And there will be countless entrepreneurs in little workshops, homes and, no doubt, garages who will be able to do things they could never have done before.

Bill Gates wants Robots to Care for Elderly

BILL GATES: - "THE DAWN OF THE AGE OF ROBOTS"

"A ROBOT IN EVERY HOME"....BILL GATES.



Imagine being present at the birth of a new industry. It is an industry based on groundbreaking new technologies, wherein a handful of well-established corporations sell highly specialized devices for business use and a fast-growing number of start-up companies produce innovative toys, gadgets for hobbyists and other interesting niche products. But it is also a highly fragmented industry with few common standards or platforms. Projects are complex, progress is slow, and practical applications are relatively rare. In fact, for all the excitement and promise, no one can say with any certainty when--or even if--this industry will achieve critical mass. If it does, though, it may well change the world.

Of course, the paragraph above could be a description of the computer industry during the mid-1970s, around the time that Paul Allen and I launched Microsoft. Back then, big, expensive mainframe computers ran the back-office operations for major companies, governmental departments and other institutions. Researchers at leading universities and industrial laboratories were creating the basic building blocks that would make the information age possible. Intel had just introduced the 8080 microprocessor, and Atari was selling the popular electronic game Pong. At homegrown computer clubs, enthusiasts struggled to figure out exactly what this new technology was good for.

DOG vs. ROOMBA ROBOT

ROOMBA THE VACUUMM CLEANER ROBOT IN ACTION

ROOMBA - ROBOTIC THE VACUUMM CLEANER FROM iROBOT

Get Thorough Vacuuming With Less Effort.

Roomba brings the latest robotic technology to the real-world everyday task of vacuuming. Using its patented, three-stage cleaning system, Roomba lifts dirt, pet hair and other debris from all areas of your floor, including under and around furniture and along wall edges. Roomba automatically adjusts between floor types to vacuum carpets, hardwood, tile and linoleum floors.

Roomba 780 is our premium Roomba offering featuring Dirt Detect™ Series 2 technology which helps the robot perform concentrated cleaning in the dirtiest areas and ensure the whole floor is thoroughly vacuumed. Roomba 780's state-of-the-art touchpad eliminates buttons and gives you control of the robot at the touch of your fingertips. The Full Bin Indicator lets you know when the dust bin is full and needs to be emptied.

Robot Violinist

Robot Quadrotors Perform James Bond Theme

MICRODRONES - THE FLYING ROBOT IN A SAFARI AT KENYA

MICRODRONES - ROBOTS

MICRODRONES IN ACTIVITY

MICRODRONES

Microdrones are miniaturized VTOL-aircraft (Vertical Take Off and Landing). They can fly by remote control or autonomously with the aid of our GPS Waypoint navigation system.

Thanks to the unique AAHRS (Attitude, Altitude and Heading Reference System) even completely inexperienced pilots can learn to fly the drone in a very short time. Usually a beginner is able to control the drone after less than one hour of training.

Up to 88 minutes flight time

Depending on attached payload, battery and environmental conditions like wind speeds and ambient temperature the system can achieve flight durations of up to 70 minutes. Using the optional video goggles you can perform flights exceeding your visibility range.

The four brushless motors work without a gear and therefore emit extremely low noise (< 68 dBA, hovering in a distance of 3m) being very efficient at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

User of a md4-1000

• Photographers
• Journalists
• Media Agencies
• Archeologists
• Surveyors
• Architects
• Real-Estate Brokers
• Pollution Control
• Meteorology
• Environment Studies
• Fire Fighters
• Police & Security
• Movie Making
• Television
• Sporting Events

http://www.microdrones.com/

 

ROBONAUT 2 - ROBOT AT SPACE

Robonaut 2

In the current iteration of Robonaut, Robonaut 2 or R2, NASA and General Motors are working together with assistance from Oceaneering Space Systems engineers to accelerate development of the next generation of robots and related technologies for use in the automotive and aerospace industries. Robonaut 2 (R2) is a state of the art highly dexterous anthropomorphic robot. Like its predecessor Robonaut 1 (R1), R2 is capable of handling a wide range of EVA tools and interfaces, but R2 is a significant advancement over its predecessor. R2 is capable of speeds more than four times faster than R1, is more compact, is more dexterous, and includes a deeper and wider range of sensing. Advanced technology spans the entire R2 system and includes: optimized overlapping dual arm dexterous workspace, series elastic joint technology, extended finger and thumb travel, miniaturized 6-axis load cells, redundant force sensing, ultra-high speed joint controllers, extreme neck travel, and high resolution camera and IR systems. The dexterity of R2 allows it to use the same tools that astronauts currently use and removes the need for specialized tools just for robots.








THE ROBONAUT 2 AT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS)

Gostai Jazz, Téléportez-vous

GOSTAI JAZZ - THE TELEPRESENCE ROBOT

Have you ever dreamt to be able to teleport

The principle is simple: the robot stands in a remote location

This is called telepresence, as you can easily and remotely take

Jazz Connect can be used by anyone, given an access to the Internet on a computer or smartphone.

http://www.gostai.com/connect/

PR2 Fetches Sandwich from Subway

THE PR2 ROBOT IS ABLE TO BUY A SANDWICH AT SUBWAY FAST FOOD. IT MAY TAKE A WHILE BUT IT IS THE BEGINING OF THE ROBOT BUTTLER.

National Geographic Live! - Robot vs. Tiger

ROBOT VS. TIGER: HOW WINS?

Boston Dynamics RHex

RHEX FROM BOSTON DYNAMICS - THE ROBOT FOR ANY TYPE OF GROUND, LAND OR DIFFICULTY. RIDES, CLIMBS AND GO THRU ANYTHING, ANYWHERE...

Roomba Pac-Man

ROOMBA DOMESTIC ROBOTS (FROM IROBOT) ARE A FEVER. THIS LITTLE INTELIGENTE VACUM CLEANER HAS OTHER UTILITIES, AS A REAL PRESENTATIONS OF VIDEO-GAME CLASSIC 'PAC-MAN'. ENJOY IT.

Ridley Scott confirms that Deckard is a Replicant

Max Headroom Final Episode - Part 3

MAX HEADROM WAS THE FIRST TV SHOW HOST RUN BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - BACK IN 1980´s.