Robotics: The Past, the Present, the Future

What are robots?

Robots are defined as a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a computer but are pretty much everywhere and anywhere in our everyday lives. The word "Robot" comes from the Czech word “robota” which means “forced work or labor,” and the study of robots is what is known as Robotics. Forms of robotics have been around for 2000 years but the science has advanced drastically in the last few centuries. At the rate of growth robots are looking to advance the intelligence of humans with the next 30 years and though one definition of them describes "(especially in science fiction) a machine resembling a human being and able to replicate certain human movements and functions automatically," already these machines replicate human activity with ease and pretty soon telling the difference between a robot will be no easy task. But before we can look into the future advances of robotics it is important to understand their past and origin. 

History of Robots

Robotics date as far back as 2000 years as many scientists started the gradual progression of the robots we think of today. One example is in 270BC an ancient Greek engineer named Ctesibus made organs and water clocks with movable figures. A simple invention, but a step towards making machines emulate tasks or complete tasks that a human would otherwise do. Other great thinkers like Archimedes and The Hero of Alexandria were mathematicians and physicists that also contributed to the field of robotics long before technology would make complicated robots possible. Flash forward to 1495, artist and mathematician Leonardo da Vinci creates what may be the first humanoid robot though it cannot be confirmed if the design was actually ever produced. Then robotics made a rapid progression as in 1709 "The Duck", invented by Jacques de Vaucanson. The mechanical beast could flap its wings, eat, and digest grain with each wing containing over four hundred moving parts and still mystifying people today. Robot expansion really took off in the 1900s though, with the development of the first industrial robot in 1959 by George Devol and Joseph Engelberger. Also, robots began to be utilized for more than just actions on our planet, but in 1957 the Soviet Union launched ‘Sputnik’, the first artificial orbiting satellite which marked the beginning of the space race.

A few decades later robots such as Deep Blue begin to outsmart humans as this super computer beat the number one chess player in the world. Not to mention that this is merely the beginning, as though the history of robots has been promising, the future hold possibilities we can yet to comprehend. 

Present Day Robotics

Most robots today are used to do repetitive actions or jobs considered too dangerous for humans. No more are the factory jobs that had companies worrying about worker health, safety precautions and extra expenses that come with maintaining human occupation. The workers of the future are the workers of today and for the most part, robots are the solution. Even so the robots are today may not be the ones taking over the Earth and enslaving humans...yet, but they are vital to our entire society and way of life. The various types of robots used everyday can range from industrial robots to household robots, medical, service and military robots, space robots and of course robots used simply for our own amusement. Andy Rubin, SVP at Google is a big contributor in the field of robotics today and many are wondering when the Google super power will actually become conscious. But for other uses and benefits that robots can provide, medical robots are becoming a pressing topic with much upside. As Medical News Today describes, "robots were used in 422,000 surgeries in the US - 15% more than the year before" which means that robots are taking the place of doctors, and they are doing a better job. With little to no room for error in operations robots are the perfect machines for the job as they do not make mistakes and when they do, it does not happen again. Not to mention that robot operations have grown by 15 percent in only one year which puts the growth rate for medical robots at a stunning high. Not only do they medically present great benefits but the government and NASA have collaborated to utilize their efficiency.  They even developed a system for the army is known as MASH (Mobile Advanced Surgical Hospital) where a soldier could be loaded into a vehicle with robotic surgical equipment and could be operated on by a surgeon in the mobile unit. For example P.W. Singer talks about the possibilities of robots in war scenarios in the future and present day. 

Overall, present day robotics has only touched the surface on the possibilities that the future holds. One thing that is certain though is that robots will continue to play a huge role in society, as they are already the subject of major media and social attention. 

Robotics in Today's Society

Today robots have captivated the minds of millions in theaters, video games, books and more as the sci-fi realm has created hundreds of fictional ploys on what the future can hold. 

These movies, suggest everything from the possibility of taking over the Earth and enslaving humans, to even moving away from our planet and exploring the possibilities of life on other planets or spaceships. In almost all there is a robot civilization that becomes "conscious" and therefore decides to fight their human creators but at least for now, this does not seem like the case yet. (See technological singularity blog for more details) Anyway moving away from fiction, we as humans are now looking for more than just movies with robots tending to our every need but robots that will actually socialize with us, talk to us and take care of us as the article, Are We Ready for the Rise of Social Robots states, " In a paper, computer scientist Matthias Scheutz at Tufts University points out that the efficacy of social robots could one day be turned against us. “If it turns out that humans are reliably more truthful with robots than they are with other humans, it will only be a matter of time before robots will interrogate humans,” he comments."But for the future of robotics, much is in store. Already rapid progression has spiraled out of our control and who knows, maybe one day the robots will be the ones watching.

Sources: http://robohub.org/5-areas-in-robotics-that-will-transform-society-and-their-economic-impact/
http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2004_Groups/Group02/Group%2002%20Website/history_robotic.htm
http://www.businessinsider.com/important-robotics-people-2014-6#some-great-technologists-have-a-wild-side-16
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/280518.php
http://idahoptv.org/sciencetrek/topics/robots/facts.cfm
http://www.ted.com/talks/pw_singer_on_robots_of_war?language=en
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141016-the-odd-things-robots-do-to-us
http://www.allonrobots.com/types-of-robots.html
http://www.robotshop.com/media/files/PDF/timeline.pdf
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/robotics#m_en_gb0714530

Technological Singularity

As defined, "The technological singularity hypothesis is that accelerating progress in technologies will cause a runaway effect wherein artificial intelligence will exceed human intellectual capacity and control, thus radically changing or even ending civilization in an event called the singularity." This rapid acceleration of technology has not been a new concept As author and mathematician Vernor Vinge put it in his 1993 essay The Coming Technological Singularity, "Within 30 years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended."  The technological singularity hypothesis is based on the fact of Moore's law – that computing power doubles every 18 months. With such rapid growth the growth of intelligence will reach such a height that artificial intelligence will surpass that of humans resulting in the singularity. Even so, some argue that we have already reached the point where technology rules the world with computers that allow us to communicate with each other, keep track of complex systems like global markets and even control the world's most dangerous weapons. On top of that, robots have made automation a reality for jobs ranging from building automobiles to constructing computer chips.But at least for now we have the ability to control and program our own technology, which is likely not the case once the singularity arises. 

Can We Stop It?

Though the thought of a technological singularity is scary and a post-human era in our own lifetimes is even at times unimaginable, physical limitations could prevent such an event. The technological singularity can only happen if we can somehow create the hardware to support artificial intelligence, and even then it is unknown if such a rate of growth is even possible for computers to take over humans. All in all, our advances in technology could lead to great and powerful things, but we must make sure it does not grow out of control. 

Coding: What it is and Its Importance

"Quite simply, the world runs on code. Every time you switch on a PC, a mobile phone, a calculator, even a microwave, code is being run." Coding is taking over the world: day by day, minute by minute, we rely on the power of computer programming so much that even the thought of functioning without these conveniences is inconcievable. Coding is defined as the list of instructions given to any computer in order for it to perform desired actions and it is becoming more and more important and influencial in our everyday lives. The language that computers, apps and basically all of technology speak is code, and we are the ones that have instigated this phenomenon. 

Without humans, computers are useless, along with many other forms of technology because they do not have any instructions to follow. The instructions that tell a computer to run a certain application or display certain content come from code and though technology is useless without it, it seems we are useless without technology. As technology annually increases its rapid growth and capability, it is vital for children nowadays to begin to learn code. Simlar to a foreign language or a family of foreign languages, learning code now can only benefit the minds of the future. Even studies have shown that over the next 10 years it is estimated that there will be 1.4 million jobs in computer sciences and only around 400,000 graduates qualified to do them. Coding is taking over our societies and before we know it will be the language of the future. 

History of the Catapult

Catapults, though usually associated with the middle ages have been around a great deal longer than most believe, originating in the 8th – 7th c. BC as a defense mechanism to protect the walls of Jerusalem. Used by the Greeks, Romans and Chinese, the catapult stemmed from the crossbow, originally just a larger and more powerful form of the weapon. But what exactly is a catapult? Catapult is defined as a machine that stores energy then quickly releases the energy to fire a projectile and its history as we know it, begins in Europe in the middle ages. Catapults, common in medieval times were one of the most useful weapons in breaking into enemy walls or fortresses and are mainly distributed into three groupings: 

Ballista: Ballista catapults were the first to use the torsion spring and looked very similar to crossbows. They were great weapons and a large ballista could launch an imposing javelin weighing up to 10 pounds!

Trebuchet  - The Trebuchet uses energy of a raised counterweight to throw a projectile. Powered by gravity, it is a larger catapult that could fire projectiles weighing up to 350 pounds! 

Mangonel- Mangonels fired heavy projectiles from a bowl-shaped bucket at the end of its arm. The Mangonel was used for aiming various missiles at castles or forts. Also could throw missiles further than a Trebuchet. 

Mousetrap, tape, spoon: The Premium Ping Pong Catapult

Catapults have long been used for launching objects of all shapes and sizes, usually in attempt to destroy enemy lines before more advanced technology came to replace it, but look no further, the ping pong ball catapult that we have all been waiting for has arrived. Constructed of merely a mousetrap, tape, and a plastic spoon, my catapult can launch ping pong balls 15 feet or further and can be made in less than 10 minutes. Guidelines for catapult construction:

1) First, unscrew or ply out any metal on the mousetrap such as a holding bar or catch so that only the spring and platform are left.

2) Next, tape the platform of the mousetrap to a sturdy surface with layers of tape streaming across the top and bottom of the platform, so it is held in place.

3) Next take your spoon (plastic or metal) and attach it to the hammer of the mousetrap by applying 4 layers of tape around the top, middle, and bottom of the hammer.

See diagram-

4) Spoon should point downwards so when turned over it looks like the above picture.

5) Next cut a Ping-Pong ball in half and tape it to your spoon.                              

    6) Catapult is now fully functional, place Ping-Pong ball on the spoon and launch away.

Challenges in construction process: 

At first, many obstacles were catapulted my way when my first construction began. I knew I had to tape down the base but continuously the catapult would flip and send the ball either straight into the air, or backwards which caused me to readjust my model. Originally it had been unsuccessful so I began with an entirely different construction. After trial and error I realized I needed to tape around the hammer in order for the spoon to be sturdy enough, so after thoroughly taping the spoon, my next obstacle arose. The spoon broke various times while first catapulting, and after two had become useless, I added half of a Ping-Pong ball to the spoon base in order for the ball to be held in place and to add durability to the spoon. Finally, after suffering another broken spoon the catapult began to fire ping pong balls with ease, that is until I had shot around 20 balls and it began to reduce shooting range which was fixed by making extra models as the springs of the mousetraps began to wear. 

Final product is displayed below.