Robotics appears to be on a march toward becoming a dominant technology. It is generally assumed that robots will be a part of our common working world and, to some degree, our social world. Robotic technology is rooted in cybernetics and manufacturing automation technology. Of course, industrial robot technology is based the same numerical control technology as computer-aided machine tools. And there has been exciting progress in mobile robots whose uses extend beyond the factory.
Robots, over the past 50 years, have become the “elbow grease” of industry. They assist in material handling, parts insertion, welding, and finishing, among other tasks. There are about 1 million industrial robots at work worldwide. But given 50 years of development, one might wonder why there are not many more.
Robots are principally electro/mechanical devices that depend on the interaction of a host of systems to move from sensing (machine vision data), to “thinking” (software tools), to acting (with arms and end-effectors in the case of industrial robots). There is not only a need to know what is acting where, with what, and when, but also what forms of interference and disconnects may occur in a simulated or actual design that would affect performance.
Any machine or product that requires interacting systems means complexity in design, manufacture, and execution. There have been many roadblocks in the path to robot success, but now there may be a way around those roadblocks.