What Is A Robot?
of information for teachers, defines a robot as: “A machine
or device that operates automatically or by remote control.”
This definition is vague, yet covers both autonomous and
remotely-controlled robots. The thing is, it could also
include a basic washing machine or toaster. Another
definition from that same site is: “A mechanical device that
sometimes resembles a human and is capable of
performing a variety of often complex human tasks on
command or by being programmed in advance.” This
definition narrows the scope as it refers to creations that
sometimes resemble a humanoid, but the words “on
command” seem to refer to remote control, and
“programmed in advance” refers to some sort of
autonomous or computer control. However, it also ascribes
the tasks performed by the robot as complex and human-like. (Are we confused, yet?)
Rod Brooks, past director of MIT’s Computer Science
and AI Labs and co-founder of iRobot gave this rather
vague definition: “To me, a robot is something that has
some physical effect on the world, but it does it based on
how it senses the world and how the world changes
around it.” Normally, I wouldn’t give such a definition much
thought but Rod has an impressive background in robotics.
Brooks stepped down as CTO of iRobot in 2008 to
form his own company, Heartland Robotics. He has taught
many of today’s robot entrepreneurs. I have a bit of trouble
with “... something that has some physical effect on the
world,” but totally agree with the sensory part. A robot
need not change anything in the physical world, but even
the most elementary robot must sense certain criteria.
FIGURE 4. Cincinnati Milacron machining center.
and leadership in the field of robotics.
What Makes A Robot A Robot?
Joe Engelberger And Robots
Joseph Engelberger, the founder of Unimation I
mentioned earlier, once remarked: “I can’t define a robot,
but I know one when I see one.” You must remember that
his robots came two decades before the Robot
Institute of America and the first ‘official’
definition of a robot made in 1979. Certainly Joe
not only knew every detail of how his robots were
constructed, but intimate details about their first
uses. It was rather astute of him to define robots
this way, as he saw many applications and
configurations for robots in the future.
Joe’s world was the industrial robot and
how it could be implemented in factories around
the world. It took his company more than a
decade to finally make a profit, yet his endeavors
have inspired many people around the world. He
knew what a robot was and knew how it could
change the world of manufacturing. The Robotic
Industries Association created the Engelberger
Robotics Award (seen in Figure 3) which is
considered the world’s most prestigious robotics
honor. The awards are presented to outstanding
individuals to honor excellent achievements in
technology development, application, education,
I’ve listed a few individual definitions of a robot but,
what really is a robot. We can’t use Capek’s definition from
his play, RUR, as the characters were very human-like, more
so than David Hanson’s actual robotic creations. All of
Asimov’s robots were humanoid bipeds that babysat,
worked in factories, or roamed strange planets — certainly
robots that are still a bit into our future. Is a washing
machine a robot because we can dial in a load quantity,
temperature of the water, length and intensity of the wash
time and rinse cycle, and have it mechanically scrub our
clothes? Some high-end washing machines have several
FIGURE 5. Cincinnati Milacron T- 3.
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