5 types of robots future enthusiasts should know
Since the 60s, robots conquer our society. Mostly unknowingly, they already help us in our everyday lives in ways we don’t always expect …
What is robotics? When is a machine even a robot and what types of robots are there? Defining what we see every day in movies and pop culture is not that easy. Ask 10 robotics experts and you’ll probably get 10 different answers. According to WIRED, a robot is “an intelligent, physically embodied machine. A robot can perform tasks autonomously to some degree. And a robot can sense and manipulate its environment.” A good example is a drone. First of all, a drone is not a robot. However, if you give the drone the power to fly on its own (intelligence), to sense its environment (perception), and to perform tasks on its own (autonomy), you come very close to a robot.
So far, robots don’t really look or act like the sentient beings portrayed throughout science fiction. Rather, these basic machines are tasked with carrying out simple tasks that boost productivity around the workplace or factory. We are still decades away from a future where robots carry out more difficult and meaningful tasks.” — builtin.com
Even though robotics has made great leaps in recent decades, the development of Hollywood robots currently does not (yet) correspond to reality. Advances in key future technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing, synthetic biology, and energy will also greatly impact robotics. As yet, our current robots are still heavily limited to simple everyday applications.
Classification of robots
Industrial Robots
Since the 1960s, the robot revolution has been taking place in an area that touches us every day but is largely invisible to the public. Whether it’s ordering a new car or merchandise on the Internet, companies’ manufacturing and warehousing processes are becoming increasingly automated. According to Statista, the number of industrial robots has tripled in the last decade. While their costs continue to drop, the machines are getting smarter and can take on (not just dangerous) tasks faster and more accurately than we humans can. Tech companies like JD.com and Amazon have already automated much of their warehouses for this reason, among others.
However, one-third of new installations come from the automotive industry, where there are 2,000 robots for every 10,000 employees. Every fifth employee is a machine. This is followed by the electronics and metal and machinery sectors. However, this view is very one-dimensional. In 2019, only around 5 percent of German companies used robots. However, due to the tripling of the global figure in the last decade, this picture should undoubtedly change. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) expects 3.8 million industrial robots on the market by the end of 2021.
Since industrialization, people have always been concerned that machines could replace them. That this is a reality is becoming increasingly apparent, even in the robot age. However, studies such as that of the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) show that falling costs lead to higher consumption, which ultimately leads to the creation of more jobs. Moreover, it continues to emerge that strong human-robot collaboration is more likely in the future than complete automation.
Today, industrial robots are mainly used for the following activities:
- Manufacturing: Pick & Place, painting/coating, machine loading, …
- Assembly: welding, screwing, positioning, …
- Logistics: palletizing, loading, picking, transferring, …
Depending on the application, there are different types of industrial robots:
- Articulated robots are characterized by their flexibility, dexterity and reach. They are the most widespread robots, as they are used in particular in the automotive industry for activities such as welding, assembly, material handling and painting. However, they are less designed for speed.
- SCARA (Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm) refers to robots that are fixed vertically. As a result, SCARAs mainly perform “pick and place” tasks as well as processes that require high accuracy at high speed.
- Delta robots, also called “spider robots”, are used for sorting activities similar to SCARAs. For example, deltas can sort packages into packets on an assembly line at high speed and low load.
- Cartesian robots use three or more linear drives. Their structure makes them the most inflexible of the four types of robots mentioned above and they are mainly used for heavy loads.
Autonomous robots
Autorobots, or Autobots (not to be confused with Transformers), are robots that can operate autonomously in their environment with little or no human assistance.
The classic example is the Roomba vacuum cleaner robot. Roomba can make its own decisions based on its environment and derive actions from it. Thus, it can be placed in a room and it performs its task of vacuuming the home autonomously and without human assistance.
Autonomous robots are characterized by three features:
- Perception: They can perceive their environment.
- Cognition: They can relate the data from their environment to their goal. In the case of the robot vacuum cleaner, that it needs to clean around furniture.
- Action: Based on the context, the robot makes and executes its own decisions.
Teleoperated robots
With advanced virtual reality and augmented reality technology, the applications of remotely controlled robots are also growing. Human-controlled submarines can effortlessly repair underwater pipes at depths of hundreds of meters. Robotic arms assist doctors in critical surgeries to work in tight places with previously unimaginable precision. Drones can monitor conservation projects and help with reconnaissance. One’s location becomes irrelevant to humans when they can control machines remotely from any location.
Remotely controlled robots are experiencing a surge in innovation due to technological advances in virtual and augmented reality. For the first time in human history, one’s location no longer matters. Robots can be controlled virtually from a location on the other side of the world.
In telemedicine, surgical robots like Intuitive’ Da Vinci System are opening up new possibilities. Their precision can support doctors in critical operations. But through them, global specialists can also operate virtually in geographically hard-to-reach countries. Another benefit is the mimicked risk of infectious disease.
Boston Dynamics’ Spot is a four-legged telerobot that serves as a development platform and can perform a variety of tasks through extensible applications and hardware upgrades. From routing control in factories, to delivering medicine in crisis regions, the robot can act both autonomously and remotely. Another cool example is Houston Mechatronics Aquanaut. This underwater robot can efficiently travel long distances as well as perform technical operations, such as maintaining deep-sea underwater cables.
Probably the most widespread telerobots in everyday life are drones. However, their use extends far beyond the recreational sector. Back in 2017, drones were used in the U.S. after Hurricane Harvey to find survivors and survey devastated areas. In online retail, companies are experimenting with drone deliveries. Jeff Bezos’ prediction that drone deliveries could be commonplace by 2018, however, has not come to pass. The military is using drones in tactical operations. Environmentalists are discovering them, as are insurance companies, filmmakers and journalists. The spectrum is huge! More exciting examples can be found at CBinsights, for example.
Augmenting robots
People are fascinated by the idea of augmenting their own bodies with machines. On the other hand, the extreme, in the form of human-machine figures called cyborgs, is still scary to many people. But augmenting robots also exist in various forms.
One building block of the future is the field of bionics, which attempts to solve technical processes based on biological models. Modern smart prosthetics use computer chips and sensors that generate muscle-like movements controlled by algorithms. Remember Captain Hook, the antagonist of the eternally young Peter Pan? Instead of his right hand, Hook has an iron hook, which he can exchange (on ceremonial occasions) for a golden one. The first prostheses strongly resemble Captain Hook’s iron hook. However, the field of bionic prosthetics has made great strides in recent years. Bionics is the science that attempts to solve technical processes based on biological models. For us, the use of individual body parts like our hands is routine. We usually don’t even think about it.
However, teaching a machine to make these movements is a real challenge. One of the pioneers in this field is Hugh Herr, a biophysicist and head of MIT’s biomechanics lab. Herr lost his legs while mountain climbing. His smart prosthetics use computer chips and sensors controlled by algorithms to create muscle-like movements. The fledgling technology is accelerating with techniques such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence and synthetic biology. Prostheses that are costly today are likely to become available to a large majority of people in the future through cheaper hardware components and mass production.
Exoskeletons are another type of augmenting robot. These “robots for dressing” have been in demand not just since Matt Damon’s “Elysium.” They assist people in lifting heavy loads and working in unergonomic positions. Active exoskeletons support their wearers with motor power, while passive exoskeletons provide support through suspension, for example. Their field of application ranges from factories, such as the German car manufacturer Audi, to military operations. The goal: to extend the capabilities of the human body.
Humanoid robots
We all know humanoid robots from science fiction and movies. But humanoid robots are also being worked on in reality. Hanson Robotics’ Sophia and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas are two notables. However, they are still limited to individual areas: Sophia accesses a wealth of knowledge — thanks to artificial intelligence — in conversations with humans. However, her movements are still severely limited. In contrast, Atlas is a master of motor skills and even does backflips. But you can’t have a conversation with him (yet). The robotics of the future will deliver impressive and, for some, frightening results here.
As soon as robots look like people, we will develop feelings toward them. This is the conclusion of a German-Dutch study. But so far, humanoid robots and humans can still be distinguished. The case where, as in the HBO series Westworld, no visible difference can be discerned between us is the future.
What is becoming increasingly obvious, however, is the speed of development. The boundaries of what is possible are shifting. Perhaps the most famous humanoids in the world are Hanson Robotics’ Sophia and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas. While Sophia presents her knowledge as well as her facial expressions in conversations, Atlas shines with his motor skills. To perceive their surroundings, modern robots use LiDAR (light detection and ranging) — in combination with machine vision 2D or 3D cameras, which create maps of the environment. Another important component is the actuator. This is the drive unit that determines how powerful a robot is. The humanoid robot Kengoro uses 116 actuators to mimic human movements. This enables him to do sit-ups and pull-ups, among other things. His motor skills are so good that he can stand on his toes.
Future humanoid robots will also likely benefit from the fairly new field of soft robotics. In this, the robots are built from materials that can also be found in living organisms.
