A robot is a machine, uniquely programmable by a computer, intelligent enough to automatically perform a complex series of actions.
An external control system may steer robots, or the control may be embedded inside them. Robots can be built on the human frame, but most robots are machines designed without any concern for their aesthetics to perform a mission.
Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids like Honda’s Advanced Phase in Creative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY’s TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, medical operating robots, robots for patient assistance, robots for dog therapy, collectively programmed swarm robots, UAV drones like General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and even microscopic nanorobots. A robot can convey a sense of intelligence or think of its own by mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements. In the coming decade, autonomous material is expected to disseminate, with home robotics and the autonomous car as some of the key drivers.
Robotics is the technology division that deals with the design, development, operation, and implementation of robots, as well as computer systems for controlling them, feedback, and processing of information. These technologies deal with automated machines which, in appearance, actions, or cognition, may take the place of humans in hazardous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble humans. Numerous robots today are inspired by nature, contributing to the bio-inspired robotics field. A newer branch of robotics was also produced by these robots: soft robotics.
Several user-configurable computerized devices and even automatons resembling animals and humans have been designed primarily as entertainment, since the time of ancient civilization. More practical applications, such as automatic machines, remote control, and wireless remote control, emerged as mechanical techniques evolved during the industrial period.
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The word is derived from a Slavic root, robot, with labour-related meanings. In a 1920 Czech-language play R.U.R. (Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti – Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek, the term ‘robot’ was first used to describe a fictional humanoid, but it was Karel’s brother Josef Čapek who was the true inventor of the word. With the arrival of the first electronic autonomous robots created by William Grey Grey, electronics evolved into the driving force of development.
George Devol designed the first industrial, digital and programmable robot in 1954, and it was called the Unimate. It was sold to General Motors In 1961, which used it at the Inland Fisher Guide Plant in the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey, to lift bits of hot metal from die casting machines.
In performing repetitive and hazardous activities that humans choose not to do, or are unable to do because of size constraints, or that take place in extreme conditions such as outer space or the bottom of the sea, robots have replaced humans. Concerns exist about the rising use of robots and their role in society.
Sophia is a social humanoid robot created by Hanson Robotics, a Hong Kong-based company. Sophia first appeared on 14 February 2016 and made her first public exhibition in March 2016 at the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, United States.
Sophia has been covered around the world by the media and has taken part in several high-profile interviews. Sophia “became” a Saudi Arabian citizen in October 2017, the first robot to acquire any country’s citizenship. Sophia was appointed the first-ever Innovation Champion of the United Nations Development Programme in November 2017 and is the first non-human to be awarded any United Nations title.
On February 14, 2016, Sophia started functioning. Previous robotic variants, the robot, modeled after the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, Audrey Hepburn, and the wife of her inventor, is known for human appearance and behavior. As of 2018, the architecture of Sophia includes scripting tools, a chat system, and OpenCog, a general reasoning AI system. Sophia mimics human movements and facial expressions and can answer certain questions and converse easily on predefined subjects (e.g. on the weather). Sophia uses Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company) speech recognition technology and is “designed to get smarter over time”
Her speech synthesis capability is provided by the Text-to-Speech engine of Cereproc and enables her to sing as well. Hanson Robotics is developing Sophia’s intelligence software. The AI program analyzes interactions and collects knowledge to optimize responses in the future.
Sophia was designed by Hanson to be an efficient escort at nursing homes for the aged or to support crowds at large events or parks. He said he hopes that the robot will eventually be able to communicate enough with other people to acquire social skills. Sophia is praised as a “social robot” that can imitate social actions and trigger human feelings of love.
Sophia has at least nine “siblings” of humanoid robots that were also developed by Hanson Robotics. Alice, Albert Einstein Hubo, BINA48, Han, Jules, Professor Einstein, Philip K. Dick Android, Zeno, and Joey Chaos are fellow Hanson robots. “Little Sophia” was published by Hanson around 2019-2020 as a companion that could teach children how to code, including Python, Blockly, and Raspberry support.
