Advantages, disadvantages of Robotics in engineering Jntuh notes

Advantages of Robotics with Emphasis on Industrial Robotics Technology

The advantages of robotics have become more obvious as industrial robotics technology has grown and developed in the last 50+ years since the first manufacturing robot, Unimate, was put into use in the 1950s.

Approximately 90% of the robots in use now are in the industrial robotics division in industries. As of 2004, about 140,000 industrial robots were in use in the U.S., as described by the Robotics Industry Association (RIA).

Robots are now also employed in sheds, laboratories, research and research sites, energy plants, hospitals, and outer space.

The advantages of robotics can be classified into four major categories: 

1) quality/accuracy/precision

2) Performance/speed/production rate

3) Capacity to work in conditions that are unsafe or unwelcoming for humans

4) Liberty from human controls such as boredom and the need to eat and sleep.

Advantages of Robotics 1: Quality/Accuracy/Precision

Many automated robots are in the form of a robotic arm. The picture at the left shows Unimate, the first manufacturing robot, which has the presence of a robotic arm.

The image in the next section shows a contemporary industrial robotics arm. Due to its unchanging nature and computerized control, a robotic arm can carry out a monotonous task with great accuracy and precision, thus providing improved, compatible product quality.

This would apply to quite a variety of composition line tasks, like welding, modeling a product, spray painting, or cutting and finishing.

Advantages of Robotics: Performance/Speed/Production Rate

The same characteristics of industrial robotics technology discussed above, the mechanical nature of the machine and the computerized control, make industrial robotics technology more practical and speedy, driving to higher production rates than with human labor.

The added aspect of efficiency is that robots can be installed from the ceiling and have no obstacle with working upside down. This can lead to maintenances in floor space.

Advantages of Robotics #3: Capacity to Work in Circumstances that are Unwelcoming to Humans

This is an impressive set of advantages of robotics. Diverse tasks are too risky, too exposed to toxins, or just obviously too dirty for humans to conveniently do them.

These are exemplary robotics tasks. This involves tasks as simple as spray painting because there is no need to worry about the robot breathing the paint fumes! It also includes such daunting tasks as defusing explosives and such dirty tasks as cleaning drains.

Advantages of Robotics #4: Liberty from Human Restrictions like Boredom

This set of advantages of robotics is since human qualities like boredom from doing a monotonous task don’t interfere with the functioning of a robot.

There is some extension with the first two categories of advantages of robotics because the absence of interference from monotony leads to greater accuracy, quality, and rate of production.

There is added to this set of advantages of robotics, however. Since a robot doesn’t need to rest or eat and nevermore gets sick, a robotic arm can work 24/7, with only short occasional downtime for programmed maintenance.

 Limitations of Robotics

A study about the advantages of robotics wouldn’t be finished without some examination of the limitations of robotics. Despite the very valuable set of advantages of robotics discussed above, there are some tasks for which human beings are entirely suited to robots. For example:

1. Robots are not suited for creativity or discovery
2. Robots are not capable of autonomous thinking
3. Robots are not good at learning from their errors
4. Robots are not as fit for making complex decisions
5. Robots can’t as quickly adapt quickly to differences in the surroundings

Human beings are required for these types of tasks, so there is hope that we will not become superfluous in a world controlled by robots at some point in the future, as predicted by some science fiction authors!

Summary

The advantages of robotics in an industrialized setting, where most of them are applied, are notable, including improved product quality and quantity, ability to work in inhospitable circumstances, and freedom from natural human necessities like food and rest. There are, however, some limitations of robotics, in areas such as creativity, discovery, autonomous thinking, and making complicated judgments, that lead to a forecast that humans will remain in charge of robots preferably than vice versa.