Robotics and artificial intelligence are both fields with the potential to completely transform how we live, work, and play, but what do they mean? What’s the difference between them? Which one will change our lives more? This beginner’s guide answers these questions and more about the exciting and wide-reaching world of robotics and AI.
Introduction
The field of robotics is rapidly evolving, and everyone from big corporations to hobbyists have a hand in its growth. With such rapid growth, it can be hard for beginners (and even seasoned professionals) to keep up with all of its advancements. That’s why we created a beginner’s guide on robotics—so you can gain a better understanding of how these machines work and which ones may be best for your needs.
Types of Robotics:
This depends on what you mean by robot. A simple definition of a robot is something that can interact with its environment, sense information about that environment, and act accordingly. There are many ways to do all of these things! Some robots physically move in their environment—like Roombas that can vacuum your floors or Mars rovers exploring space.
Popular Uses of Robotics
The technology is used in a variety of applications. Some are more popular than others. For example, many people around the world have seen robot servers delivering food and drinks at Japanese restaurants such as Henn-na or Seven Luck. These robots serve customers during lunchtime, freeing up restaurant staff members for other tasks such as cooking food or clearing tables. The success of these robots has inspired other companies in Japan and elsewhere to develop similar machines for use in hotels, amusement parks, retail stores and airports.
Where did robotics start?
In its earliest incarnations, robotics was referred to as cybernetics—the study of control and communication theory in both animals and machines. It is believed that one of these early cyberneticists was an ancient Greek inventor by the name of Archytas who designed what are considered some of first automatons around 400 B.C.
How have robots changed the world?
Robots aren’t exactly new—in fact, you can trace their development back as far as ancient Greece. But when most people think of robots, they think of what you might call automated machines. Robots are machines that can be programmed to complete tasks automatically—such as manufacturing and assembly tasks in a factory setting, or vacuuming floors and cleaning bathrooms in your home.
Where do we go from here?
A big problem in robotics, specifically in autonomous cars and drones, is situational awareness. How can an artificial intelligence system, no matter how fast or smart it is, make sense of its surroundings if there are too many variables? The answer is machine learning: teaching machines by throwing massive amounts of data at them until they learn how to make sense of what they see.