Robot senses
- Vision
Robots can be equipped with multiple "eyes" to provide stereoscopic (3D) vision. The Mars Rover is so equipped, and most of our humanoid robots also have at least two eyes. The same technology that is increasing the ability of digital cameras to provide high quality images is also improving the resolution of robot eyes, but the real challenge is to interpret and act upon the images received, which requires considerable computing power. Incidentally, there is no reason to limit a robot to only two eyes. Some may have "eyes in the back of their heads".
A general purpose robot eye will need to be able to focus properly on objects of interest and also adjust to various light intensities, much as the human eye and digital cameras do. The capability of determining what objects are of interest and adjusting focus accordingly is a significant challenge. For many industrial robots used in specific applications, the range of conditions encountered is, fortunately, not so wide.
- Hearing
Sensitive microphones and acoustic processing software can provide a robot with acute hearing that can also be highly directional and extend beyond the frequency range audible to humans. As in vision, the trick is to provide enough intelligence to interpret the raw inputs received. Artificial speech recognition is still an imperfect process; even if the words are recognized, selecting the correct word from possibilities that sound alike stretches the current state of the art. Example: Was the word "to", "too", or "two"?
- Touch
It isn't too hard to provide the capability to detect collision with an object. It is much trickier to provide a true sense of touch allowing the robot to detect and evaluate the force it is experiencing. Imagine shaking hands with a robot unable to tell how hard it was squeezing! Haptics, the ability to provide tactile or force feedback is one of the major challenge areas for robot development, with implications for robots used in medicine, construction and many other applications.
- Taste and smell
Robots don't eat organic matter (yet!) but the ability to detect taste and odor (response to particular chemical stimulus) is very useful in food processing, medicine, pharmaceutical production, military and industrial applications. Most devices constructed to detect concentrations of chemical or biological matter are used for industrial process control, but there are also some very sophisticated designs for military and police work that can detect harmful chemicals, drugs, bacteria and other substances in the environment.
- Acceleration
The ability to detect acceleration provides the robot a sense of balance, and also can be used to compute its position relative to a known starting location. This is the basis of inertial guidance systems currently used in military vehicles.
- Customized senses
Robots can be fitted with senses that humans just don't have: the ability to see in the ultraviolet or infra-red bands, X-ray vision, radioactivity sensors, chemical vapor sensors: if it can be detected, a robot can be fitted with that detection capability.
Robot intelligence
All robots incorporate some level of "decision making" capability. But the amount of computing power and programming skill to produce a truly autonomous artificial intelligence remains an elusive goal. The robots of today function only within well defined environments and conditions or require human intervention to perform their function. Even Honda's amazing Asimo robot requires a human controller. On the other hand, chess-playing computers give human players a real workout and your programmable thermostat (is it really a robot?) does a good job of keeping your home comfortable without intervention.
What powers the robot?
The source of robot power is not a trivial issue. The heavier the load the robot must move (including itself), the more power is needed. This requirement is often overlooked or skimmed over in fictional accounts of robots.
Industrial robots or vehicular robots can draw upon whatever power source is available for the facility in which they are installed. An autonomous robot, especially a humanoid robot, is more of a challenge.
At the moment, batteries are the most practical power source. They can be recharged from power lines or by solar cells, but the weight and size of battery needed to provide adequate amounts of power for the required amount of time may radically impact the size and weight of the robot.
Materials
The robot must be made of materials appropriate to its use: strength, weight, color, reflectivity, conductivity,
ability to withstand extremes of temperature, humidity, radiation, vibration, shock and other environmental conditions make material selection a critical part of robot design. And when appropriate materials have been identified, their acquisition and fabrication cost must also be taken into account.
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