Robot applications

Abstract

Many texts on industrial robots attempt to predict the future capabilities of these machines. Predictions are of two main contrasting types: those which seek to allay fears of robots taking over employment by emphasizing that the abilities of machines are, and always will be, limited; and, at the other extreme, there is the school of thought that, with advances in control technology and artificial intelligence, there is no limit to the tasks that robots may undertake. Such predictions are often proved wrong, and we will not indulge in them except to point out that it is perhaps wrong to blinker oneself by considering manufacturing industry alone. The technologies which contributed to, or sprang from, industrial robot development are finding applications in areas other than the factory floor, and this book attempts to reflect that diversity. However, having said that, this chapter confines itself to industrial robots in manufacturing processes. Applications are many and varied, so in the interests of space it is necessary to concentrate on some of the more common areas.