1、内蒙古工业 大学 2012 届毕业设计（论文）外文翻译 1 Robotics technology trends By : Jim Pinto, San Diego, CA. USA When it comes to robots, reality still lags science fiction. But, just because robots have not lived up to their promise in past decades does not mean that they will not arrive sooner or later. Indeed, the co
2、nfluence of several advanced technologies is bringing the age of robotics ever nearer - smaller, cheaper, more practical and cost-effective Brawn, Bone & Brain There are 3 aspects of any robot: Brawn strength relating to physical payload that a robot can move. Bone the physical structure of a robot
3、relative to the work it does； this determines the size and weight of the robot in relation to its physical payload. Brain robotic intelligence； what it can think and do independently； how much manual interaction is required. Because of the way robots have been pictured in science fiction, many peopl
4、e expect robots to be human-like in appearance. But in fact what a robot looks like is more related to the tasks or functions it performs. A lot of machines that look nothing like humans can clearly be classified as robots. And similarly, some human-looking robots are not much beyond mechanical mech
5、anisms, or toys. Many early robots were big machines, with significant brawn and little else. Old hydraulically powered robots were relegated to tasks in the 3-D category dull, dirty and dangerous. The technological advances since the first industry implementation have completely revised the capabil
6、ity, performance and strategic benefits of robots. For example, by the 1980s robots transitioned from being hydraulically powered to become electrically driven units. Accuracy and performance improved. 内蒙古工业 大学 2012 届毕业设计（论文）外文翻译 2 Industrial robots already at work The number of robots in the world
7、today is approaching 1,000,000, with almost half that number in Japan and just 15% in the US. A couple of decades ago, 90% of robots were used in car manufacturing, typically on assembly lines doing a variety of repetitive tasks. Today only 50% are in automobile plants, with the other half spread ou
8、t among other factories, laboratories, warehouses, energy plants, hospitals, and many other industries. Robots are used for assembling products, handling dangerous materials, spray-painting, cutting and polishing, inspection of products. The number of robots used in tasks as diverse as cleaning sewe
9、rs, detecting bombs and performing intricate surgery is increasing steadily, and will continue to grow in coming years. Robot intelligence Even with primitive intelligence, robots have demonstrated ability to generate good gains in factory productivity, efficiency and quality. Beyond that, some of t
10、he smartest robots are not in manufacturing； they are used as space explorers, remotely operated surgeons and even pets like Sonys AIBO mechanical dog. In some ways, some of these other applications show what might be possible on production floors if manufacturers realize that industrial robots dont
11、 have to be bolted to the floor, or constrained by the limitations of yesterdays machinery concepts. With the rapidly increasing power of the microprocessor and artificial intelligence techniques, robots have dramatically increased their potential as flexible automation tools. The new surge of robot
12、ics is in applications demanding advanced intelligence. Robotic technology is converging with a wide variety of complementary technologies machine vision, force sensing (touch), speech recognition and advanced mechanics. This results in exciting new levels of functionality for jobs that were never b
13、efore considered practical for robots. 内蒙古工业 大学 2012 届毕业设计（论文）外文翻译 3 The introduction of robots with integrated vision and touch dramatically changes the speed and efficiency of new production and delivery systems. Robots have become so accurate that they can be applied where manual operations are n
14、o longer a viable option. Semiconductor manufacturing is one example, where a consistent high level of throughput and quality cannot be achieved with humans and simple mechanization. In addition, significant gains are achieved through enabling rapid product changeover and evolution that cant be matc
15、hed with conventional hard tooling. Boosting Competitiveness As mentioned, robotic applications originated in the automotive industry. General Motors, with some 40-50,000 robots, continues to utilize and develop new approaches. The ability to bring more intelligence to robots is now providing signif
16、icant new strategic options. Automobile prices have actually declined over the last two to three years, so the only way that manufacturers can continue to generate profits is to cut structural and production costs. When plants are converted to new automobile models, hundreds of millions of dollars a
17、re typically put into the facility. The focus of robotic manufacturing technology is to minimize the capital investment by increasing flexibility. New robot applications are being found for operations that are already automated with dedicated equipment. Robot flexibility allows those same automated
18、operations to be performed more consistently, with inexpensive equipment and with significant cost advantages. Robotic Assistance A key robotics growth arena is Intelligent Assist Devices (IAD) operators manipulate a robot as though it were a bionic extension of their own limbs with increased reach and strength. This is robotics technology not replacements for humans or robots, but rather a new class of ergonomic assist products that helps
