Mighty Robots : Mechanical Marvels That Fascinate and Frighten

by Jones, David

• ISBN13: 9781550379280
• ISBN10: 1550379283
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-03
• Publisher: Annick Pr

Summary

The intriguing universe of robots.Robots have lived in the human imagination for generations. Remember Frankenstein's creature brought to life by an electric charge, the Tin Man who yearned to become human, or the robot-filled world of the popular 1960s animated television series The Jetsons?Young readers will share this fascination as they embark on a thrilling journey from primitive robots to the revolution that is now underway. Chapters include: In Our Own Image: The history of robots, from the first automaton in 1709 to the rise of computers in 20th century Where are All the Robots?: Robot predictions from the past vs. modern reality Robot Explorers: Searching new frontiers: underwater, outer space Fighting Robots: Military assignments too dangerous for humans Working Robots: From assembly line operations to intricate surgical procedures Robots at Play: Robotic athletes, pets, toys and even actors grabbing the movie spotlight The Future: What can we expect?With a text that will engross readers from the outset, lively sidebars, and intriguing photography, Mighty Robots creates a captivating picture of the robotic world.

Author Biography

David Jones has written books, magazine articles, radio plays, and even scripts for interactive shows at NASA's Space Center in Houston. He lives in Vancouver.

Table of Contents

In Our Own Image	p. 2
Where Are All the Robots?	p. 27
Robot Explorers	p. 43
Fighting Robots	p. 59
Working Robots	p. 76
Robots at Play	p. 92
The Future	p. 106
Index	p. 123
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Excerpted from Chapter 1 In Our Own Image What do you see when you hear the word robot? A mechanical arm in a darkened factory, welding a car body in a veil of sparks? Or maybe you picture a tractor rolling over a sand dune on Mars, pausing to collect a scoop of rust-colored dirt. Or a tiny submarine drifting through the corridors of a sunken ship. All of these machines are real robots. And yet it's far more likely that you envisioned something in the form of a man, perhaps clanking out of the dark with glowing eyes, reaching for you with metal claws. The robots we have seen in movies and read about in stories live in our imaginations. They are what we think of when we hear the word robot. For a century now, we've had a recurring dream of a mechanical man -- a servant to obey our every command. Such a machine would free us of all our dull labors. While it's taking out the garbage or walking the dog, we could go to the beach or see a movie. But for every dream, there is a nightmare. Robots also frighten us. The metal bodies that make them powerful servants give them the strength to crush us. We ask, "Will a machine created in our image look favorably upon us, its creator?" Since we began imagining robots, our answer has almost always been no. Although we may one day succeed in building a machine in our own image, we probably won't be able to predict what it will do. Like people, such a machine will act independently -- maybe even against our wishes. Perhaps that is why robots both fascinate and frighten us. What Exactly Is a Robot? While the idea of the robot began ax a machine in the form of a human being, few real robots look anything like us. They toil away in factories, the depths of the ocean, or outer space, far from human eyes. We send them to places where people cannot, or would rather not, go Most robots are machines that replace human effort, built to do something that otherwise a person would have to do. Some robots are toys, but most are labor-saving devices. A dishwasher is a labor-saving device. Does that make it a robot? No. A dishwasher is an automatic machine; it does the same thing over and over. So is a conveyor belt in an auto factory. All it does is move forward, carrying a product or a part to the next worker. But a robot welder can be reprogrammed to move to any position within its reach before welding two parts together, depending on what it is making. There is a second kind of robot that does only what people tell it -- usually using a joystick or other form of remote control. It's called a telerobot. While a telerobot might surprise a stranger, its actions are entirely predictable to its operator. It has no capacity for independent behavior. For this reason, some people don't consider telerobots to be true robots. And yet telerobots are the most successful robots of all. We send them into places that are too dangerous, small, or unpleasant for people. There are telerobots that put out fires, explore sunken ships, or peer across the universe and back through time. In fact, almost all the robots working outside of factories are telerobots. Because they have proven so useful, telerobots are included in this book. True robots change their behavior by sensing the world around them, then acting on this information. They may be able to hear a human voice and move towards it, or recognize one object in a bin full of different things and pick it up. But such robots are rare. Only now are they starting to make their way into our homes. Today almost all robots are at least partly controlled by computers. So does that make your home computer a robot? Not really. Your computer can't move. Whether a robot looks like a human being or not, or is controlled by a joystick or a software program, all or part of its body moves. The dream of roboticists (scientists who build and study robots) has long b