Robots

Robots represent a major area of global research and development (R&D) spending in the private and public sector and already central features to high-rate production lines, factory automation, and modern manufacturing. Broadly speaking, a robot fuses the fields of mechanics and information technology (IT) as a machine that performs otherwise human tasks through advanced computing and prior programming.

While robots are popularly conceived of as anthropogenic or human-like machines, the most prevalent robots in industry are utilitarian in design and scaled down to their specialty task. Industrial robots are commonly referred to as robotic arms and commonly feature six degrees of freedom (DOF) and a high degree of dexterity to complete individual manufacturing tasks such as product handling, manipulation, packaging, palletizing, painting, assembly, and welding. Similar to overall factory automation, robotic arms as a component of automated production lines reduce labor costs in manufacturing and have contributed to higher rates of economic growth in countries with major manufacturing sectors, but remain controversial due to their displacement of worker or laborer positions.

Another current area of market application for robotics or robots is in medical care, specifically laparoscopic or minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Surgical robots can provide surgeons with greater precision in keyhole surgery through intuitive control interfaces that integrate advanced medical imaging and real time endoscopic camera imaging. Surgical robots have also been commercialized for the completion of orthopedic surgery. Future applications may include telemedicine or the completion of surgical procedures through a robot controlled by a remote physician. Robots are likely to find additional applications in military vehicles, waste management, emergency rescue, law enforcement, surveillance and monitoring.