4. Robotics is the use of technology to design and manufacture intelligent) machines, built for specific purposes, programmed to perform specific tasks. It's not unusual to find robots in the workplace. In fact 9 out of 10 robots are industrial robots. They're common on assembly lines these days a; a prime example being in car factories. Several years ago, around 90% of robots used in manufacturing were used in car assembly lines. Here they were able to perform many of the more basic, repetitive assembly tasks an example of this is seen in the familiar Citroen advert with the robotic arms painting a vehicle. A lesser known example of a robot in the automotive industry is a cruise-control feature on a car. These days the use of robots has extended considerably and only around half of robots are used in any form of manufacture. Other uses include: HH andling dangerous materials HH andling Cargo II nspection of manufactured parts, produce and even livestock CC utting and polishing and other precision work

5. Robots come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from small machines to large units capable of handling heavy equipment.. Their range of functions and “intelligence” also varies according to the task being performed.

6. An early example of robots at work was seen on an advertisement for Fiat cars, where robotic arms were programmed to paint body sections. These have become more complex and the above illustration shows a new installation at the Fiat plant dedicated to painting car bumpers.

7. December 5, 2002 – Honda added intelligence technology to ASIMO which is capable of interpreting the postures and gestures of humans and moving independently in response. ASIMO’s ability to interact with humans has advanced significantly—it can greet approaching people, follow them, move in the direction they indicate, and even recognize their faces and address them by name. Further, utilizing networks such as the Internet, ASIMO can provide information while executing tasks such as reception duties. ASIMO is the world’s first humanoid robot to exhibit such a broad range of intelligent capabilities.

8. Sarcoman is an entertainment robot, built by the SARCOS Research Corp. based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, that is remotely controlled by a human operator (for example, an appropriately trained comedian). Ford has used the systems as the central feature in all exhibition auto-shows during the 1995 season. The system can also be computer-controlled for automated shows.

9. there are many benefits of using robots in all manner of functions. one key factor is that with some routine maintenance, a robot can work continuously without requiring any form of break. they therefore do not need holidays, they do not get sick and don’t need time off work to attend granny’s funeral on friday afternoon. they are also able to perform the same task day-in, day-out, without getting things wrong. this is down to the fact that they follow a pre-programmed routine of instructions and the way they carry out those instructions never differs. because of this they are ideally suited to tasks which can be described as boring or mundane. in other words where humans could not be relied upon to work efficiently

10. Moving from the outer to the inner universe, the smallest robots of all, nanobots, will be exploring the human body, as well as other organisms, repairing and correcting, providing information on how we work on the inside. Already this field of technology - nanotechnology - is expanding rapidly. Although there are no nanobots as yet, there have been advances in manufacturing nanoparts, such as engines. Nanotechnology is also used in various industrial and medical applications.

11. Military reconnaissance flying robots aka unmanned Aerial vehicles (uAv) are now widely used. Bomb disposal units are robots designed to destroy diffuse bombs or suspicious packages.

12. Johnny from ‘Lost in Space’. R2D2 From ‘Star Wars’. A Cyber man from ‘Doctor Who’. a dalek from ‘doctor who’. K-9 from ‘Doctor Who’.

13. ClIcK HeRe To ViEw A RoBoT CuTtInG MeTaL

14. Robots come in all shapes and sizes.

15. We think they look like these.

16. But they actually look like these.