These machines are mainly used in work that requires great effort, involves high risks, or requires extreme precision, such as exploring mined areas and dealing with nuclear waste, in addition to various industrial applications that require organization and precision in performance.

Definition of robot

The robotic machine is designed to perform tasks instead of humans. Although it looks different from humans, it has the ability to perform tasks with similar efficiency. Robots vary in size, with some being the size of a small coin and others larger than a car.

Their designs also differ, as you find some that move on two legs and others equipped with four or six feet. Its practical capabilities are also numerous; There are robots designed to help surgeons perform delicate operations inside the human body, others work in restaurants to prepare meals, while some can carry out exploratory trips to Mars.

Android history

In early history, Egyptian civilization made use of early forms of robots, as they used mechanized statues to ring water clock bells around 3000 BC. The Greek scientist Architos designed a wooden dove that could fly. In the second century BC, Egypt made statues that relied on hydraulic power.

By the first century AD, Petronius Arbiter had developed a puppet that could imitate human movements. In the middle of the sixteenth century, Giovanni Torriani invented a wooden robot that performed the task of bringing bread daily to the emperor. In the eighteenth century, innovation in robotics made great leaps, although they were not practical enough.

During the 19th century, the world saw innovations such as Edison's doll that could talk and a Canadian steam-powered robot. As we reached the twentieth century, George Devol ushered in the era of modern robotics with the initial innovation of the Unimate in the 1950s, a manipulative device that featured sophisticated programming but had little commercial success.

A real turning point was when Devol granted the rights to his patent to Joseph Engelberger, who modified the device and managed to develop it into an industrial robot and founded the company “Unimation”. He earned the title “Father of Robotics” thanks to his achievements.

In 1958, Charles Rosen and his team at the Stanford Research Institute developed “Shakey,” an advanced robot with the ability to adapt its movements and responses to its surroundings, and could move around and interact intelligently with its environment.

Robot components

Human bodies consist of several basic elements, including the external skeleton that forms the apparent texture, the muscular systems that move this structure, the sensory devices that interact with the surrounding environment, the energy sources that provide the muscles and organs with the necessary activity, and finally the brain that processes information and directs those devices.

Likewise, robots, which mimic human functions in an automated manner, are constructed from similar elements, which we explain as follows:

Actuators: represent the robot's structure and include limbs such as arms, legs, hands, and feet that allow movement.

Sensors: They work like sensory devices in humans, as they sense surrounding elements such as heat, light, etc. These sensors convert the captured data into information that the robot can process.

Processing unit: It acts as the brain of the robot, managing and organizing its movement based on the software and algorithms programmed within it.

Equipment: includes structures and mechanical parts that contribute to the construction of the robot and its functions.

What are the common types of utility robots?

There are many types of robots that benefit organizations today, as they are used in a wide range of fields to improve efficiency and productivity. Companies employ these robots to perform various tasks, which contribute to the speed and accuracy of work completion.

Chat bots

Chatbots use advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to mimic human interactions. These robots are able to deal with customer inquiries and respond to them in a manner that mimics human technical support.

Sophisticated bots such as Amazon Alexa demonstrate the ability to dialogue fluently and naturally, and are known as knowledge warehouse-based chatbots.

Web trackers

Search engine robots, also known as spiders, browse Internet pages to collect data and arrange it within the engine's database. This process enables search engines to improve search results for users by analyzing the content and structure of web pages to provide information more accurately and quickly.

Web data extraction tools

Web data mining tools analyze and download contents found on the Internet. E-commerce companies use it to track changes in product prices across various retail platforms.

Marketers also benefit from these tools, equipped with advanced linguistic analysis techniques, to understand and evaluate the opinions and sentiments expressed by comments on social media networks.

Shopping robots

Shopping robots monitor and compare product prices in various online stores to provide the best offers to consumers. It can also send suggestions that suit users' needs directly via instant chat applications.

Surveillance robots

Monitoring bots increase the security of your systems by constantly checking for bugs and malware. These robots also collect and analyze user interaction and web traffic data, which enables them to alert you when they detect any abnormal activity on the web.

Additionally, monitoring bots can work in harmony with other bots, such as chatbots, to improve job performance and enhance overall efficiency.

Transaction bots

Robots on websites ensure that payment information is correct and matches before completing purchases. These machines check users' credit card information and personal information very carefully during payment processing. It is equipped with advanced technologies to ensure the security of private financial information.

Robot Sophia

Sophia the robot was introduced to the world for the first time in 2016. Designed by Hanson Robotics in Hong Kong, Sophia is considered an advanced model in the field of human-like robots. This smart machine combines high-tech technology with cutting-edge engineering tools.

In addition to artistic touches that make it a unique masterpiece. Sophia not only represents a quantum leap in the world of robotics technology, but is also a valuable research tool in the field of artificial intelligence. This robot, which achieved a distinguished status by becoming the first robot to be granted Saudi citizenship, indicates the enormous potential of artificial intelligence in the future.

Disadvantages of the development of robots

Robots have many uses in various fields, providing great benefits to humans, but attention must be paid to some of the challenges associated with them. Among them is that excessive reliance on robots in industrial sectors may contribute to high unemployment rates due to the decreased need for human labor.

There are also technical issues associated with robots, such as the use of vision systems that may not always be accurate, leading to erratic and potentially unsafe picking up of objects.

It is important that we recognize these aspects so that we can direct the uses of technology in a way that benefits the entire society, which enhances our development and maintains the quality of life.