Robotics: now and beyond

Citation

Armada, M.A. (2005), "Robotics: now and beyond", Industrial Robot, Vol. 32 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2005.04932baa.002

Robotics: now and beyond

Keywords: Robotics, Technology led strategy, Automation

In the early years of the past century, Leonardo Torres Quevedo, a Spanish Engineer, Mathematician and Inventor (1852-1936), was working on dirigible control, and, in order to avoid exposing human operators in dangerous trials developed a brilliant idea: remote, wireless control, of devices or systems. Telekino was the name of his invention (patented) and a practical exhibition of radio control of a small boat at Bilbao port shallow waters was successfully held in 1906. I was remembering that historical fact during our last CLAWAR 2004 conference (7th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines, 22-24 September 2004, Madrid, Spain) for two reasons. First, because we were having many excellent, state-of-the-art presentations at the conference regarding mobile robots for hazardous environments. Second, because the conference was taking place in Madrid just in front of a Research Institute that bears his name. Nevertheless to reach the actual status of robotics many research and technical development efforts have been undertaken by the international scientific and industrial community. So, the challenge has been to translate to a working practice many ideas, old and new. To accomplish this it was necessary to engage with many inputs coming from a diversity of scientific and technological areas, as well as, globally speaking, with a market requesting it.

Upto the present day, robotics has been characterised by a well defined goal: to take human operators away from the workplace (be it hazardous or not) by enabling the execution of complex tasks in a fully automated and/or supervised operating mode. This state of affairs allowed industrial robots to widen their use and to contribute significantly to increase quality and productivity in many industrial sectors. The success of industrial robot applications is fostering the entrance of robotic technology in the so-called non- traditional manufacturing environments. Several outstanding presentations and demonstrations at CLAWAR 2004 showed leading developments in shipbuilding, underwater, tank inspection, construction and humanitarian demining. In such complex scenarios mobility, autonomy, sensors, control and advanced human machine interfaces play a key role in achieving locomotion over uneven terrain. This is of major relevance to solve the problem of accessing to more or less remote job sites, which is a source of major difficulties and prevents, in many cases, automation.

So we must encourage further efforts in the research and development of climbing and walking machines and its associated technologies, so that the barriers that avert its widespread use can be overcome in the near future. In this respect RobTank, Dylema and Roboclimber projects are good examples of accomplishment. The Roboclimber prototype, developed under European Commission funding, was the most brilliant CLAWAR 2004 exhibition star, and attracted with its imposing dimensions and excellent performance the attention of the general public. Maybe this kind of achievement could be a good help for paving the way for demonstrating that such complex climbing and walking robots are eventually feasible and might have valuable roles to play very soon.

Another point I would like to underline is that we are now in a situation where some traditional viewpoints regarding robotics need to be changed. We have commented above that robots are mainly intended to put away people from the direct contact with the task to be accomplished. However, what we are considering now, based on new advances as revealed by CLAWAR conferences, is that robots and robot technology is going in the opposite direction, approaching the human being, and so future robotics will produce new, remarkable devices characterised by being very close to people. I am sure this will stand for a new paradigm in robotics, and we need to consider these circumstances in our researches.

I am looking forward for the continuing success of CLAWAR Conferences, next one to be held in London, September 2005.

Manuel A. ArmadaAutomatic Control Department, Industrial Automation Institute (CSIC), Madrid, Spain