Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
8 min read
Robotics is a separate entity within artificial intelligence that facilitates the study of the creation of intelligent robots or machines. Robotics combines electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science and engineering because they have mechanical structures, electrical components, and are programmed using programming languages. Although robotics and artificial intelligence both have different goals and applications, most people think of robotics as a subset of artificial intelligence (AI). Robotic machines look very similar to humans, and, if artificial intelligence is enabled, they can perform tasks like humans
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
In the early days, the applications of robots were very limited, but now through the combination with artificial intelligence, they become more intelligent and efficient. Artificial intelligence is playing a vital role in industry, replacing humans in terms of productivity and quality. In this article Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, we will discuss Robotics and Artificial Intelligence and their various applications, advantages, differences, etc. Let’s start with the definitions of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
What is artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence is defined as the branch of computer science and engineering that is concerned with creating intelligent machines that work like humans. Artificial intelligence helps machines perceive, understand, act and learn human-like activities. There are four main types of artificial intelligence: reaction machines, finite memory, theory of mind, and self-awareness.
What is a robot?
A robot is a human-looking machine capable of performing actions out of the box and automatically replicating certain human actions by using commands given to it through programming. Examples include pharmaceutical dispensing robots, automotive industrial robots, order picking robots, industrial scrubbers, and Sage Automation gantry robots, among others.
robot components
There are several components that make up the robot, these components are as follows:
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Actuator: An actuator is a device responsible for moving and controlling a system or machine. It aids in physical movement by converting energy such as electricity, hydraulic pressure and air. Actuators can generate linear and rotary motion.
Power supply: It is an electrical device that provides power to electrical loads. The main function of a power supply is to convert current to power a load.
Electric Motors: These are the devices that convert electrical energy into mechanical energy and are necessary for the rotational movement of machines.
Pneumatic Air Muscle: Air Muscle is the most suitable soft pneumatic device for robotics. They can be contracted and extended and manipulated by the compressed air that fills the bladders. It shrinks by up to 40% whenever air is introduced.
Muscle Threads: Made of a nickel-titanium alloy called Nitinol, they are very thin in shape. It can also stretch and contract when given a specific amount of heat and electric current. Also, when it is in the martensitic form, it can be shaped and bent into different shapes. They shrink by 5% when electricity is passed through them.
Piezoelectric Motors and Ultrasonic Motors: Piezoelectric motors or piezoelectric motors are electrical devices that receive an electrical signal and apply a directional force to opposing ceramic plates. It helps the robot to move in the desired direction. These are the best motors for industrial robots.
Sensors: These provide the human-like ability to see, hear, touch, and move. Sensors are devices or machines that help detect events or changes in the environment and send the data to a computer processor. These devices are often equipped with other electronic equipment. Similar to human organs, electrical sensors also play a vital role in artificial intelligence and robotics. AI algorithms control the robot by sensing the environment and feeding real-time information to the computer processor.
Applications of Robotics
Robotics has different fields of application. Some of the important application areas of robotics are as follows:
Defense Sector Robotics: The defense sector is undoubtedly one of the major parts of any country. Every country wants its defense system to be strong. Robots help in accessing inaccessible and dangerous areas during wartime. DRDO has developed a robot called Daksh that can safely destroy life-threatening objects. They help keep soldiers safe and are deployed by the military in combat scenarios. In addition to combat support, robots are deployed in areas such as anti-submarine operations, fire support, battle damage management, strike missions and laying machines.
Robotics in Medical: Robots can also assist in various medical fields such as laparoscopy, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, sterilization rooms, dispensing, and various other medical fields.
Industrial robot technology: robots are used in various industrial manufacturing industries, such as cutting, welding, assembly, disassembly, printed circuit board picking and placing, packaging and labeling, palletizing, product inspection and testing, color coating, drilling, polishing and Handling materials.
Additionally, robotics increases productivity and profitability and reduces human labor, which reduces physical stress and injuries. Industrial robots have some important advantages, as follows:
accuracy
flexibility
Reduce labor costs
low noise operation
reduce production loss
Productivity increases.
Robotics in entertainment: The use of robots in entertainment has increased over the past decade. Robots are being used in entertainment fields such as movies, animations, games and cartoons. Robots are very helpful when repetitive motions are required. A robot with a camera in hand can take a movie scene as many times as needed without fatigue and frustration. The well-known Disney company has launched hundreds of robots for the movie industry.
Robotics in Mining: Robotics is very helpful in various mining applications such as robotic dozing, excavation and hauling, robotic mapping and surveying, robotic drilling and explosive ordnance disposal, etc. Mining robots can navigate flooded passages alone and use cameras and other sensors to detect valuable minerals. In addition, robots help digging to detect gases and other materials and keep humans safe from harm. Rock-climbing robots are used in space exploration, and underwater drones are used in ocean exploration.
Application of artificial intelligence technology in the field of robotics
computer vision
Robots can also see, and this is made possible by a popular artificial intelligence technique known as computer vision. Computer vision plays a vital role in all industries such as health, entertainment, medical, military, mining and more.
Computer vision is an important field of artificial intelligence, which helps to extract meaningful information from images, videos and visual inputs and take corresponding actions.
natural language processing
NLP (Natural Language Processing) can be used to issue voice commands to artificial intelligence robots. It creates powerful human-computer interaction. NLP is a specific field of artificial intelligence that enables communication between humans and robots. Through NLP technology, robots can understand and reproduce human language. Some robots are equipped with NLP, making it impossible for us to distinguish humans from robots.
Similarly, in healthcare, robots powered by natural language processing can help doctors observe details of deaths and automatically fill out electronic medical records. In addition to recognizing human language, it can learn common uses, such as learning accents, and predicting how humans speak.
edge computing
Robot edge computing is defined as a service provider for robot integration, testing, design, and simulation. Edge computing in robotics offers better data management, lower connectivity costs, better safety practices, more reliable and uninterrupted connectivity.
complex course of events
Complex Event Processing (CEP) is a concept that helps us understand the processing of multiple events in real time. Events are described as state changes, and one or more events combine to define complex events. Complex event process is the most widely used term in various industries such as healthcare, finance, security, marketing, etc. It is mainly used in the field of credit card fraud detection and stock marketing.
For example, the deployment of a car airbag is a complex event based on real-time data from multiple sensors. This idea is used in robotics, for example, in event handling in the programming of autonomous robots.
Transfer Learning and Artificial Intelligence
This is a technique for solving one problem with the help of another already solved problem. In transfer learning techniques, knowledge gained from solving one problem can be used to solve related problems. We can understand it through an example, such as the model used to recognize circles can also be used to recognize squares.
Transfer learning reuses pre-trained models to solve related problems, and only trains the last layer of the model, which is relatively time-consuming and cheap. In robotics, transfer learning can be used to train one machine with the help of other machines.
reinforcement learning
Reinforcement learning is a feedback-based learning method in machine learning that enables artificial intelligence agents to learn and explore the environment, perform actions, and automatically learn from experience or feedback for each action. In addition, it has the ability to autonomously learn optimal behavior through hit and track actions when interacting with the environment. It is primarily used to sequence decisions and achieve goals in uncertain and potentially complex environments. In robotics, a robot explores the environment and learns about it through bumping and experimenting. For every action he gets a reward (positive or negative). Reinforcement learning provides robotics with a framework to design and simulate complex and difficult-to-engineer behaviors.
affective computing
Affective computing is a field of research that involves the development of systems that can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate human emotions. Affective computing aims to endow robots with emotional intelligence, hoping that robots can be endowed with human-like observation, interpretation, and emotional expression capabilities.
mixed reality
Mixed reality is also an emerging field. It is mostly used in the field of Programming by Demonstration (PbD). PbD uses a combination of physical and virtual objects to create prototyping mechanisms for algorithms.
What is an AI robot?
AI robots connect artificial intelligence with robotics. AI robots are controlled by AI programs and use different AI techniques such as machine learning, computer vision, reinforcement learning, etc. In general, most robots are not artificially intelligent robots, these robots are programmed to perform a series of repetitive actions, and they do not require any artificial intelligence to perform their tasks. However, these bots have limited functionality.
AI algorithms are necessary when you want robots to perform more complex tasks.
Warehouse robots might use pathfinding algorithms to navigate a warehouse. When a drone’s battery is about to die, it may use autonomous navigation to return home. Self-driving cars may incorporate artificial intelligence algorithms to detect and avoid potential hazards on the road. These are all examples of AI bots.
What are the advantages of incorporating artificial intelligence into robotics?
The main advantage of AI robots is social care. They can use chatbots such as social skills and advanced processors to guide people, especially to help the elderly.
Robotics is also helping the agricultural industry by developing artificial intelligence-based robots. These robots reduce the workload of farmers.
In the military industry, military robots can conduct espionage with voice and visual detectors and save lives by displacing infantry
Robotics is also used in volcanoes, deep seas, extremely cold places, and even space where humans cannot live.
Robotics is also used in the medical and healthcare industry as it can also perform complex surgeries with a higher risk of human error but with pre-set instructions and added intelligence. AI-integrated robotics could drastically reduce the number of casualties.
The Difference Between Robotic Systems and Artificial Intelligence Programs
Here is the difference between artificial intelligence and robots:
- Artificial intelligence program
Often, we are used to operating them in a computer-simulated world.
Typically, the input is given in the form of symbols and rules.
For this we need general purpose/special purpose computers.
- Robots
In general, we use robots to operate in the real physical world.
Input is given in the form of an analog signal or a speech waveform.
