A European consortium is developing a six-legged repair and maintenance robot for conducting on-site CNC machining in dangerous or hard-to-access environments. (Source: MiRoR)
Exactly! Which is why I think it's important for robots to work alongside humans rather than merely replace them. I'm of the mind that there will ALWAYS be things humans can do better than robots and we will always be necessary, even in a completely "automated" environment...we are perhaps the most complicated machines there are! And we are the ones creating the intelligence of the robots, of course. The thing is, until we understand everything about the mechanics, physics, neuroprocesses etc. etc. of the human body, I daresay it would be impossible to create as sophisticated a robot. And that, in my opinion, is a very good thing.
I agree, Elizabeth--I think this is one of the best uses for robots, to do things that are too dangerous for people. OTOH, I think there's a reasonable line somewhere if humans are not to become too much like the sci-fi brains in vats with no bodies because robots/machines do everything.
I really like where the development of robots is going in terms of doing jobs that are inaccessible or dangerous for humans. This is a space where robots won't necessarily replace human workers but make their jobs a bit safer and do things they can't do. One thing I always think in terms of these robots is, how can humans evaluate that a robot has done its job correctly? I suppose if it's meant to fix something and the machine then works, then humans would know. But are there other forms of oversight?
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
0 
