Robot

It can be difficult to completely define a robot because there are so many different types.

Perhaps one description is a mechanical device that has a number of input and output devices with a control system allowing intelligent decisions to be made depending on the feedback received.

For example a 'Robot Arm' is a mechanical arm mounted on a moving platform. The arm picks up and places objects under the commands of a computer. Robot arms are widely used in industry as 'pick and place' machines for assembling products such as circuit boards.

Welding Robots work as a group to assemble a car. They exchange information as the car is built, so one robot can affect the behaviour of another.

There are more complex robots designed purely for fun - for example in the television program "Robot Wars". These are not really robots because a person is always controlling it by radio. But they do move about, swivel and turn and crash into each other.

Probably the 'perfect' robot would be one that looks like a person, has the intelligence and common sense of a person and can make decisions based on knowing the difference between right and wrong. Unfortunately, no such robot exists except in hollywood films.

2020-10