Robotics and Automation

8 min readMay 21, 2021

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Hello Everyone , In this blog we will understand and take a look at robotics and automation and study its different types, uses and classifications. So stay tuned and lets get started!

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Automation and Robotics

The terms automation and robotics are often used interchangeably, and this is not surprising. With the extensive recent development of these technologies, they have become hot topics in the media where these terms are not always applied correctly.

Robots are a piece of equipment that can perform a variety of tasks with programming, whilst bespoke automation is a term that is used for special purpose machines or systems that are designed to perform a specific task

So Let’s see the both in detail!

Robotics -

Robotics Technology

Robotics is an interdisciplinary sector of science and engineering dedicated to the design, construction and use of mechanical robots. Our guide will give you a concrete grasp of robotics, including different types of robots and how they’re being applied across industries.

What Is Robotics?

Robotics is the intersection of science, engineering and technology that produces machines, called robots, that substitute for (or replicate) human actions. Pop culture has always been fascinated with robots. R2-D2. Optimus Prime. WALL-E. These over-exaggerated, humanoid concepts of robots usually seem like a caricature of the real thing…or are they more forward thinking than we realize? Robots are gaining intellectual and mechanical capabilities that don’t put the possibility of a R2-D2-like machine out of reach in the future.

What is a Robot?

Robot, any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort, though it may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a human like manner. By extension, robotics is the engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction, and operation of robots.

As technology progresses, so too does the scope of what is considered robotics. In 2005, 90% of all robots could be found assembling cars in automotive factories. These robots consist mainly of mechanical arms tasked with welding or screwing on certain parts of a car. Today, we’re seeing an evolved and expanded definition of robotics that includes the development, creation and use of bots that explore Earth’s harshest conditions, robots that assist law-enforcement and even robots that assist in almost every facet of healthcare.

While the overall world of robotics is expanding, a robot has some consistent characteristics:

1) Robots all consist of some sort of mechanical construction. The mechanical aspect of a robot helps it complete tasks in the environment for which it’s designed. For example, the Mars 2020 Rover’s wheels are individually motorized and made of titanium tubing that help it firmly grip the harsh terrain of the red planet.
2) Robots need electrical components that control and power the machinery. Essentially, an electric current (a battery, for example) is needed to power a large majority of robots.
3) Robots contain at least some level of computer programming. Without a set of code telling it what to do, a robot would just be another piece of simple machinery. Inserting a program into a robot gives it the ability to know when and how to carry out a task.

We’re really bound to see the promise of the robotics industry sooner, rather than later, as artificial intelligence and software also continue to progress. In the near future, thanks to advances in these technologies, robots will continue getting smarter, more flexible and more energy efficient. They’ll also continue to be a main focal point in smart factories, where they’ll take on more difficult challenges and help to secure global supply chains.Though relatively young, the robotics industry is filled with an admirable promise of progress that science fiction could once only dream about. From the deepest depths of our oceans to thousands of miles in outer space, robots will be found performing tasks that humans couldn’t dream of achieving alone.

Types of Robots

Mechanical bots come in all shapes and sizes to efficiently carry out the task for which they are designed. All robots vary in design, functionality and degree of autonomy. From the 0.2 millimeter-long “RoboBee” to the 200 meter-long robotic shipping vessel “Vindskip,” robots are emerging to carry out tasks that humans simply can’t.

Generally, there are five types of robots:

1) Pre-Programmed Robots
Pre-programmed robots operate in a controlled environment where they do simple, monotonous tasks. An example of a pre-programmed robot would be a mechanical arm on an automotive assembly line. The arm serves one function — to weld a door on, to insert a certain part into the engine, etc. — and its job is to perform that task longer, faster and more efficiently than a human.

2) Humanoid Robots
Humanoid robots are robots that look like and/or mimic human behavior. These robots usually perform human-like activities (like running, jumping and carrying objects), and are sometimes designed to look like us, even having human faces and expressions. Two of the most prominent examples of humanoid robots are Hanson Robotics’ Sophia and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas.

3) Autonomous Robots
Autonomous robots operate independently of human operators. These robots are usually designed to carry out tasks in open environments that do not require human supervision. They are quite unique because they use sensors to perceive the world around them, and then employ decision-making structures (usually a computer) to take the optimal next step based on their data and mission. An example of an autonomous robot would be the Roomba vacuum cleaner, which uses sensors to roam freely throughout a home.

4) Teleoperated Robots
Teleoperated robots are semi-autonomous bots that use a wireless network to enable human control from a safe distance. These robots usually work in extreme geographical conditions, weather, circumstances, etc. Examples of teleoperated robots are the human-controlled submarines used to fix underwater pipe leaks during the BP oil spill or drones used to detect landmines on a battlefield.

5) Augmenting Robots
Augmenting robots either enhance current human capabilities or replace the capabilities a human may have lost. The field of robotics for human augmentation is a field where science fiction could become reality very soon, with bots that have the ability to redefine the definition of humanity by making humans faster and stronger. Some examples of current augmenting robots are robotic prosthetic limbs or exoskeletons used to lift hefty weights.

Uses of Robots

Robots have a wide variety of use cases that make them the ideal technology for the future. Soon, we will see robots almost everywhere. We’ll see them in our hospitals, in our hotels and even on our roads. The manufacturing industry is probably the oldest and most well-known user of robots. These robots and co-bots (bots that work alongside humans) work to efficiently test and assemble products, like cars and industrial equipment. It’s estimated that there are more than three million industrial robots in use right now.

Automation -

Automation is the process of using physical machines, computer software and other technologies to perform tasks that are usually done by humans.
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes.

Human intervention is reduced by predetermining decision criteria, sub-process relationships, and related actions — and embodying those pre-determinations in machines. It includes the use of various control systems for operating equipment such as machinery, processes in factories, boilers, and heat-treating ovens, switching on telephone networks, steering, and stabilization of ships, aircraft, and other applications and vehicles with reduced human intervention.Automation covers applications ranging from a household thermostat controlling a boiler, to a large industrial control system with tens of thousands of input measurements and output control signals.

TYPES OF AUTOMATION

Automation is widely applied. In fact, there are many automated processes that you are already quite familiar with. Think of modern thermostats that self-regulate a specified temperature, or cruise control. Identifying instances of automation isn’t quite as helpful as understanding their broad categorization: Fixed, Programmable and Flexible.

Let’s explore the three central types of automation.

1) Fixed automation

Fixed automation refers to the use of custom-engineered (special purpose) equipment to automate a fixed sequence of processing or assembly operations. This is also called hard automation.

The primary drawbacks are the large initial investment in equipment and high production rates and the relative inflexibility.

2) Programmable automation

In programmable automation, the equipment is designed to accommodate a specific class of product changes and the processing or assembly operations can be changed by modifying the control program. For each new batch, the production equipment must be reprogrammed and changed over to accommodate the new product style.

3) Flexible automation

Extension of programmable automation. In flexible automation, the equipment is designed to manufacture a variety of products or parts and very little time is spent on changing from one product to another. A flexible manufacturing system can be used to manufacture various combinations of products according to any specified schedule.

Automation Testing Tools

In today’s fast-paced world of software development, automation testing tools prove to be of major significance in building a robust product while enabling Quality at Speed.Making use of the right tools for automation testing at the right time is essential to deliver a quality product at speed.

Here’s a list of the some best automation testing tools .
1. Selenium
2. Appium
3. Katalon Studio
4. Cucumber
5. HPE Unified Functional Testing (UFT)
6. WorkSoft
7. IBM Rational Functional Tester (RFT)
8. Telerik Test Studio
9. SoapUI
10. TestComplete

Pros

More efficient production
Higher labour productivity and higher wages/profit.
Cheaper goods increase disposable income of consumers.
Avoids boring, repetitive jobs Can enable a shorter working
week.
Can improve safety and remove risk of human error
Can give consumers greater choice of goods.

Cons

Some workers displaced possible structural unemployment
Creates winners and losers — possible increase in inequality
Automation could increase monopoly power.
Loss of human interaction.
Dealing with computers leads to lower quality of life.
Automated systems can show lack of empathy with events.