“Robotics-Advancement or Setback?”
“When it comes to robots, reality still lags science fiction. But, just because robots have not lived up to their promise in the past decades does not mean that they will not arrive sooner or later. Indeed, the confluence of several advanced technologies is bringing the age of robotics ever nearer-smaller,cheaper, more practical and cost-effective”. This statement was taken from an article written by Jim Pinto titled, “ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY TRENDS”.
In order to better understand the age of Robotics and how they came about in the Manufacturing Industry, it is necessary to go back to the start of “automation” in industry.
In 1907, Henry Ford announced his goal for the Ford Motor Company. His dream or goal was to build cars that every American could afford. At that time, automobiles were very expensive custom-made machines that only the rich could buy. Henry Ford knew that to make his dream come true that he would have to find a way really lower the cost of making cars but still be able to make a profit.
Ford took the first step toward this goal by designing the Model “T”. The Model “T” was a simple, tough car, offering no factory options- not even choice of color. Henry Ford told his team that the customer could have any color that they wanted- as long as that color was black! The Model “T” was less expensive than most cars, but the majority of the people still could not afford to buy one.
Ford realized that he needed a more cost-effective way to produce the car in order to lower the price enough to make it affordable for everyone. He and his team of experts looked at other Industries and found four principles that would make their goal of creating a less expensive car happen. These principles are as follows: inter-changeable parts, continuous flow, division of labor, and reducing wasted efforts.
Using interchangeable parts meant making individual pieces of the car the same every time.
At this time, each piece was hand-crafted-and no two pieces would be exactly the same. By using inter-changeable parts, any valve would fit any motor; any steering wheel would fit any car body. That idea would be used for all of the car parts. This meant improving the machinery and cutting tools used to make the parts.
To improve the flow of the work that needed to be done so that one task was finished, another one began, with little time spent in set-up.
Henry Ford’s development of the single and unchanging automobile model meant the possibility to concentrate upon a single cheap car for the masses. When The Ford Company began to make Model C for $900, Model F for a thousand, and Model B for two thousand, the profits began to drop more and more each year and progress was being made backwards. The Ford factory was taken control over by Henry who stopped the production of
Ruling, What's Next? (Cover Story)." Public Budgeting & Finance 18.4 (1998): 3-21. Business Source Premier. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Henry Ford was a captain of industry. He owned Ford Motors, which was an automobile company. Ford was a man who always wanted his own way and he got it most of the time. The creation he is most famous for is the FORD MODEL T, the car for the commoners. His car became an instant hit amongst the people- the local people and the working class of people because it was very affordable and was not just for the rich. Ford was a very successful businessman but not particularly a nice guy. He expected a lot from his workers but thing is that he also cared for his workers, because he knew that not only were they dependent on him but also that he depended upon them, they were the ones due to which he was gaining popularity and success throughout America. Ford’s great strength was the manufacturing process for his cars. Instead of having people put together the entire car he created organized teams that added parts to the Model T as it moved down the assembly line, this lowered the production prices and also the time and energy required to put together the cars.
Who was once a hero, was now the villain in many regards; he was the protagonist at first, and after, became the antagonist after his fortune took over his morality. Henry Ford had well-meaning intentions at first. Truly wanting to connect the world, he wanted to create a car that everyone can afford and be able to enjoy. Although he achieved his goal of creating this car, the model T, several unintentional controversial ideologies were established along with it.
This radical idea of the automobile permeated throughout America with most, if not all credit renowned to Henry Ford. Observed as a technological mastermind, Ford commenced experiments involving machinery from the time he was adolescent to launching his career working at the Edison Illuminating Company. He examined internal combustion engines and gasoline buggy ideas eventually resulting in removing himself from Edison’s company and his introduction in the emerging automobile industry. Following in 1903, he established the Ford Motor Company, which expeditiously became a leader in the automotive industry and would gain extensive wealth within only a few decades. While other manufacturers strove to produce automobiles to be extravagant and luxurious predominantly for the wealthy, he immensely focused on efficient mass production of durable, affordable vehicles for the expanding middle-class market.
In 1903 the Ford Motor Company came to be. Ford, along with other investors including John and Horace Dodge raised $28,000 and in the first 15 months produced 1700 Model A cars. These cars were known for their reliability, yet were still too expensive for the average American. Over the next five years Ford and his engineers produced models with the letters B through S, the most successful of which was the Model N (priced at $500) , and the least successful was the Model K (priced at $2500). It was obvious from the Model N that the key to the companies success lay in inexpensive cars for a mass market. The answer that Ford and the American consumer were looking for was the Model T.
This paper discusses three aspects of the field of robotics The first is the history of where the ideas of robotics originated. Second, what was the effect that these ideas had on society? Finally, what developments in the field have proved to be useful to society?
He looked through hundreds of books on bicycles and books on horse and buggies. Ford decided to use wheels from a bicycle, and the same steel framing. From the horse and buggy, he took the idea of the shape of the actual frame. He also made a handlebar that was in the same place as horse rider for a buggy. When Henry For opened his first automobile plant, not only did it bring much attention to the industry, but it also made people want to own a car so that they looked “cool”. People knew that this was going to be a successful industry so they wanted to work in it. Even though most people think that the first true car ever made by Henry Ford was the Model A; they are actually being deceived. Henry Ford’s first actual cars were made for racing. Only a year or so later did Ford start making Model A’s.
At the same time, Henry Ford pioneered a new form of manufacturing that made automobiles affordable for
Nowadays, technology is a dominant feature in the lives of people around the world. Most daily life activities involve the use of technology which is expanding every day through scientific innovations. However, such innovations do not always occur in every part of the world, but mostly in technologically developed countries, such as South Korea, the USA and Japan. Presently, the development of robotics science has become a subject of considerable attention in those countries. According to Weng, Chen and Sun (2009, 267), “Technocrats from many developed countries, especially Japan and South Korea, are preparing for the human–robot co-existence society that they believe will emerge by 2030.”
Scientific progress makes huge milestones toward developing new advanced technologies which are more and more present in human lives. Today robots replace people in many spheres such as health care, security and military, industry, education, entertainment and science. Role of robots becomes more significant because they are able to do the job which people are not able to perform well. Sometimes people are too lazy to do some routine work, due to such situation those tasks could be delegated to machines. People’s life become more technology based what makes demand for efficient robots larger. Engineers say that today robots look like machines, but in near future robots will have more human appearance, today they do some simple job, but in near future much more complicated tasks would be trusted to them. History of robotics goes far to the history when the ancient Greeks describes first devices that people were projected to fly to the sky like birds. In fact, heart of any robot is some program that direct the device and control it actions. Robot cannot perform the tasks that was not programmed in it and this if the factor what makes it quite limited in its actions. Current studies in robotics are aimed to remove those disadvantages and make robots more functional and universal through development of artificial intelligence that can operate independently. Curiosity of world community to robotics increase every day what make all the research and inventions in robotics more demanded. History of robots, resent achievement and future perspectives of robotics have to be studies and researched to understand what machines can give to humanity and what pros and cons exist in the r...
When people think of robots, an image of a mechanical, stiff, talking, moving, human-like machine might come to mind. Robots are, in fact, computerized machines that are ultimately utilized to simplify larger scale tasks. They include control machines, computer controllers, or microprocessor based automated systems just to name a few. The ultimate goal of industrial engineering is to expedite processes; therefore, with such developed and modern technology, the manufacturing process is more efficient, cost effective, and there is almost no human error. With all its benefits the automation and robotics movement has made way for new fetes and greater prospects in economic terms for large-scale firms.
In today's society, robots come in different types and qualities, and robots’ use was mainly in the laboratories and factories; however, that has drastically changed where their uses are changing at a high speed. In addition to that, they have spread throughout the world. The main function of robots is to replace the work that people used to do, or perform tasks that man cannot. A robot is a mechanical or virtual device that uses a computer program, or electronic circuitry, to carry out its functions. In modern science, robotics refers to the study of robots is robotics, which deals with designing, constructing, operating, and using robots and computer systems for controlling and processing information and providing feedbacks. However, as much as robots replace human labor, individuals or organizations can use them in dangerous environments that might be harmful and beneficial to humans. Therefore, to understand the logic behind the creation of robots, one should learn the pros and cons of robotics, in the current society. This is because people are using this technology without having a deep understanding of its effects. However, an objective evaluation of the use of robots, in the modern society, shows that they have a positive influence on human beings, but if the robots were overused, it could lead to a negative side. which shows why human beings should use robots wisely that will result an improvement to their societies and own lives. Robots have become interactive equipment whereby they have become part of human life. In this regard, people use them directly or indirectly to enhance the quality of their lives. However, Sharkey argues that there are ethical issues that arise because of using robots to enhance hu...
To conclude, robots could be the backbone of the society that will result in a technological revolution. Because of robots various characteristics that do not experience fear, nor exhaustion and they are precisely programmed, which make them able to help in case of need, housework, and factories production. Society needs to put the issue of robots into consideration to satisfy any shortage exists in the world.