To have legal regulations on Robotics, there is a need to understand the concept of Robotics and the different types of Robots which are in existence in today’s world and also the future predictions of Robotics Development. In this article we shall discuss the concept of Robotics, types of robots involved and then understand its significance from the legal perspective.
What is Robotics?
Robotics is a branch of engineering that involves the conception, design, manufacture, and operation of robots. This field overlaps with electronics, computer science, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, nanotechnology and bioengineering[1]. Thus Robotics is a branch of science which involves the confluence of other branches.
Types of Robots:
Mobile Robots:
These are the robots which can move from one place to another. Further this kind of robot is classified into types:
- Rolling robots:
These are the robots which have wheels to move from one place to another. Some of the examples are
- Walking robots:
These are the robots which have legs to move. These robots are used in rocky terrains where normally wheels cannot move. Such robots normally have 6-8 legs to move. Such robots are used in space missions like exploration of moon.
Industrial/Stationary robots:
These are the robots which do a repetitive action for ‘n’ number of times without moving from its place. These robots are widely used in the industries and thus the name ‘industrial’. Manufacturing industries like automobile industry use these types of robots for the production of automobiles in large scale.
Remote-controlled robots:
These robots are used for a hazardous task where robot is not that intelligent. Therefore human being is required to control the robot for hazardous tasks. Tasks such as defusing the bomb remote-controlled robots, sometimes these robots are also used for evacuation purposes.
Autonomous robots:
These are the robots which are self-contained or self-supporting. These robots run a program which gives them the opportunity to think on their own depending on the surroundings. Such robots are used in the military operations and rescue missions[2].
Virtual robots:
These robots don’t exist in real life; they are the building blocks of software inside a computer. Best examples of virtual robots are the ‘Siri’ in Apple I-phones, ‘Cortana’ in Microsoft operating software.
These are the 5 basic types of Robots which are commonly used for different areas to achieve the desired aim. Most of these types of Robots are commonly used in industrial sector like Automobile sector etc. Autonomous robots and virtual robots are still in development stage.
Conclusion:
It is important to have regulations on Robotics because with proper Legal Regulations we can prevent imminent threat in the near future by controlling the scope of development of Autonomous Robots and Virtual Robots. Although still in developmental stage such types of Robots will pose a threat in the future if there is no laws to control.
Therefore from the above study we can conclude that Robotics in a controlled environment is safe to be used and by this way we can have legal regulations to regulate Robotics.
[1]Robotics definition, Find a tech definition, http://whatis.techtarget.com
[2]Autonomous Robots, How robots work, http://science.howstuffworks.com