The Next Technical Revolution:
Mobile Robots are Coming!
(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 08, 2001 ) ActivMedia Research (www.ActivMediaResearch.com) - Battle-Bots are making news on TV, and Tamaguchi-like Poo-Chi toys are flying off store shelves, but according to ActivMedia Research, the robots emerging in 2001 show that these are merely toy simulations of the future. A range of highly effective new inventions is about to transform many of the drudge tasks of life into background activities that function autonomously. Robots of the future will function autonomously in open, unrestricted environments to support our daily lives at work, at home and at play. Stimulated by developments in computing power, sensing technology, mechanical engineering and wireless communications, we are about to experience the birth of a new era in personal convenience and ease.
For the past decade, robotic development has been going on in laboratories, garages and hobbyist basements and at academic institutions worldwide. The results are starting to emerge in the form of products that can really contribute to our daily lives. To help explain the differences between machines that are not quite fully robotic and those about to emerge, it is instructive to review four primary robotic categories:
TELE-OPERATED systems are dumb machines. Like the Battle-Bots, these
remote-controlled machines perform tasks as requested, but harbor little or no on-board intelligence. In practice, these offer people ways to perform remote tasks like examining pipe and tank interiors, and often enhance either our sensory inputs or our physical outputs. Remote-controlled surgical 'Bots allow deft repairs to tiny veins and arteries, and open the door to heart surgery that is minimally invasive, and brain-surgery that is precisely targeted. On the other hand, these 'Bots are not independent, and merely function to extend human reach … from inches to continents away, thanks to the Internet, and from very large to very small.
PROGRAMMABLE robots are taught a series of tasks that they are able to
repeat as necessary. Examples include the ability to follow an embedded
wire in the floor to deliver parts around a factory floor. These are the descendents of the robots on the factory floor, where repetitive task require only slight variation and environmental conditions are highly controlled. Robot lawn mowers by Friendly Robotics hit the turf running in 2000, and in 2001 will be available through major retail outlets right alongside traditional lawnmowers of the past. Robot vacuum cleaners are going to be next out the gate for consumer appliances.
LIMITED-AUTHORITY REMOTE CONTROL (LARC) 'Bots combine elements of
programmable response with tele-operation to enhance the abilities of a
remotely controlled machine to respond to its environment. Examples include 'Bots designed to work in hazardous conditions … inside contaminated areas within nuclear reactors, bomb detecting and defusing, or fire-fighting bots. Someday radar-collision avoidance systems will find their ways into cars to alert drivers to impending problems, or slam on the brakes in time to prevent an accident. Control is shared between robot and human -- environmental events can elicit automated response from the 'Bot, while humans guide them through their set of tasks. This combination of human and machine intelligence provides great power and flexibility.
AUTONOMOUS robots operate, well …, autonomously. These intelligent and
responsive 'Bots have on-board sensing and computing capacity and are able to freely respond to the demands of their environment while they perform programmed and requested tasks entirely independently. 'Bots like these are already at work roaming halls in Hospitals and healthcare facilities, calling elevators and requesting automated doors to open as they pass through on rounds to deliver medical records, pharmaceuticals and vital equipment from point to point. Fully equipped 'Bots deliver goods securely in locked delivery compartments that require authorized thumb-scans before opening to deliver the goods. In other applications, sentry patrol 'Bots monitor warehouses and industrial complexes, covering 15 miles per day, 120 miles per week as they scan and report conditions. Sounding the alarm to report anything out of the ordinary … infra-red heat of an unauthorized person, smoke or chemical traces in the air, temperature and humidity variations in controlled environments, missing RF inventory data that doesn't match expected inventory position records … calls for personnel in the security office to take control. From the centralized office, security
staff can send the 'Bot to inspect the situation, and if needed, talk
through the 'Bot's sound system to verify and interrogate intruders!
Information presented in the "Mobile Robotics: The Next Revolution" report ($495) shows that over the next few years, unit growth will center in the entertainment and education sectors, simply because the practical requirements for these robots are much lower. Many of their functions are similar to non-robotic toys such as the Tamaguchi pet. They form the leading edge for introduction of additional new technologies. Future incarnations of today's toys will boast remote navigation and guidance systems and communications abilities that include video cameras, microphones, and speakers that allow their owners to project real-time tele-presence into the world. The robotic pooch of tomorrow will prove to be an effective sentry as well … sensing the environment and sounding the alarm if traces of smoke or gas are detected, following in the tradition of its loyal four-legged organic counterparts. Beyond the invasion of the toys, a capable set of service robots are emerging in industry and the workplace, where higher costs are easily offset by the time and savings of human labor.
INFORMATION: http://www.ActivMediaResearch.com/mobile_robotics.html
ActivMedia Research's "Mobile Robotics: The Next Revolution", available for $495 ($1,500 for a corporate site license) opens a window on the new age of Mobile Robotics and its impacts on the technologies of today and the near-term tomorrow. Five-year projections of robotic unit and dollar volume sales show where growth will occur, and provide an early window on future economic opportunities. Profiles of major robotic products and a review of mobile robotic development provide extensive background on this subject. This is the first commercial research report on the topic of mobile robotics that are approaching the margin of commercialization.
ABOUT ACTIVMEDIA RESEARCH, LLC
ActivMedia Research LLC is widely recognized as a leader in studying
eBusiness. Ever watchful of innovative business strategies, ActivMedia was first to publicly demonstrate that online business was both viable and profitable (Business Week, 9/23/96). An ongoing series of eBusiness
research studies from 1994 to 2001 continue to alert eBusiness managers to new business opportunities and changing online strategies. The new research study, "Mobile Robotics: The Next Revolution", is the first in a series of reports o the commercial implications of new and innovative technologies that extend and go beyond the web in the world of tomorrow.
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
ActivMedia Research, LLC is a division of ActivMedia, Inc. Its sister company, ActivMedia Robotics, LLC , is a pioneering manufacturer of mobile robotics technology, and the two companies share senior executive management. The relationship between the companies provides a unique platform for interpreting emerging robotics and advanced technology markets.
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