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The robotics revolution

⇐ Предыдущая 35 36 37 38 394041 42 43 44 Следующая ⇒

any of the robots in use
today do jobs that are
especially difficult for human
workers. These are the types of jobs
that require great strength or pose 60
danger. For example, robots are
particularly useful in the auto-
manufacturing industry where parts
of automobiles must be welded
together, a welding tool used by a 65
human worker weighs about 100
pounds or more and is difficult to
handle. As mechanical supermen,
robots may be called upon to do
anything from moving heavy 70

components between workstations on a factory floor to carrying bags of cement.

Spray painting is another task suited to robots because robots do 75 not need to breathe. Unlike human painters, they are unaffected by the poisonous fumes. Robots are better at this task, not because they are faster or cheaper than humans, but 80 because they work in a place where humans cannot.

Third in the list of useful jobs for
robots is the assembly of electronic
parts. Robots shine at installing 85

chips in printed circuit boards because of a capability that robots have that people don't. A robot, once properly programmed, will not put a chip in the wrong place. This 90 automatic accuracy is particularly valuable in this kind of industry because locating and fixing mistakes is costly.

Earlier robots were usually blind 95
and deaf but newer types of robots
are fitted with video cameras and
other sensing devices that can
detect heat, texture, size, and
sound. These robots are used in 100

space projects, nuclear reactor stations, and underwater exploration research.

In their efforts to expand the
range of robotic applications, 105

researchers are looking beyond traditional designs to examine a variety of potential models from the biological world. The industrial arm is a classic example. Scientists have no

been able to model robots to imitate the vertebrate spine of a snake in order to paint the interior of automobiles. They have simulated the muscle structure and movement of an elephant's trunk in an attempt to create a robotic arm capable of lifting heavy objects. Scientists have also emulated the flexibility of an octopus where the tentacles can conform to the fragile objects of any shape and hold them with uniform, gentle pressure. A variation of this design can be used to handle animals, turn hospital patients in their beds, or lift a small child.

The challenge of equipping robots with the skills to operate independently, outside of a factory or laboratory, has taxed the ingenuity and creativity of academic, military, and industrial scientists for years. Simply put, robot hands - like robot legs, or eyes, or reasoning powers - have a long way to go before they can approach what biological evolution has achieved over the course of hundreds of millions of years. Much more will have to happen in laboratories around the world before robots can be compared to nature's handiwork.

In the meantime, the robotics revolution is already beginning to change the kind of work that people do. The boring and dangerous jobs are now assumed by robots. By the turn of the century, more and more humans will be required for tasks that machines cannot do. There are some industrialists who hope that by the year 2000 all their employees will be knowledge workers, no longer standing on assembly lines but rather sitting at desks and computer terminals to deal with information. These changes are already under way, and their pace accelerates every year.

Vocabulary

welded (1. 9) - (of pieces of metal) joined together by heating shine at (1. 30) - do very well at octopus (1. 66) - sea-animal with eight arms (tentacles) has taxed (1. 77)- has made heavy demands on

Task 5

Summarize the reasons that certain jobs and environments are suitable for robots by completing the table below.

Job or environment

Welding

Carrying components, etc.

Spray painting

Assembling components

hi nuclear reactors, underwater, etc.

Reason

Task 6 These are answers to questions about the text. Write the questions.

1 About 100 pounds.

2 Because locating and fixing mistakes is costly.

3 hi space projects, for example.

4 They are examining the potential of certain biological models.

5 No, they cannot be compared yet.

6 They will be doing intellectual rather than manual work.

Task 7

Fill in this table with details of the animals mentioned in the text.

Animal

Aspect being emulated

Reason

Task 8

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Using the line references given, look back in the text and find words in the text which have a similar meaning to:

manipulate (lines 10-15) correcting (lines 3 5-40) expensive (lines 3 5-^40) increase (lines 45-50) copy (lines 55-60) reproduced artificially (lines 60-65) easily damaged (lines 6 5-70) gets faster (lines 105-110)

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