Robotics research really began in the 1960’s at MIT but it wasn’t until the late 1970’s that robotic applications arising from this research became industrially profitable. These robots were built to aid automobile manufacturers in spray painting and spot welding applications. (Albus, 1990)
Industrial robotic development proceeded rapidly up until the mid-1980’s when it levelled off in 1986 and showed decline in 1987. The reason usually given for this failure is a mixture of over optimism (in relation to the nature of progress of robotic development) and unanticipated difficulties which arose when research was conducted in robotic applications outside of the traditional realms of spot welding and spray painting (areas such as assembly and applications which required a lot of different sensors and high levels of AI). Although the problems encountered at this point caused financial investment in robotics to reduce considerably, researchers in the field continued to show inroads in solving the problems at hand, albeit often at a slow pace.
In the 1990’s, applications of robotics extended out of the factory into areas such as space exploration, bio-medical, educational and consumer electronics/toys. (Isom J. , 2002-2005) Also, factory robots improved significantly in both flexibility of function and efficiency (as hydraulic robots were replaced by electrically driven robots) (Dubowsky, 1998). These improvements can be in part attributed to the significant improvements in sensor and computer technology experienced during the 90’s.
From 2000 until the present, the application of robotics has begun to rapidly extend outside the domain of industry. Areas including rescue, underwater exploration, domestic, biomedical, surgical, humanoid, unmanned ground and air vehicles have emerged and continue to prove extremely promising. These developments were aided by further improvements in electronic technology and by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence theory.
The future in robotics research is extremely promising in the near-to-medium future. Robotics funding worldwide is at its highest level of all time and it is likely to continue to increase indefinitely. Sensor improvements and developments in AI are expected to continue to progress at a fast pace (Pinto J. ). The cost of electronic components and control systems are reducing rapidly. Robotics is being widely used by teachers to introduce students to engineering at an early age and it is my belief that this will result in a large number of young, ambitious students becoming actively involved in research and promotion of robotics.
Based on the information I have presented and many reliable sources of information on robotics (I am aware of the failed expectations of robotics in the past), I feel that it is reasonable to predict robotic engineering will continue to grow at a fast pace for the next 3-10 years at least. Further, I feel that as research evolves, the areas where robotics can be applied will continue to diversify. In the not too distant future, I believe that robotics will have direct and relevant applications to most people.
