[Advanced] The New Face of Robots (1)

New technologies help robots make inroads on daily life

Robots, it seems, are everywhere - ranging from microbots, to gigantic models. The mechanical march is gaining steam.

Warp Speed Ahead
To date, robots have mostly been used by automakers and semiconductor firms to produce goods in high volume. But cheap, powerful cameras, advanced sensors and other electronics now form the basis of robotics projects. "It sounds like 'Star Wars,' but it's coming," said Bill Vass, CEO of Liquid Robotics. "A perfect storm of technology is occurring for robotics", he said, ticking off the convergence of technologies such as GPS, advances in cell and wireless communications, open-source software and new ARM processors on smartphones.

The Future Edges Closer
It's hard to gauge the commercial potential for robotics, as the technology is in its infancy and, once ready, the bots could do just about anything. What's certain, though, is that bots will be ubiquitous in all shapes and sizes for:

-Industrial use. Factory robots, are now commingling with people because of cheaper and more advanced sensor technology.

Japan's Kawada Industries, and other companies are developing dexterous robots capable of assembling smartphones and working safely in close proximity to people. Kawada's NextAge bot, which could pass for the robot character WALL-E in the animated film of the same name, is one such model. These more efficient tools for repetitive tasks could slice labor costs of consumer-electronic products makers, and free up humans for other jobs.


Notes & Vocabulary

Metaphor: The mechanical march is gaining steam.
warp speed ahead (from Star Trek)

inroad n.
[count] — used to describe a situation in which someone or something becomes more successful or important often by making someone or something else less successful — usually plural
▪ We need to protect our company against the inroads of competitors.
— usually used with make
▪ Despite the recent inroads made by competitors in the industry, the company is still doing well.
▪ The party hopes to make serious inroads in Congress. [=the party hopes that many more of its members will be elected to serve in Congress]
▪ The sport is making inroads in the U.S. [=it is becoming more popular in the U.S.]

range v.
ranges - ranged - ranging
to include everything between specified limits

microbot n.
a small mobile robot equipped with a microcontroller

gigantic adj.
extremely large

mechanical adj.
1 a : of or relating to machinery b : having or using machinery
2 [more mechanical; most mechanical] disapproving : happening or done without thought or without any effort to be different or interesting
3 technical : of or relating to physical energy and forces : relating to the science of mechanic

to date
up to now : until the present time

robotics n. [noncount]
technology that is used to design, build, and operate robots

tick off [phrasal verb]
to count or mark things as they pass

convergence v.
1 : to move toward one point and join together : to come together and meet
2 : to meet or come together to form a crowd or group
3 : to come together and have one interest, purpose, or goal

processors n. [count]
1 : a machine, company, etc., that treats, prepares, or handles something 2 : cpu

ubiquitous adj.
[more ubiquitous; most ubiquitous] : seeming to be seen everywhere

commingling n. [noncount]
formal : to join or mix together

dexterous adj.
having or showing great skill or cleverness : showing dexterity

proximity n. [noncount]
the state of being near

repetitive adj.
happening again and again : repeated many times


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