Feature Robotics & Motion Control Shaping the future of mankind
Antonio Espingardeiro, IEEE member from the University of Salford, takes a look into the future and explains the number of applications that could benefit from using space robots and its constituent technologies
and motivation which can bridge the gap between care providers and care receivers. In terms of surgical proce- dures, as robots’ dexterity and accu- racy increases also the ability to assist surgeons in difficult operations will result in better outcomes for both clin- icians and patients.
R
obotics is by its essence a multi- disciplinary science. Research into autonomous navigation gathers knowledge from physics, electronics, mechanics and computer science. In the transportation sector the motivation for developing autonomous vehicles is driven by safer roads, better traffic management sys- tems and energy efficiency. However, as technology evolves there are other types of opportunities arising in the future. In hardware terms autonomous navigation involves high computing power, odometry, sensing technology (GPS, laser ranger finders, ultrasonic, infrared sensors) and 3D mapping. From a computa- tional point of view (software), autonomous navigation involves pat- tern recognition, colours, features, shapes, obstacles and continuous sta- tistical analysis for decision making. Such technologies are likely to have a predominant effect on areas such as health and medicine, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, environment or space exploration. In health and medi- cine, AI and image processing could become determinant tools in the ways healthcare diagnostics and surgical interventions are performed. Computational algorithms could for example help in identifying damaged tissues, and make predictions on what is likely to happen during a biological cycle. Machines are already far supe- rior when it comes to processing high volumes of information, and providing alternative diagnostics in healthcare could become ‘standard de facto’.
Enhanced performance Tele robotics will allow new forms of communication, personal advising
30 Above: as
technology evolves so opportunities arise
In manufacturing we could expect image processing to reframe the cur- rent production schemes. As computer vision becomes more associated with high levels of dexterity, new forms of production and assembly/disassembly lines could be applied. It is likely that such paradigm will complement fac- tory workers, where robots are better at producing goods but humans are far superior in quality checks, supervi- sion, product design and innovation.
Energy
Thirdly we have energy. Again the notion of computing becomes extremely relevant. As renewable energies become a reality we will also need to build infrastructures for pro- duction/conversion and distribution networks around the globe. The con- cept here is decentralisation. We will use AI, pattern recognition and deci- sion making algorithms to control the
processing could allow for autonomous tractors to work tirelessly on the fields performing tasks such as moderating the percentages of water, fertilisers or pesticides.
Seeding or watering could become normal procedures for autonomous farm- ing vehicles. Similarly the use of UAVs for agriculture checks, treatment and mapping will become a reality in the future. This is likely to be translated into a reduction of farming costs and inevitably into a reduction of food prices. ‘Materials research’ is likely to offer alternatives in robotics production and related areas. In the future robots could become cheaply built, disposable and recyclable in numerous applications. On the same spectrum robots could become important tools for collecting garbage and recycling. Cleaning parks, oceans or other areas could become a reality for the use of robotics and AI. Such features could have such a posi- tive impact in the environment. In terms of space robotics we could also see some increase in the use of autonomy in space explorations. Autonomy could be translated in terms of orbital robotics when assisting astro- nauts, for example tossing satellites, opening/closing valves or simply clean- ing certain equipment. On another spec- trum one of the biggest challenges with planetary rovers (ROVs) deals with delays in communication between Earth and robots. Meanwhile AI algo- rithms are being developed for giving the robot enough autonomy to explore certain areas whilst humans try to regain control.
Above: it is
inevitable that in the future mankind will push the boundaries of robotics and AI to other areas of human life
flow of energy and bridge the gap between producers and consumers. Such an efficient way of controlling energy (intelligent grids) is also likely to broaden the access of energy and eventually reduce the production/con- version/consumption costs.
Another important area deals with AI in agriculture. As the world popula- tion increases we will have to find new ways of producing food. As an example the knowledge brought by autonomous vehicles could be trans- lated into autonomous vehicles for helping in agriculture. AI and image
Such a challenge is highly important in terms of negotiating trajectories to avoid obstacles, maintain the robot’s integrity, save energy and possibly regain communications with Earth. Another aspect to bear in mind is that ROVs can act as scientific advisors for human oper- ators back on Earth (e.g sensing things that would be biologically impossible to detect) in dangerous environments. By now it is perceptible that when performing research into autonomous navigation, we are not only talking about autonomous driving vehicles, but indeed pushing the boundaries of robot- ics and AI to other areas of human life.
University of Salford
www.salford.ac.uk T: 0161 295 5000
Enter 213 OCTOBER 2013 Automation
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