The term robot comes from the Czechoslovakian wordfor "forced labor,"

invented by Karel Capek. Karel Capek used robots in his plays and had them

Today, the word "robot" is harder to define because of new designs and

technology. The third edition of Websters's New International Dictionary

defines a robot as "a machine in the form of a human being that performs

the mechanical functions of a human being." However, today's robot makers

are not interested in giving their creations human forms. Most industrial

robots look like lobsters or oversized grasshoppers.

Around 1981, the members of the Robot Institute of America, held a

meeting to develop a definition of an industrial robot. Finally after long

debate, they came up with the definition:

"A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move

material, parts, tools or specialized devices, through variable

programmable motions, for the performance of a variety of

The key wor ds in their definition are "reprogrammable" and

"multifunctional." By "reprogrammable" they mean that if a robot gets

laser beam that hits the missile before it reenters the atmosphere.

look out the plexiglass dome, and move the arms with a joy stick. The wasp

robots remember the position of each weld that is to be made, and can

and machine applications. In nuclear power plants and other facilities

the welding gun is heavy. Also, assembly lines only allow a short time to

Some topics in this essay:
Institute America, Facility Mexico, Descartes Descartes, FINISHING Spray, WELDING Industrial, FUTURE Robotics, INSPECTION Robots, HANDLING Material, ROBOTS INDUSTRY, UNLOADING Machine, spray finishing, material handling, robotic arms, machine loading unloading, degrees freedom, fit pieces, industrial robots, tells robot, loading unloading, program tells, robots move, industrial robots perform, program tells robot, offshore oil industry, operator moves robot's,