Robotics

Many industrial operations involve the lifting and moving of large, heavy objects over and over again. For example, a particular process may require the transfer of steel ingots onto a conveyor belt and then, at some later point, the removal of shaped pieces of steel made from those ingots. One way to perform these operations is with heavy machinery operated by human workers. But another method that is more efficient and safer is to substitute robots for the human and his or her machine.

Another type of heavy-duty robot is an exoskeleton, that is, a metallic contraption that surrounds a human worker. The human can step inside the exoskeleton, placing his or her arms and legs into the corresponding limbs A police robot handling a live bomb by remote control. Photograph by Spencer Grant. National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers, Inc. Reproduced by permission. of the exoskeleton. By operating the exoskeleton's controls, the human can magnify his or her strength many times, picking up and handling objects that would otherwise be much too heavy for the operator's own capacity.

Mobile robots are used for many heavy-duty operations. The robots operate on a system of wheels or legs, on a track, or with some other system of locomotion. They pick up a material or an object in one location and move it to a different location. The robots need not be designed to handle very large loads only. As an example, some office buildings contain tracks along which mobile robots can travel delivering mail to various locations within the building.