Robotics on Automobile Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Agriculture

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Research Paper on Robotics
Recent years have seen an increase in the use of robot technology or robotics in various areas. With technological advancements in this area, robotics has found various roles and applications in the fields of agriculture, food preparation, automobile manufacturing, military and in healthcare. The machines developed through robotics are meant to help humans in performing different tasks while keeping everyone safe. Most of these tasks that are assigned to robots are usually dangerous and very risky and can threaten the safety of individuals if left in the hands of humans. Based on this, the present paper aims to explore the role of robotics in increasing efficiency and productivity in the areas of manufacturing, healthcare, food preparation, agriculture and military.
The term robotics encompasses all activities involved in the designing, constructing, operating and using robots. Robots have been used throughout history and their roles have only multiplied since the beginning of the 20th century. Through robotics, highly intelligent machines have been developed, which assist human beings in performing various tasks especially those that are considered risky and increasingly dangerous. The robots come in different forms but most of them have been made in such a way that they resemble humans. For instance, robots are able to replicate human actions such as walking, speech, lifting things, and cognition among many other activities. This ability to replicate human behavior has resulted to the use of these robots in many areas of life because they are considered more intelligent, more efficient and productive than humans.
The use of robotics in automobile manufacturing increases efficiency because of the numerous competitive advantages provided by these robots. According to Smys and Ranganathan (pg.180) robots can be customized to suit specific requirements and perform tasks such as painting, welding, assembling parts, packaging and inspection. The automobile industry majorly uses pick and place robots, which are used to move large and heavy products and they also assist in sensing, control and manufacturing. The ability to offer assistance in all these areas makes the robots to provide this industry with great advantages. For one, they can lead to the realization of major profits due to their ability to perform many tasks at a faster rate than humans. The efficiency stems from the fact that machines do not get tired or distracted, meaning that they can make the manufacturing plant to run continuously unlike the case would be if humans were used. In industries also, the robots do repetitive tasks and this potentially reduces the risk of suffering injuries. With the machines handling most of the work, it also implies that robots increase efficiency by saving on space that would otherwise be wasted if the company employed many workers for the different tasks. Another advantage associated with the robots is the fact that they enable the manufacturing company to improve its overall production since they work continuously at a faster rate leading to production of more automobiles for sale. Robots equally help to minimize the production of defective products since they are more accurate in their operations unlike most humans. This way therefore, the use of robotics helps to ensure efficiency in manufacturing industries.
In healthcare also, robots help to improve efficiency when they are used to perform tasks meant to improve the overall health outcomes of patients. Concerning this, it is noted that robots can help in the areas of rehabilitation, surgery and nursing (Kim, 155). Robots are mostly used in rehabilitating older individuals and those with disabilities particularly today when there are fewer young people available to take care of these two groups of people. For example, patients with health issues that affect their movement can now use exoskeletal robots to assist them in movement. Notably, these medical robots are usually attached to a given part of the body where they help to improve the strength and endurance of the muscles for example in the legs or the arms. From this, it is clear that these wearable robots or the exoskeletal robots are an important part in enabling patients go back to their healthy lives by helping them learn how to perform basic daily tasks. Robots in healthcare also help in nursing patients and providing them with the much needed care. For example, in Japan, nursing robots help in checking on the conditions of patients, and in transporting medicals supplies and patients within the hospital. Some robots also give patients excretion care support, bath support and monitoring of dementia (Kim, 156). In surgery, robots assist in performing intricate procedures such as in making small incisions. Generally, the increased use of robots in healthcare has led to greater benefits for the patients as evidenced by improvements in surgical recovery rates and an increase in the life expectancy.
Robotics is also applied in the food ...