Computer Science. The English Language Perspective - Беликова (1176925), страница 42
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These includedeveloping a system for seeing and interpreting theenvironment (computer vision) as well a way to represent theenvironment internally so as to be able to navigate aroundobstacles and perform tasks.One of the earliest AI robots was “Shakey,” built at the StanfordResearch Institute (SRI) in 1969. Shakey could navigate only in arather simplified environment. However, the “Stanford Cart,”built by Hans Moravec in the late 1970s could navigate aroundthe nearby campus without getting into too much trouble.An innovative line of research began in the 1990s at MIT.Instead of a “top down” approach of programming robots withexplicit logical rules, so-called behavior-based robotics worksfrom the bottom up, coupling systems of sensors and actuatorsthat each have their own simple rules, from which can emergesurprisingly complex behavior.
The MIT “sociable robots” Cogand Kismet were able to explore the world and learn to interactwith people in somewhat the way a human toddler might.Swarm robotics is an approach to robotics that emphasizesmany simple robots instead of a single complex robot. A robotswarm has much in common with an ant colony or swarm ofbees. No individual in the group is very intelligent or complex,but combined, they can perform difficult tasks. Swarm roboticshas been an experimental field, but many practical applicationshave been proposed.A traditional robot often needs complex components andsignificant computer processing power to accomplish itsassigned tasks. In swarm robotics, each robot is relativelysimple and inexpensive.
As a group, these simple machines249cooperate to perform advanced tasks that otherwise wouldrequire a more powerful, more expensive robot.Using many simple robots has other advantages as well. Robotswarms have high fault tolerance, meaning that they still willperform well if some of the individual units malfunction or aredestroyed. Swarms also are scalable, so the size of the swarmcan be increased or decreased as needed.One use that researchers have demonstrated for swarm roboticsis mapping.
A single robot would constantly need to keep trackof its location, remember where it had been and figure out howto avoid obstacles while still exploring the entire area. A swarmof robots could be programmed simply to avoid obstacles whilekeeping in contact with other members of the swarm. The datafrom all of the robots in the swarm is then combined into asingle map.Swarm robotics has been an emerging field, and it haspresented unique challenges to researchers.
Programming aswarm of robots is unlike other types of programming. Themodel of distributed computing — using many computers towork on a single large task — is somewhat similar. Unlikedistributed computing, however, each individual in swarmstyle robotics deals with unique stimuli. Each robot, forexample, is in a different location at any given time.Some approaches to swarm robotics use a control unit thatcoordinates other robots. Other approaches use techniquesborrowed from nature to give the swarm itself a type ofcollective intelligence.
Much of the current research in the fieldfocuses on finding the most efficient way to use a swarm.Swarm robotics is a concept that's buzzed around since the1980s, but now the technology is starting to fly. Theenvironmental applications being explored range from coralrestoration and oil spill clean-ups to precision farming – eventhe creation of artificial bees to pollinate crops.Dr Roderich Gross, senior lecturer in robotics andcomputational intelligence, explains the concept: "In a swarmsystem there is no single point of failure – if a unit fails, the250whole system keeps on going.
Wherever you have a very heavyload that a human cannot manipulate, using a swarm of robotsto do the job would be very sensible. That could be in a factory,transporting boxes. Or it could be a search-and-rescue scenario– maybe a collapsed building and you need to remove a veryheavy part, or working in contaminated environments."Scientists and designers at Heriot-Watt University have beenlooking at using a swarm of "coral bots" to restore oceanhabitats.
Dr Lea-Anne Henry of the university's school of lifesciences believes that swarm robotics can "revolutioniseconservation". Agriculture is looking into the potential for usingswarms too. Professor Simon Blackmore, head of engineering atHarper Adams University works on larger robots that can workin fleets, able to identify weeds and administer microdots ofchemicals with the result of using 99.9% less herbicide thantraditional methods.
He believes that, though the technologymay appear an expensive luxury, it may have a wider appealthan the latest generation of conventional farm machinery suchas expensive tractors and harvesters.Perhaps the most famous – and controversial – swarm project todate is Harvard University's "Robobees", aiming to find anartificial solution to pollination to address the current decline inthe global bee population. Here the robotic swarm is attemptingto replicate one of nature's greatest swarms. But even settingaside the ethics of attempting to replace nature's pollinators, theidea may remain impossible.The problems of organizing a swarm haven’t kept people fromimagining what swarm robotics could offer some day.
Somescientists envision a swarm of very small microbots being usedto explore other planets. Other proposed uses include searchand-rescue missions, mining and even firefighting. When usedwith nanobots — microscopic-size robots — swarm roboticscould even be used in human medicine.251Future ApplicationsA true humanoid robot with the kind of capabilities writtenabout by Isaac Asimov and other science fiction writers is not insight yet.
However, there are many interesting applications ofrobots that are being explored today. These include the use ofremote robots for such tasks as performing surgery(telepresence) and the application of robotics principles to thedesign of better prosthetic arms and legs for humans (bionics).Farther afield is the possibility of creating artificial robotic “life”that can self-reproduce.Notes:The Turk, also known as the Mechanical Turk or AutomatonChess Player was a fake chess-playing machine constructed inthe late 18th century. From 1770 until its destruction by fire in1854, it was exhibited by various owners as an automaton,though it was exposed in the early 1820s as an elaborate hoax.Karel Čapek (1890 – 1938) was a Czech writer of the early 20thcentury best known for his science fiction, including his novelWar with the Newts and the play R.U.R.
that introduced theword robot.Sojourner was the Mars Pathfinder robotic Mars rover thatlanded on July 4, 1997 and explored Mars for around threemonths.Shakey the robot was the first general-purpose mobile robot tobe able to reason about its own actions. While other robotswould have to be instructed on each individual step ofcompleting a larger task, Shakey could analyze the commandand break it down into basic chunks by itself.
It was developedfrom approximately 1966 through 1972 at the ArtificialIntelligence Center of Stanford Research InstituteMIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is a privateresearch university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of theUnited States. The institute adopted apolytechnic universitymodel and stressed laboratory instruction.252RoboBee is a tiny robot capable of tethered flight, developed bya research robotics team at Harvard University. The 3centimeter (1.2 in) wingspan of RoboBee makes it the smallestman-made device modeled on an insect to achieve flight.Assignments1. Translate the sentences from the texts into Russian inwriting paying attention to the underlined words andphrases:1.
True robotics began in the mid-20th century and hascontinued to move between two poles: the pedestrianbut useful industrial robots and the intriguing buttentative creations of the artificial intelligencelaboratories.2. The early industrial robots had very little ability torespond to variations in the environment, such as the“work piece” that the robot was supposed to graspbeing slightly out of position.3. At one end is the “robot” that is steered and otherwisecontrolled by its human operator, such as lawenforcement robots that can be sent into dangeroushostage situations.4. Service robots have had only modest marketpenetration, however.5.
After all, the ability to function convincingly in a realworld environment would go a long way towarddemonstrating the viability of true artificial intelligence.6. Swarm robotics has been an emerging field, and it haspresented unique challenges to researchers.7. Other approaches use techniques borrowed from natureto give the swarm itself a type of collective intelligence.8. Swarm robotics is a concept that's buzzed around sincethe 1980s, but now the technology is starting to fly.2539.
He believes that, though the technology may appear anexpensive luxury, it may have a wider appeal than thelatest generation of conventional farm machinery suchas expensive tractors and harvesters.10. Perhaps the most famous – and controversial – swarmproject to date is Harvard University's "Robobees",aiming to find an artificial solution to pollination toaddress the current decline in the global bee population.2.
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