Robot – The honest servantThe quantum leap in Information Technology [Archives:2004/732/Education]

By Hajar Shibam
Sana'a
The word (Robot) came from the Czech word (Robota), which means the slave, or the agent of recruiting/conscription. The one who used it for the first time is the playwright whose name is Careel Tchabic in his play (Robots and drawings of a commune).
Robotics is a science of designing, producing and investing robots. This science has mingled with computer science and it has been improving greatly, thanks to the technology revolution. This science consists of two branches: one is technological and the other is scientific. The first branch researches in the techniques of making accurate robots with low prices, the other one, which are scientific, researches in several sides, for example, investing the robot with more effective and more modern senses. Moreover, it provides the robot with enough intelligence and the two senses: seeing and touching and these two senses follow the bases of the artificial intelligence.
Robot consists of a movable arm and sometimes more than one arm with particular techniques which can be moved by a remote control.
The artificial robots have been changing many things in the nature of the world of industry and the role of human beings in it. They have had a great role in increasing the production average, decreasing the product cost prices and developing its capability and many other things that man can't do either because it is dangerous or is not suitable for him.
The advantages of robot are as follows:
– It is an ideal worker.
– It can work for 24 hours without stopping and being tired.
– It does not need to have food.
– It does not demand more money.

Although the robot is one of the potential reasons for creating unemployment, the practical experience is quite opposite, as designing robot, maintenance of robot and preparing the laboratories to accept the robot, new, emerging occupations. They can absorb many workers.
Whatever technological strides computers and robots have achieved or may achieve in future, automation can't wholly pervade all the fields because these occupations need ingenuity and innovation, which can be achieved only by the human beings.
The volume of information has been steadily and unimaginably increasing over the past years and it has been found that it is difficult to keep all these information in the traditional libraries because they have not been enough. So, computers share in creating storing and retrieving a mass of information.
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