Starting with the key question "What is robotics?", the most tried and tested answer is that it is a branch of engineering, which has as its object the study of machines. The word "robot" comes from the word "robota", which means work. Specifically, robotics deals with the design, construction, operation and use of robots, as well as computer science, programming and artificial intelligence.
Making a brief historical review of the evolution of robotics, we would say that its history has begun several years ago, to reach today, where its use has spread to many areas of our daily lives and beyond. Its progress, no doubt, is impressive, considering that in "today" machines have begun to replace humans in many jobs, mainly in education, industry, but also medicine, which has multiple benefits for health and the quality of life of people.
Robotics combines the decision-making process with physical activity. The robots have a "brain-processor", a motion detector and some sensors, with which they perceive the data and act with the engines they have.
Robots in everyday life and modern reality
Robots now accompany us in much of our daily lives and beyond, as they are devices that are commonly used to perform many tasks that humans either can not do because they are particularly complex or do not want to.
Today, Robotic devices are in almost every aspect of our lives -from the cleaning of the house and the construction or assembly of the cars, up to the appearance of man in space, since the exploration of planets in the Solar System has been carried out by robots. However, what is certain is that - analyzing the advantages and disadvantages offered by robots in the field of space, for example, as in other areas - opinions differ. According to some experts, a robot can do in space what a human can do, even cheaper and without the risk of losing human lives, while others disagree and argue that humans are irreplaceable in space exploration. There are similar views for the other areas of robotics.
The truth may be somewhere in the middle, since both robotics and human activity have both positive and negative aspects, as a result their roles can not be alternated. In short, the two (humans and robots) offer important and different possibilities in exploring human activities.
According to the professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, which is dedicated to the creation of anthropomorphic robots, which are difficult to distinguish from real humans: "The moment when robots will be as common as cars - and even cheaper - is very close."
Dagioglou: In the laboratory we develop applications related to human-robot interaction
For the field of research spoke Dr. Maria Dagioglou, postdoctoral researcher, IPT, NCSR Demokritos, who stated that: "Developments in materials and other technologies have allowed robots to emerge from industrial cells and now coexist in human-like environments."
She herself spoke about the robotic arm, which exists in the laboratory of NCSR Democritus, emphasizing that it is a cooperative robot, a commercial product, which differs because it can coexist next to humans, without the need for "fences" or "cells".
"The technology we develop can be transferred to other systems, such as drones» pointed out Mrs. Diagioglou.
The following video that we will watch -during the interview- presents two different applications, developed with the robotic arm as the central hero, which "decrypt" the technology behind it, which tries to support the robot, with abilities predicting human action.
See the full interview of Dr. Maria Dagioglou:
How has robotics affected the "world" of medicine?
Robotics could not, clearly, not have left its "imprint" on in the field of medicine, with significant effects for the benefit of humanity. In particular, the last century has seen huge leaps and bounds in the medical field and life expectancy has increased significantly. Indicatively, from the 35 years that were in Europe in 1870, today, it is over 80 years, while experts consider it possible that man, as a species, can live up to 140 years. It is no coincidence, of course, that vaccination has been instrumental in significantly reducing deaths and increasing life expectancy, helping to combat various infectious diseases.
Another important tool that doctors have in their hands is technology, which offers advanced features, such as performing difficult operations as if they were routine operations, with an accuracy of results that reaches almost 100%. This is a remarkable development, especially if one considers that almost twenty years after the first remote satellite surgery, which went down in history as the Lindbergh operation, during which a bile was removed from a patient in Strasbourg and a surgeon in New York, expectations were revived. In addition, the advent of 5G is the catalyst for long-distance surgery in the future, through robotic surgery.
The main advantages of robotic surgery:
- Minimization of internal surgical trauma and therefore the creation of postoperative adhesions
- Minimization of blood loss and postoperative pain
- Excellent aesthetic result
- Faster recovery
- Faster discharge from the hospital
- Elimination of almost all postoperative complications
To the question "How to achieve 100% accuracy in a surgery», the answer is obvious, if one thinks that, ροthrough robotics, all the movements made by the human hand are performed, by the articulated arms of the robot on all three levels of space.
In terms of its fields of application, they fall into various surgical specialties, such as general surgery, urology, heart-thoracic-vascular surgery, gynecological surgery, pediatric surgery, etc. In particular, robotic surgery can be applied to all surgeries of general surgery and especially to cancer surgery, where the complexity and difficulty of these surgeries require the surgeon to have strong technological support.
Konstantinidis: Robotic surgery is the future of medicine
He spoke about the innovation of robotic surgery in Greece Konstantinos Konstantinidis, Scientific director, director of general, laparoscopic, bariatric and robotic surgery, at the Athens Medical Center, analyzing his many years of experience in numbers and figures.
Himself, about him number of robotic surgeries, which has carried out in Athens Medical Center, as well as their outcome, he stressed how: "Now, we have performed more than 4.000 robotic surgeries, of which 500 through a single incision. The results are excellent, the recovery is very fast and these are the reasons why we offer this technique».
In fact, Mr. Konstantinidis did not hesitate to refer to new "next big thing", which we will see in the coming years in the "world" of Medicine, but also in what robotic surgery offers to the patient and what to the scientific surgeon.
Watch his full interview Konstantinos Konstantinidis, scientific director, director of general, laparoscopic, bariatric and robotic surgery, at the Athens Medical Center:
Can robots and humans coexist in industry?
Apart from the "world" of medicine, of particular interest is that of industry, regarding the appearance of modern robotic systems in this area. Industrial robotics is a branch of robotics, which deals with the applications of robots in industry and has evolved a lot since its creation, having penetrated into almost -most- industrial sectors. For this reason, it is quite different from the robotics industry and is now a relatively independent scientific discipline. There are many companies whose sole object is the development of industrial robots, as well as organizations whose object is the study and development of industrial robots.
So robots may be making more and more appearances in human workplaces, but around this innovation, the following question arises: How will companies favor the smooth mating of workers and robots, with the ultimate goal of boosting their productivity and workforce?
Undoubtedly, factors such as globalization, increasing market competition, and the rapidly changing demands of industry have contributed to many changes in the production process in the 21st century. Robotic production systems may be a relatively new idea for some parts of the industrial sector, but these technologies have been around for decades.
By combining traditional production methods with the highest forms of technology, factory and business owners can exponentially increase their production rates and significantly enhance the production process line.
The "pros" of robotics in industry:
- Continuous operation: They can "work" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Speed: They are adjusted according to the use in a way that a person cannot achieve
- Ensuring the quality of packages, thanks to the accuracy of their operation
- Ability to absorb increasing production rates without organizational department changes
- Suitable software, which helps them to have great flexibility in the management of many different, but also new packages
- Improving the working conditions of employees, especially in terms of orthopedic diseases, as they relieve them of the burdens
- Safety: They are not affected at all by routine and work hazard
- Operating costs: Reduce the operating costs of a business, as these are limited to maintenance costs only
- Flexibility: They can be easily adapted to new tasks and "tasks" - In addition, by using a tool changer, they can serve the production of different products, further reducing costs
Braimis: Our robotic technology "leads" businesses in the era of Industry 4.0.
Mr. George Braimis, Managing Director of Gizelis Robotics, spoke on CNN Greece and the Data Project for Robotics in Greece, among others, about the "key" to success and robotic solutions that exist in the field of industry.
He himself, referring to how an industrial robot can help in the production process, spoke about the comparative advantages that exist, thanks to the use of robots in industry.
"The robotic systems we are developing can give production units the necessary impetus to be one step ahead of the competition, as they have a number of important advantages.", stressed Mr. Braimis.
The goal of the company, according to the Managing Director of Gizelis Robotics, is to be the choice of the top producers, internationally.
Read the full interview of Mr. Braimis in the Data Project for Robotics and CNN Greece, HERE
The world of robotics still has many "steps" to go through, to be fully explored. A key axis, whether in the field of education, or that of medicine and industry, is to remember the ultimate goal, which is undoubtedly not to choose between humans or robots, but to proceed with the cooperation of these two, with such way for robots to serve humans, performing tasks that are dangerous or impossible for them.
Modern robots are the epitome of new technology, continuous technological advancement in automation systems and artificial intelligence. In recent years, the rapid digital and technological development and the new possibilities, which have been integrated in their functions, have led to their ever-increasing use in the productive environment, with significant changes both in terms of content and organization of work. and labor relations at international level. With the technological development and the 4th industrial revolution, therefore, changing the world rapidly, as a society and as an economy, we are called to take a position on how to face the challenges we face, but also how to benefit from its benefits. a new productive environment that unfolds before us.
cnn.gr