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Čapek revisited: the robotics revolution
O01Q$ V
Capek revisited: the robotics revolution Scott, P B The Robotics Revolution. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, (1984). 345pp. £19.50. The author of this book is on the staff at the Centre for Robotics and Automated Systems at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in the University of London. He is also managing director of the firm Ultratech Video. The book, an introduction to robotics, is aimed at managers, designers, engineers, and students concerned with industrial manufacture. Though the title of the book may seem melodramatic, it is not really an overstatement; the rate of change in robotics has indeed been spectacular. As recently as the early 1970s, it was confidently forecast that eventually factory-floor robots might be used in simple materials-handling applications. By the late 1970s, however, forecasts had been greatly revised to acknowledge that the second- and third-generation robots of the 1980s and 1990s would play a significant role in inspection, assembly, and other activities traditionally associated with manual and mental dexterity. Moreover, the application of industrial robots outside manufacture, in fields such as space and exploration, farming, and security, has quickly gained acceptance. There is no doubt that industrial robots are here to stay. The book is divided into five sections: the background to robotics; the technology of robotics; applications; social; organisational and economic considerations; current prospects. In addition, there is an extensive glossary and a short bibliography. In the section on the background to robotics, the terminology is discussed and there is a review of historical developments. The difference between robotics and conventional automation is discus-
50
] i!};I lDIlC/ ZO 8 sed. The different types and 'generations' of robot arms are considered in detail. The section on technology deals with the mechanical performance and mathematical aspects of robots, the various drive and transmission systems used, and with controis, sensors, and peripheral equipment. The section on applications considers not hypothetical examples of robots but those already in use. Firstly, it surveys the wide range of tasks robots perform using only a gripper: deburring, die-casting, investment-casting, plasticmoulding, fettling, forging, pressing, heat-treatment, machine loading and unloading, palletising, and stacking. Secondly, it considers the tasks robots perform using a tool, such as arc-welding, spot-welding, and spray-painting. Thirdly, it considers the various aspects of robotic assembly, as well as the application of robots in space and on the seabed. This list of applications is an indication of the extent to which robotics has already penetrated industrial activity. The section on social, organizational, and economic considerations is very pertinent. The introduction of industrial robots infers that workers will be made redundant and naturally this causes anxiety among those likely to be affected. At another level, a management decision to instal robots is expected to bring economic benefits to the firm but actually carries no such guarantee. With these considerations in mind, the author outlines a workable strategy to enable a firm to robotize as benignly and as effectively as possible. The last section is a review of current prospects and is in two parts: present research and future possibilities. The author provides a glimpse into present research in arm design, artificial intelligence, assembly, automated guided vehicles, automated factories, flexible manufacturing systems, farmwork, laboratory
work, marine work, mining, microsurgery, security guarding, and warehousing. To that extent, the review is no more than a whirlwind tour but nevertheless gives an impression of the diversity of present research in the field of robotics. The problems of forecasting are then outlined, followed by an attempt to do so relative to 1990, 2000, 2050, and sometime . . . . This book is an excellent primer on robotics. It is very readable; the author has a lucid style and communicates his youthful enthusiasm for the subject. It is a book students of design should be encouraged to read because in effect it is a briefing on the multiplicity of issues implicit in robotic manufacture - something with which the next generation of designers will have to contend.
Stanley Moody
Managing product design Oakley, M Managing product design. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, (1984). 152pp. £4.95 (paperback). This book is directed at managers 'who are responsible for the planning and organization of 'design work' and for 'students who intend to become managers of one kind or another'. The book covers a great deal of material. This is presented in a clear and direct way and the book is well organised so that it is very stimulating and interesting to read. On the first page, Mark Oakley tells the reader why he wrote the book, because, he says, 'too many British companies are failing to exploit product design'. Consequently, 'foreign competitors are enjoying considerable market gains at the expense of British producers'. Mark
DESIGN STUDIES
Capek revisited: the robotics revolution Scott, P B The Robotics Revolution. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, (1984). 345pp. £19.50. The author of this book is on the staff at the Centre for Robotics and Automated Systems at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in the University of London. He is also managing director of the firm Ultratech Video. The book, an introduction to robotics, is aimed at managers, designers, engineers, and students concerned with industrial manufacture. Though the title of the book may seem melodramatic, it is not really an overstatement; the rate of change in robotics has indeed been spectacular. As recently as the early 1970s, it was confidently forecast that eventually factory-floor robots might be used in simple materials-handling applications. By the late 1970s, however, forecasts had been greatly revised to acknowledge that the second- and third-generation robots of the 1980s and 1990s would play a significant role in inspection, assembly, and other activities traditionally associated with manual and mental dexterity. Moreover, the application of industrial robots outside manufacture, in fields such as space and exploration, farming, and security, has quickly gained acceptance. There is no doubt that industrial robots are here to stay. The book is divided into five sections: the background to robotics; the technology of robotics; applications; social; organisational and economic considerations; current prospects. In addition, there is an extensive glossary and a short bibliography. In the section on the background to robotics, the terminology is discussed and there is a review of historical developments. The difference between robotics and conventional automation is discus-
50
] i!};I lDIlC/ ZO 8 sed. The different types and 'generations' of robot arms are considered in detail. The section on technology deals with the mechanical performance and mathematical aspects of robots, the various drive and transmission systems used, and with controis, sensors, and peripheral equipment. The section on applications considers not hypothetical examples of robots but those already in use. Firstly, it surveys the wide range of tasks robots perform using only a gripper: deburring, die-casting, investment-casting, plasticmoulding, fettling, forging, pressing, heat-treatment, machine loading and unloading, palletising, and stacking. Secondly, it considers the tasks robots perform using a tool, such as arc-welding, spot-welding, and spray-painting. Thirdly, it considers the various aspects of robotic assembly, as well as the application of robots in space and on the seabed. This list of applications is an indication of the extent to which robotics has already penetrated industrial activity. The section on social, organizational, and economic considerations is very pertinent. The introduction of industrial robots infers that workers will be made redundant and naturally this causes anxiety among those likely to be affected. At another level, a management decision to instal robots is expected to bring economic benefits to the firm but actually carries no such guarantee. With these considerations in mind, the author outlines a workable strategy to enable a firm to robotize as benignly and as effectively as possible. The last section is a review of current prospects and is in two parts: present research and future possibilities. The author provides a glimpse into present research in arm design, artificial intelligence, assembly, automated guided vehicles, automated factories, flexible manufacturing systems, farmwork, laboratory
work, marine work, mining, microsurgery, security guarding, and warehousing. To that extent, the review is no more than a whirlwind tour but nevertheless gives an impression of the diversity of present research in the field of robotics. The problems of forecasting are then outlined, followed by an attempt to do so relative to 1990, 2000, 2050, and sometime . . . . This book is an excellent primer on robotics. It is very readable; the author has a lucid style and communicates his youthful enthusiasm for the subject. It is a book students of design should be encouraged to read because in effect it is a briefing on the multiplicity of issues implicit in robotic manufacture - something with which the next generation of designers will have to contend.
Stanley Moody
Managing product design Oakley, M Managing product design. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, (1984). 152pp. £4.95 (paperback). This book is directed at managers 'who are responsible for the planning and organization of 'design work' and for 'students who intend to become managers of one kind or another'. The book covers a great deal of material. This is presented in a clear and direct way and the book is well organised so that it is very stimulating and interesting to read. On the first page, Mark Oakley tells the reader why he wrote the book, because, he says, 'too many British companies are failing to exploit product design'. Consequently, 'foreign competitors are enjoying considerable market gains at the expense of British producers'. Mark
DESIGN STUDIES