Robotics Academic Editing Services

Robotics and interdisciplinary research

Robotics is a field of study that brings together computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, and ethics. Science fiction authors since the greats such as Asimov have sought to examine the full potential of what robotics may mean, and companies such as Boston Dynamics have made headlines by achieving phenomenal feats with autonomous machines. Although the first thing that most people consider when discussing robotics is films such as Terminator, the true problem is much more insidious. Robots are currently heavily utilised in factory production lines in the automotive and electronics industries as their ability to perform the same repetitious task ad infinitum given a homogenous input goes far beyond human capabilities.

However, humans have maintained an edge with regard to evaluation of input and decision making based upon complex criteria.

The balance between human judgement and automated decision-making continues to evolve.

Automation and society

The advent of self-driving cars and more adaptable robots capable of making better decisions is making it increasingly likely that low-paid workers in unskilled positions will be replaced by robots, leading to mass unemployment. There have been several solutions proposed to this problem besides the obvious modern day form of Ludditism, the most interesting of which is introducing heavy taxes for those using robots in place of human workers and a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for everyone. A shift to UBI has been tested out across the world, including several US states, Africa, and the Netherlands and has generally received favourable results.

Applications in demanding environments

Robotics is most useful in circumstances in which humans would be at significant peril such as bomb disposal and emergency response. While moderate success has been attained in the former, the latter circumstance still presents too many unknowns and widely divergent circumstances for robots to make effective responders. There are many competitions each year in which teams of roboticists attempt to build and operate a robot effectively in circumstances such as smoke-filled rooms and hazardously hot environments. The teams are given tasks such as ascending a ladder, navigating to and turning a valve, and rescuing a trapped civilian (typically some form of weighted mannequin).

Robotics has further unexpected uses in the field of prosthetics. The development of piezoelectric fabrics capable of sending electrical signals from synthetic skin to the wearer’s nervous system, thus enabling them to feel what the skin is touching used to be the domain of science fiction, but the technology is currently under development and remains an active research area. The development of ever more precise actuators and even control systems that can take cues from sensors placed on a user’s scalp have led people to declare cutting-edge prosthetics almost as good as gaining the actual limb back.

Challenges such as ensuring a natural gait while maintaining sufficient stability that the user does not tip over provide fascinating puzzles for engineers. As an employee of a Robotics academic editing service, I have assisted in the publication of multiple papers involving the complicated engineering problems that arise from such questions.

Movement and design

Although, as mentioned above, companies such as Boston Dynamics are progressing steadily in their ability to create bipedal and quadrupedal robots, the standard for many decades has been either wheeled systems (such as on Segway devices) or caterpillar tracks; NASA’s Curiosity rover uses six wheels. Wheels are of course much more efficient and faster than caterpillar tracks or legs, but significantly lack the ability to cope with even moderate inclines. Caterpillar tracks lack the ultimate manoeuvrability of legs, but are significantly less challenging to implement, and are more able to deal with varied terrain compared to wheels.

Robotics is of course closely intertwined with the study of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and again, this is familiar terrain for science fiction, we already have complex terminology for human-like artificial life forms (androids) even if we have not yet reached the ability to create such life. Many people hold that the first science fiction story—Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein—was an allegorical warning against man’s attempts to usurp God by creating life and the negative consequences that would surely follow, but the book could more accurately be said to address issues of unfounded prejudice against the unknown, Frankenstein’s troubles truly begin when he rejects his creation in disgust as he cannot bear the sight of what he has created.

However, this still remains prescient in robotics research, as we have now discovered what has been called the ‘Uncanny Valley’ where an artificial visage looks just realistic enough to give those who perceive it a sense of dread and fear. Through trial and error, and the application of psychological principles, roboticists have on their creations what could appreciably be called a face, yet have taken pains to avoid attempting to make it look like a real human face so that people can interact with their robots and avoid discomfort in their presence.

This type of cross-specialisation development requires close cooperation between psychologists and roboticists, often facilitated by robotics academic editing services, as many papers are actively being written and technology is still being developed in this area.