Robotics: History, Competitions, and Corporations.

Robotics has always been a part of our lives, even in ways one might not expect. From your washing machine to your smartphone, robotics has played a role in almost everything. Now, let’s explore the past, present, and the future of robotics, as well as a short introduction into robotics competitions.

The first mention of robots dates all the way back to the ancient world, where Greeks theorized about mechanical men made out of gold (“Golden Maidens”). The Buddhist scholar Daoxuan also theorized of metal men who recited sacred texts. Fast forward a bit, and you start to get automata. The first mentions of automata came from Aristotle, where he proposed that the creation of automata that can do menial tasks could abolish slavery: “There is only one condition in which we can imagine managers not needing subordinates, and masters not needing slaves. This condition would be that each instrument could do its own work, at the word of command or by intelligent anticipation, like the statues of Daedalus or the tripods made by Hephaestus, of which Homer relates that ‘Of their own motion they entered the conclave of Gods on Olympus’, as if a shuttle should weave of itself, and a plectrum should do its own harp playing.” After their conception, many people began building these automata for religious ceremonies, and kings or rulers often adorned their thrones with intricate metallic animals that roared or moved their tails. The automata were described as “lions, made either of bronze or wood covered with gold, which struck the ground with their tails and roared with open mouths and quivering tongue,” and even thrones that raised upwards, appearing as if they were hovering in the air.

As technology advanced, so did automata. Wolfgang von Kempelen, a German engineer, made a sophisticated chess playing machine called “The Turk,” Which in actuality was controlled by a human hidden inside the cabinet below which contains the inner workings of the machine. Others similar to this accomplished similar tasks, like pouring tea into a wealthy man’s cup, or serving dishes for dinner every night.

Leonardo Torres y Quevedo, who named the machine “El Ajedrecista” (The Chessplayer). However, this machine could only play in endgame scenarios, where it would automatically move a white king and rook to checkmate a black king moved by the human opponent. The term “robot” was first introduced in the 1920’s, deriving from the Czech word robota, which translates to “work,” or “labor.” This signifies the original purpose of these proposed robots, for manual labor and menial tasks. In 1954, the Puma 500 “Unimate” was built, and is widely considered to be the first robotic arm produced in large quantities.

Starting in the 1900’s, the idea of automated machines reached mainstream culture with Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with the story of the cyborg Tin Woodman, a woodcutter who had his arms, legs, head, and body severed by a giant ax. In 1913, an actual automatic chess machine

Fast forward to the present, and robots are present in almost every part of our lives. We have robotic arms that can pick up giant objects like toys and put them almost anywhere in its range. We even have robots that work with doctors in emergency situations to help administer aid to an injured person and let the doctors focus on more complicated tasks, which can be the difference in a life-or-death scenario.

But, let’s take a step back and see how high schoolers can participate in advancing robotics, starting with the FIRST Robotics Competition, or FRC. FRC Competitions are events where hundreds or even thousands of people come together and celebrate robotics by competing to earn as many points as possible in a game. These games change every year, and many teams host announcement parties in anticipation for the new game. This year’s game, called “Charged Up,” made teams use their robots to deposit cones and cubes in specific locations in order to gain points, and the robots could also balance themselves on a platform for extra points. Each round pits three robots against another three robots, and those robots must work together to secure as many points as possible. At first, these teams are randomly chosen and they compete to earn Ranking Points. After enough rounds have been played, the top 8 teams get to choose their teammates to join in an “Alliance”. These alliances then compete until one remains, and that team is declared the winner.

Each round is divided up into two phases; Auto and Teleoperated, or “Teleop”. The “Auto” phase is where the robots drive themselves with no human input, and scoring in this phase usually awards you more points than scoring in Teleop. Teleoperated phase is where the drivers can now take control of their robots, and this is where the majority of the points are scored. In total, each round lasts around 150 seconds, with 15 seconds for auto and the other 135 used for Teleop. Each FRC Team is selfcontained and managed, and must be sponsored by a high school. Teams can also get sponsorships and financing from companies like NASA and BAE Systems, and have at least one mentor. Mentors are adults who manage the team and provide insight into probable causes and solutions to problems. One of the mentors for Purple Haze, Vince Kaufhold, states that: “My absolute favorite thing about mentoring is when students get excited about projects they’re working on, especially when they work well.”

The LASA robotics team, called Purple Haze, competes in FRC, where they made semifinals in a regional event and Advanced to District to compete with teams from around Texas. Additionally, one can advance to WORLDs, and even Einsteins if you’re really good, but that takes an insane amount of smarts in order to make it. Now, most teams who make it to Einsteins come from around the world, from the United States to Israel, and oftentimes the resulting robots that appear at the competition look extremely futuristic and are designed from the ground up to be as efficient as possible.

Speaking of the future, let’s talk about it in terms of robotics. A lot of people think of futuristic robots and think of robots that brew and pour your coffee in the morning, or a car that drives itself to your office, and those dreams aren’t far from reality. Advances in sensors, locomotion, and analysis technology have allowed us to continue innovating and make these dreams a reality. In fact, self-driving cars are already on our streets, and you might have seen one drive past you on some urban roads. But, self-driving cars might take a while to make it onto the public market. Some cars, like certain Teslas, can drive semiautonomously, but they require human observation to make sure they don’t make any mistakes. As for the coffee serving robot, that exists, too. Go check out Briggo, a cafe with almost all of the servers are robots.

Another type of robot is a “cobot”, where the robot works together alongside a human operator to accomplish a task. These are especially useful in medical scenario, where emergency first responders might not have time to look for a blood bag, or stabilize a patients bleeding. Cobots could take over these roles and free up the first responders to focus on more complicated tasks that cant be completed via a robot. Cobots can also pick up and give items to people, and detect when an item is taken or received. As a result, cobots are easier to program and control, making them a preferred choice for non-programmers or people who need a quick solution that doesn’t take long to set up. This makes them the perfect choice for electronics manufacturing companies, where a cobot could pick up a light bulb after the seal is check for leaks, for example. This also makes cobots a good choice if you want to speed up a process that cant be done with a robot, but takes a while with just one person, or is hazardous to handle. However, one downside of these robots is their price, and a single armed cobot can cost up to $55,000 per unit, for a heavyweight model. However, the advantages far outweigh the hefty price tag. Some manufacturers, such as Hyundai, a car manufacturer, had their error rates decrease from .03% to .01%, and saw a huge 31% increase in effeicency. For most manufacturing plants, even a 2% increase in efficiency is a huge deal, so you can imagine why some companies would overlook the cost of cobots and make the switch.

For now, the cost and skill barriers prevent most people from buying robots for home or recreational use, but advances in technology and manufacturing could bring down prices far enough to make a robot affordable for the average citizen. Maybe in the future, you can finally get that coffee robot for yourself. Once that happens, now the only thing stopping you is learning how to program one! Or, you know, buying one thats premade for the task. Probably the better idea.