It’s more than 50 years since the first industrial robot went to work. Today some 1.5 million are in use around the world, yet there is not a single Jetson’s Rosie or (fortunately) T800 Terminator among them. The reality is, despite a public perception that robots think and reason, none of them are anything more than a machine, obeying programmed instructions. Though over the next few years that may start to change.
Structured Environments
Industrial robots are impressive machines, able to lift huge forgings, weld car bodies, or assemble components almost too small to see.
