Automation in the human's life
Automation is the system of manufacture performing certain tasks, previously done by people, by machines only. The sequences of operations are controlled automatically.
The term automation is also used to describe non-manufacturing systems in which automatic devices can operate independently of human control.
Automated manufacturing had several steps in its development. Mechanization was the first step necessary in the development of automation. The simplification of work made it possible to design and build machines that resembled the motions of the worker. These specialized machines were motorized and they had better production efficiency.
Industrial robots, originally designed only to perform simple tasks in environments dangerous to human workers, are now widely used to transfer, manipulate, and position both light and heavy workpieces performing all the functions of a transfer machine.
In the 1920s the automobile industry for the first time used an integrated system of production. This method of production was adopted by most car manufacturers and became known as Detroit automation.
The feedback principle is used in all automatic-control mechanisms when machines have ability to correct themselves. The feedback principle has been used for centuries. An outstanding early example is the flyball governor, invented in 1788 by James Watt to control the speed of the steam engine.
Using feedback devices, machines can start, stop, speed up, slow down, count, inspect, test, compare, and measure. These operations are commonly applied to a wide variety of production operations.
Computers have greatly facilitated the use of feedback in manufacturing processes.
Another development using automation are the flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). A computer in FMS can be used to monitor and control the operation of the whole factory.
Automation has also had an influence on the areas of the economy other than manufacturing. Small computers are used in systems called word processors, which are rapidly becoming a standard part of the modern office. They are used to edit texts, to type letters and so on.
The automation technology in manufacturing and assembly is widely used in car and other consumer product industries.
Nevertheless, each industry has its own concept of automation that answers its particular production needs.
Automation in the human's life
Vocabulary
manufacture - производство
previously - ранее
sequence - последовательность
non-manufacturing - непроизводственный
independently - независимо
development - развитие
simplification - упрощение
to resemble - походить
efficiency - эффективность
environment - окружение
dangerous - опасный
workpieces - заготовки
feedback principle — принцип обратной связи
ability - способность
flyball governor — центробежный регулятор
steam engine - паровоз
commonly — обычно, обыкновенно
apply – употреблять, применять
to facilitate - способствовать
influence - влияние
rapidly - быстро
edit - редактировать
consumer product industries - отрасли экономики по производству потребительских товаров
nevertheless — несмотря на, однако
particular - особый
production needs — производственные нужды
History of robotics
The concept of robots dates back to ancient times, when some myths told of mechanical beings brought to life. Such automata also appeared in the clockwork figures of medieval churches, and in the 18th century some clockmakers gained fame for the clever mechanical figures that they constructed. Today the term automaton is usually applied to these handcrafted, mechanical (rather than electromechanical) devices that imitate the motions of living creatures. Some of the «robots» used in advertising and entertainment are actually automata, even with the addition of remote radio control.
The term robot itself is derived from the Czech word robota, meaning «compulsory labour». It was first used by the Czech novelist and playwright Karel Chapek, to describe a mechanical device that looks like a human but, lacking human sensibility, can perform only automatic, mechanical operations. Robots as they are known today do not only imitate human or other living forms. True robots did not become possible, however, until the invention of the computer in the 1940s and the miniaturization of computer parts. One of the first true robots was an experimental model designed by researchers at the Stanford Research Institute in the late 1960s. It was capable of arranging blocks into stacks through the use of a television camera as a visual sensor, processing this information in a small computer.
Japan is the most advanced nation exploring robot technology. Nowadays robots continue to expand their applications. The home-made robots (горничная) available today may be one sign of the future.
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