4. Purpose and use of robots

1. Robots have been designed for range of purposes. Provide a discussion of the purposes of robots and describe the two key areas they have been designed for (p. 249 to 250)

Holistically, robots are designed for 2 main reasons:

- Repetitive or dangerous tasks

-Operation in remote locations

Robots are programmed specifically for repetitive and/or dangerous tasks. The vast majority of robots are used for industrial purposes. Automation in industry uses a wide range of robot devices to help reduce the costs of manufacturing, increase productivity and standardise goods to a high quality. This is advantageous over humans, as they are only needed for tasks where initiative or judgement is needed, such as quality control. These repetitive and dangerous tasks include spray painting of parts, loading and unloading of materials, cutting, welding, assembly of cars, sorting, cleaning and polishing and detection of faulty components.

Robots are capable of being programmed to operate in remote locations. Depending on their construction, they may be static or mobile, programmed for one or many tasks, adaptive or non-adaptive.

Robots have long been considered for exploration of areas of Earth where humans and vehicles find it difficult, dangerous or impossible. This has led to considerable research on methods of locomotion for extreme areas such as the depths of the ocean, investigating deep caverns and high mountains on the surface, or taking measurements in the excessive heat or cold climates; the robot AMBLER, is an example of this – developed for rough conditions.

2. List many repetitive, dangerous tasks and divide them into those which are possible for robots and those possible for humans.

Task	Possible for Humans (Y/N)	Possible for Robots (Y/N)
Assembling Cars	Y	Y
Spray- Painting	Y	Y
Arc - Welding	Y	Y
Data Entry	Y	N
Sorting Computer Chips	Y	Y
Assembling Computer Parts	Y	Y
Quality Control	Y	Y
Putting out fires	Y	Y
Exploring freezing conditions	N	Y
Exploring extremely hot conditions	N	Y
Exploring the surface of other planets	N	Y
Being sent on a voyage outside of the solar system	N	Y
Disarming a bomb	Y	Y
Exploring the depths of the ocean	N	Y
Duct Cleaning	N	Y
Investigating radiation zones	N	Y
Large – scale agricultural work	Y	Y

3. Complete the following table

Robot use	Advantages of using robot in this role	Identify and describe repetitive and dangerous tasks involved	Picture of a robot performing the role
Exploration (give eg’s) Mars Curiosity Rover	A big advantage of space robots is that they need neither food nor drink and can support very inhospitable conditions, as well as potentially saving astronaut’s lives.	-Extremely harsh terrain and weather conditions.  -Unknown and vast expanse of the planet (e.g Mars)  -Sampling unknown rocks and soil,etc
Assembly-line (give eg’s) Loading/ unloading	Is programmed to make very consistent,precise movements for long periods of time and can adapt to situations by using ultrasonic sensors indicating whether something has changed in the manufacturing process, (e.g a box has dropped.)	Continuous heavy lifting and welding.
Maintenance & repair (give eg’s) Railway repair	Can lift heavy sheets of metal with ease and is very precise with its cutting and welding of the metal.  -Saves money due to efficiency and uninterrupted work.	The metal can overheat if too much force/friction is applied to it, therefore can become quite dangerous for humans.  -Handling large pieces of metal adds to the dangerous conditions of the railway tracks.

4. The use of robots in the military is becoming more common. Based on the knowledge you have learnt above, explain why the use of robots in the military is becoming more prevalent.  Include some pictures of military robots.
Today, almost all the military organisations have the help of military robots to carry out many risky jobs that cannot be handled manually by soldier. We have also seen a great development in military robots when compare to military robots in earlier time. At present, different military robots are utilised by many military organisations.

The present military robots are automating military ground systems. These robots permit vital protection of soldiers and people in the field thus making the possibility of minimised fatalities. One of the most important things about these robots is that they have the capability to perform missions remotely in the field, without any actual danger to human lives. This shows a great impact of military robots. These robots are in fact sturdier and more capable of withstanding damage than humans. Therefore they give greater chances of success in dangerous environment. Whenever, a robot is shot down, the military deploy a replacement. Another benefit of using a military robot is that it can be built and programmed to do a certain task and complete it more effectively than a human. Military robots can also include different types of weapons and sometimes are more efficient in controlling these than humans. Essentially, a military robot can make the difference between winning and losing a war. 

5. Please undertake some research and add a video in this location that highlights the use of a military robot. Provide a brief description of the robot under the picture.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS), also known as drones, are aircraft either controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground or increasingly, autonomously following a pre-programmed mission.  While there are numerous different types of drones, they fall into two categories: those that are used for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes and those that are armed with missiles and bombs.

These high-tech aircraft, controlled by a crew miles away from the dangers of combat, are capable of reconnaissance, combat and support roles in war. For example, if a Predator is lost in battle, military personal can simply deploy another without the trauma of casualties.

The use of drones has grown quickly in recent years because unlike manned aircraft they can stay overhead for many hours (a British drone under development has broken the world record by flying for over 82 hours nonstop); they are much cheaper than military aircraft and are flown remotely so there is no danger to the flight crew.

Military drone manufacturers are looking for civilian uses for remote sensing drones to expand their markets and this includes the use of drones for domestic surveillance. Drones will make possible the dramatic expansion of the surveillance state. With the convergence of other technologies it may even make possible machine recognition of faces, behaviours, and the monitoring of individual conversations.

6. Describe 3 social and ethical issues that can arise from using robots in the military. Add some appropriate pictures to highlight the issues you raise... a few examples below.

-Without emotions and other liabilities on the battlefield, robots could conduct warfare more ethically and effectively than human soldiers who are susceptible to overreactions, anger, vengeance, fatigue, low morale, etc. But the use of robots, especially autonomous ones, raises many ethical and social issues.

-The first ethics concern with any new military weapon or system is usually whether its development or use would violate existing international law. However, emerging technologies can also raise much larger concerns, given their revolutionary nature. For instance, using robots for dangerous jobs promises to help reduce the number of casualties on the deploying side. 

-But this effect might prove counterproductive to the larger goal of peace, to the extent that these machines also lower the political costs associated with declaring war, and therefore, does that make engaging in war as a preferred or convenient method of conflict resolution easier rather than more difficult?

-Who should be blamed and punished for improper robotic conduct, such as illegal or accidental killings, if a robot can make its own attack decisions? The designers, the robot manufacturer, the procurement officer, the robot controller or supervisor, the field commander, a nation’s president or prime minister … or the robot itself?

- War robots can deliver quicker, more decisive victories for us; but for the other side, this means swifter and more demoralising defeats. Would this increasing asymmetry in warfare cause our enemies to use even more desperate strategies and tactics, such as intensifying efforts to acquire nuclear or biochemical weapons?
- If robots advance to the point of having animal-level intelligence, or can mimic human decision-making capabilities, or perhaps satisfy conditions for personhood, would we be morally required to give rights to these thinking machines?

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