If the late 1980’s are viewed as the "death" of robotics, then certainly 1988 through about 1992 can be viewed as the "rebirth" of robotics into a stable industry. "From 1987-1992 orders [for robots] increased by 40%. Manufacturers worked hard to improve the robot’s reliability and usefulness. Robots were more aimed at specific areas than trying to meet everyone’s needs" (Vincent). After much hard work and with the benefit of everyone’s past failures, the robot industry slowly pulled out of it slump, and got back on track for a multi-billion dollar market.

The next several years were filled with explosive growth for robotics. "From 1992-1997, North American robotics companies posted gains in new orders of 131%. A total of 12,149 robots valued at over $1.1 billion were ordered in 1997, a new record. Shipments also topped $1 billion for the first time, making 1997 the industry’s best year ever." Those companies which had to cut back in the 80’s began to hire again. "United States made it one of the world’s hottest markets for robotics, in stark contrast to the slowdown in robot use occurring in Japan" (Vincent). In 1998 there was a slight slowdown of this breakneck pace, but the industry was and is still going strong, and will not be stopped. Robotics will increasingly begin to "invade" every aspect of our lives.

The robots that are in use today can be effectively divided into three different types: puppet robots, stationary type robots, and world modeling robots. Puppet robots, for many, are not really robots at all, but mere remotely controlled tools. These types of robots rely on human control. These types of robots use telepresence, which is a type of control system in which the human is aware of the condition the robot is in by means of a video camera or other means (Wickelgren 29). A good example of puppet robots is the deep-sea-diving robot. "In 1970’s they welded underwater pipes, cut metal … for companies exploiting underwater oil fields…A robot named Jason dove down to the bottom of the Gulf Of California to study hot vents" (Wickelgren 30). "In ’93 a remote control robot helped Maryland police capture a murder suspect .. The officer … drove the robot to shoot water from its water cannon. The blast stunned the suspect, and the police ran in for the capture" (Wickelgren 30). Another good puppet robot example is a robot named Dante II, who "marched … 590 feet down into … Alaska’s Mount Spurr volcano. Inside … the robot took the temperature of volcanic gases, and shot movies of the … landscape … Dante was controlled by scientists stationed 31 miles away in Anchorage, Alaska. [The scientists] could view … around Dante [from transmitted video] in 3-D using stereo glasses … Dante had the "smarts" to skirt boulders and other obstacles on its own" (Wickelgren 30).

Stationary type robots are robots that are placed in a structured setting, where conditions change very little. Stationary robots at factories, which spray paint, carry loads, arc-weld, pour poisons, handle explosives, or place parts, are excellent employees, that don’t get sick or tried. They don’t need coffee, or bathroom breaks, and their computer brains allow them to function without human control. But factory robots are far from being totally independent, because they are deaf, blind, and dumb, and therefore have to work in static settings. If the environment changes, the robot probably won’t be able to do its job (Wickelgren 35). One stationary robot at Sandia National Labs, separates the central nuclear area from warheads, and thereby saves the human workers from radiation exposure (Wickelgren 36). Another example of a stationary robot is the RobotDoc. This robot, developed by Surgical Systems of Sacramento, California, functions as a hip surgeon. The robot drills holes with a 2.8mm degree of accuracy. The doctor plans out a
drill pattern that the robot will follow from x-rays of the patient. The robot then drills the holes while the doctor stands nearby with his finger on the pause button (Wickelgren 37).

The next type of robot, which some people feel is the only type that deserves the name "robot," is the world modeling robot, or more simply, a robot that responds to its environment. A world modeling robot, in some aspects, is far superior to a puppet or stationary robot, in that it can function in, and respond to, a changing environment. In times past, the main way to program this type of robot, was to have the robot store a model of its surroundings in its brain, hence the name "world modeling" robot. This type of programming, was effective, but extremely slow, because of the huge amounts of data in even the simplest surroundings, so in the late 80’s Rodney Brooks, of the MIT Artificial intelligence Laboratory, came up with a different control strategy called subsumption architecture. Subsumption architecture is "…a way of organizing the intelligence systems by means of layering task-achieving behaviors without recourse to world models or sensor fusion" (Flynn 5). More simply, subsumption architecture, is just having different behaviors triggered by different stimuli, and a layering of these behaviors so that all behaviors are in a hierarchy, from top level behavior to bottom level. This approach allows seemingly complex behaviors exhibited by animals and such, to be broken down into small commands, like "go forward", "lift leg", "move back" that execute in response to certain stimuli. Yet even with all these complex control strategies, robots are still far from achieving human level behavior, simply because "…humans are just very good. We take for granted our own biological selves…Installing human-level equivalence in a robot is quite a challenge" (Flynn 271)!

One example of a world-modeling robot, is a robot employed by the Los Angeles Museum of Art. This robot patrols the building at night. It watches out for walls and obstacle, while also checking for smoke, humidity, and damaging chemicals (Wickelgren 38). Another example is the HelpMate robot from Transitions Research Corporation in Connecticut. This robot delivers records, medicine, food trays, and supplies, in a hospital. It finds its way around with a pre-programmed map of the building (Wickelgren 38). The last example, which is more accessible to the average household, is the Paulan/Weedeater robotic lawn mower, developed in 1994. This machine keeps away from the road, and away from off-limit property by the use of a wire embedded around one’s property. When it detects an obstacle, it turns and continues on its

way. The robot is solar powered, and runs constantly (Wickelgren 28). These types of robots are probably the most beneficial to the average household, because of the small cost of production, and its adaptability. Most likely world-modeling/subsumptive robots will continue to advance, and become the new future in robotics.

Robots in the future…