Robotics in the Modern World

Predator UAV (Source: USAF)

Robots are frequently shown in the more story-orientated media, since, as the previous timeline has shown, robotics has fascinated people for a long time.

One of the biggest current spendors on robotics research around the world is the military, because as Major Kenneth Rose pointed out "Machines don't get tired. They don't close their eyes. They don't hide under trees when it rains and they don't talk to their buddies ... A human's attention to detail on guard duty drops dramatically in the first 30 minutes ... Machines know no fear"

With this in mind, the military currently uses a number of robotic systems in combat situations - Predator UAV for remotely piloted surveilance and air strikes, the TALON for hazardous materials disposal, as well as ground based reconnaisance, and the MARCbot, which is used for the examination and defusing of IED's in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The following video describes the components of the Predator UAV system:

In addition to the military uses, robots are used mainly in the manufacturing industry, for almost the same reasons - they never get tired, need to have a break, or make a mistake. In fact you can rely on a robotic system to make the exact same thing many thousands of times a day, for every day of the year, assuming an adequate supply of raw materials and power.

The following video shows the manufacturing line in one of Honda's car plants: