People and Robots

Robots were invented a long time ago. But the initial delight at them everywhere in the world gave way to caution¹. It is one thing when a robot gives flowers to a lady, plays chess, reads a book aloud, and it is quite another when it is used on an assembly line.

Like any new machine, the robot needs skilled servicing². There are such specialists at research institutes but it is a different matter at factories. It seemed senseless to use robots at plants where engineers would service them, that is, do primitive work by means of sophisticated equipment³. As a result, the development of robots continued, but in mass production⁴ preference was given to traditional automation-production lines, sections and shops which ensured a rapid growth in production. Then the introduction of robots in industry was sharply accelerated.

The engineers are still needed to service robots. But if the robots are used in groups, only one engineer is needed for each group and this yields good economic results. This fact in itself is nothing new – specialists spoke of it in the early 1970s. The question, however, was to find areas of industrial production where robots could be widely used.

The introduction of robots at enterprises is one of the many things which make it possible to give intellectual and creative content to a person's work. The workers who are replaced by robots are retrained without any cuts in their earnings⁵ and they move to the more intellectual levels of production. Robots help to solve the personnel problem in those production areas which are not prestigious, raise labour productivity, improve the quality of products and speed up the introduction of new equipment.

The demand for manipulators is growing. Specialized enterprises for their mass production are currently being built. Industry has begun the production of second-generation robots, the so-called adaptive robots which have "technical vision" and are capable of performing complicated operations. It is planned to start the production of third-generation robots with elements of artificial intellect.

Notes

1. gave way to caution – побудило к предосторожности

2. skilled servicing – квалифицированное обслуживание

3. sophisticated equipment – сложное оборудование

4. mass production – крупномасштабное (массовое) производство

5. without any cuts in their earnings – без снижения их заработной платы

III. Answer the following questions on the contents of the text:

1. When were robots invented? 2. Robots need skilled servicing, don't they? 3. Why was preference given to traditional automation-production lines some years ago? 4. How do robots help people in their work? 5. Are the industrial enterprises ready for the introduction of robot complexes?

IV. Say some words about the role of robots at enterprises.