52.第 52 章

In 1942, the famous science fiction writer Isaac Asimov put forward the classic “Three Laws of Robotics” in his works, which established the ethical code for robot design and manufacturing and laid the ideological foundation for the standardized development of robots. The three laws are: first, a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; second, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; third, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. Later, Asimov added the Zeroth Law: a robot may not harm humanity, or by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. These ethical laws have always guided the research and development of global robot technology.

In the 1950s, with the maturity of computer technology and automatic control theory, modern robot technology began to take shape. In 1954, American engineer George Devol proposed the concept of programmable industrial robots and applied for a patent for a programmable transfer mechanical device, which is recognized as the technical prototype of modern industrial robots.

1.3 The Initial Development Stage of Industrial Robots (1960s - 1980s)

In 1959, George Devol and Joseph Engelberger jointly developed the world's first real industrial robot, which was officially put into use in American automobile manufacturing factories in 1961. This robot has a simple mechanical arm structure, can realize fixed-point handling and welding operations through pre-programmed programs, and is mainly used to replace humans in heavy, repetitive and high-risk industrial operations, opening the era of industrial robot application.

In the 1960s and 1970s, robot research and development focused on industrial single-degree-of-freedom and multi-degree-of-freedom mechanical arms. The technical characteristics of this stage are single function, fixed program, no environmental perception ability and poor flexibility. Robots can only complete repetitive fixed actions according to preset programs, and cannot adapt to changing working environments.

In the 1980s, with the development of sensor technology and microcomputer control technology, second-generation industrial robots appeared. These robots are equipped with basic sensors such as position sensors, force sensors and proximity sensors, which can perceive the state of the operating environment and working objects, and make simple adjustments to the operating trajectory and force. The application scenarios of robots began to expand from single welding and handling to spraying, assembly, polishing and other industrial processes, and were widely popularized in automobile manufacturing, mechanical processing and other industries in Europe, America and Japan.

1.4 The Rapid Development Stage of Intelligent Robots (1990s - 2010)

In the 1990s, artificial intelligence technology, computer vision technology and multi-sensor fusion technology made breakthrough progress, and robot technology entered the intelligent upgrading stage. Third-generation intelligent robots began to appear, which have independent environmental perception, autonomous decision-making, path planning and adaptive operation capabilities.

During this period, humanoid robots, mobile service robots and bionic robots have achieved important breakthroughs. Japan, the United States and Germany have become the main forces of global robot research and development. Japanese scientific research institutions have developed a series of high-precision humanoid robots with walking, dancing and interacti