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What's next for robots? Better energy efficiency

You wanted to know

"How do robots conserve energy?" asked a young patron at Grayslake Area Public Library.

Within a year, 2 million robots will be on the job in manufacturing plants around the world.

Agriculture, defense, electronics, consumer products, medical, mining, automotive and countless more industries rely on robots for accuracy and precision, heavy lifting and lower production costs.

Robots run on energy, so a concern for how much power these machines add to the electrical grid is real, especially when decision-makers everywhere are united in their desire to reduce greenhouse gasses and limit reliance on fossil fuels.

Last year, a National Geographic conference asked experts to comment on how robots and smart gadgets will save energy. The use of robots and smart gadgets is becoming a key part of our everyday lives.

Engineers are designing robots to be more energy efficient and, ultimately, they could be energy-independent by using solar or some other energy source.

Boeing, a leading aerospace industry manufacturer, uses industrial robots for manufacturing flight-related products, including commercial jets, air freighters, fighter jets, cybersecurity and surveillance products, satellites, space station and space launch products.

Boeing representative Stephanie Miller said the company is committed to developing robotic systems that reduce energy and highlight safety.

"There are a lot of engineers working to reduce the amount of energy consumed. One way is by reducing the need for fast, jerky, motion. It takes a lot of energy to change the direction of a fast-moving, heavy object," Miller said.

"Manufacturers are reducing the energy consumption of robots by looking for opportunities to use new, lighter robots to do jobs that used to be done by larger, heavier robots."

The ultimate energy-efficient robot, already in the works at Stanford University in California, will power itself and be programmed to stop working when the energy source is depleted. It's possible these auto-fueling bots could be the next generation of industrial robots.

Manufacturing experts will always be on the lookout for low-cost or no-cost energy alternatives.

But uppermost in any business that employs people is safety.

"Safer robots have helped create new areas for robots in manufacturing: collaborative robotics," Miller said. "Robots and people can work side-by-side with robots working on what they are good at - repetitive, manual actions - and people focusing on what they are good at - decision making, thinking critically, fine dexterous motion."

To protect human lives, robots are deployed to work in areas that can be unsafe, such as oil pipelines, or at very high altitudes that could be harmful to people.

Miller said there's always room for innovators and creators in manufacturing and engineering who will continue to work on the issues of energy efficiency and safety.

"Some engineers are even looking to nature to create robot designs that can tug like an ant, store and release energy like a kangaroo, or are soft and bendy like an octopus," Miller said.

Check it out

The Grayslake Area Public Library suggests these titles on robots:

• "How Robots Work," by Jenny Moss

• "Robots of the Future," by Nicolas Brasch

• "Robot World," by Tony Hyland

• "Robotics: Discover the Science and Technology of the Future," by Kathy Ceceri

• "Robots," by Chris Oxlade

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