167)
The “25 Euro Silver-Niobium Coin Series: 2003 onwards (ix) minted by the Austrian
Mint by using Niobium and Niobium metal insertion technology for the first time
anywhere in the World of Numismatics:
Ninth
Coin in the Series: “Robotics” (2011):
Robotics is the branch of
mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science which deals
with the design, construction, and application of robots and the computer
systems for their control, sensory feedback and information processing.
In a sense, Robotics deals
with automated machines which can substitute humans in dangerous environments,
manufacturing processes, space exploration etc. Robots can be made to resemble
humans in appearance, behaviour and cognitive capabilities. Many of present day
robots have been inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired
robotics.
Today robotics is rapidly
expanding with technological advances and research, design and making of new
robots serves various practical purposes in domestic, commercial/industrial and
military areas particularly in those jobs which are considered hazardous to
humans like defusing bombs, mines, exploring shipwrecks etc.
Some
interesting developments in the history of Robotics:
The concept of creating
machines operating autonomously dates back to ancient times.
In Greek Mythology,
Talos or Talon was a giant man-like robot made of bronze by Hephaestus, the blacksmith
of the Gods, who was a gift to Europa, Queen of Crete given by Zeus to protect her
and Crete from pirates and invaders. Talos kept guard by circling the island’s
shores three times every day. This mythological robot could lift heavy rocks
and giant sized weapons and hurl them at approaching unidentified ships which
appeared to be hostile to Crete. Talos was ultimately destroyed by Jason and
the Argonauts (whose ship was wrecked by Talos by hurling giant boulders at the
“Argo”). It is said that a nail was removed by Jason from Talos’ foot, which made
the “ichor” (the blood of the Gods),
coursing through Talos’ artificial veins flow out. The giant robot haemorrhaged
to his end and fell off a cliff into the sea.
Around 1000 BC , there is a mention in the “Lie Zi” text in China, in which Yan Shi,
a mechanical engineer or an “artificer” presented the King with a mechanical life-size,
human shaped figure.
Around 420 BCE, Archytas
of Tarentum created a wooden, steam propelled bird which was able to fly.
In 250 BC Ctesibius, an
ancient Greek engineer & mathematician invented a water clock which was the
most accurate clock for nearly 2000 years.
Around 60 AD, several
descriptions of at least 100 machines including a fire engine, wind organ, a
coin operated machine and a steam powered machine appeared in “Pneumatica” which contained elaborate descriptions
of machines working on air, steam or water pressure, including the “Hydraulis” or water organ, in “Automata” which contained a description
of machines used for opening and closing temple doors, statues that poured
water and wine etc, and in “Mechanica”
(methods for lifting heavy objects) among other works written by Heron or Hero of Alexandria. Heron is considered to be the greatest
experimenter of Greek Antiquity. Hero published a well recognised description
of a steam-powered machine called an “aeolipile”
or a “Hero Engine”. He is credited with
having designed the first automated programmable machine.
Around 1206 AD,
Al-Jazari created a humanoid “Automata”,
a hand-washing automaton and automated moving peacocks.
In 1495 AD,
Leonardo da Vinci developed a humanoid robot which was called a mechanical knight.
In 1738 AD, a
mechanical duck that could eat, flap its wings etc. was made by Jacques de
Vaucanson.
In 1898 AD, the
first radio controlled submersible boat was invented by Nikola Tesla.
In 1921 AD, the
term “Robot” was coined by Karel Capek in the play “Rossum’s Universal Robots”.
In 1941 AD, Isaac
Asimov introduced the word “Robotics” in the science fiction short story “Liar”.
In 1948 AD, William
Grey Walter built Elmer and Elsie, two of the earliest autonomous robots with
the appearance of turtles.
What
is a Robot?:
A robot is a machine,
generally having arms, wheels or legs, which operate automatically. A robot
which is designed on a human is termed as a “humanoid”.
Basically, a robot is a system that contains
sensors, control systems, manipulators, power supplies and software, all
working together to perform a specific task. Designing, building, programming
and testing a robot is a combination of Physics, Mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, structural engineering, mathematics and computing. A
robot generally has the following parts:
- Sensors –
comparable to/which simulate human eyes, ears and sensory perception.
Nevertheless, a robot has no other capability to perceive the environment,
other than to perform pre-determined tasks. Robotic sensors generally consist
of those which can “sense” the external environment and others which can sense
the internal state of the robot. Some External Sensors are – light sensor
(eyes), touch, pressure and contact sensor (hand), proximity sensor, hearing and sonar sensors (ears), taste
sensor (tongue), chemical sensor (nose) etc. while Internal Sensors can
be gyro (for keeping the robot balanced), accelerometer (for measuring
movement), temperature (regulating internal temperature).
- Movement
–
A robot needs to move around in its environment, either on wheels, walking on
legs or propelled by thrusters.
- Energy
–
A robot needs to be able to power itself. It may be solar powered, electrically
powered or battery powered. The energy source needs to be provided depending on
what the robot is required to do and the readily available source of the power
supply. For example, space rovers on Mars or other planets/moons are solar
powered.
There
is the interesting example of a Euro Space Agency Rover being obstructed by a
rock like protrusion which prevented it from powering itself from solar energy
and “going off to sleep”.
- Tools
& Attachments – generally referred to as an “end
effector”, which are used to interact with the environment and to carry out
pre-determined tasks which the robot is designed to perform, say welding,
painting, gather soil samples & analysis, checking out security risks,
opening doors etc., in several cases with an attachment resembling a human hand
termed “universal gripper”. Grippers can be mechanical or may be vacuum driven.
- Intelligence:
Every robot needs to have a built-in programme which allows it to process
information in accordance with that programme and to act accordingly.
All
Robots contain some level of computer programming (code). Robots designed for
performing specific tasks are generally categorised as Automated Guided
Vehicles (AGVs), Automated Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Bomb Disposal,
Entertainment, Industrial, Military Reconnaissance, Robotic surgery, Space
Rovers etc.
State
of Art robots:
The early models of robots
were designed to “walk like humans”. The next Series focussed on “walk
stabilisation” and “steps climbing”.
Later robots were built
with heads, body and arms to improve balance, walk on uneven slopes and
surfaces, turn smoothly, climb stairs and to add other functionalities.
Using camera eyes, robots
can recognise the faces of a pre-determined individual or group of individuals,
map their environment and register stationary objects as well as avoid moving
obstacles while moving in its environment and transmit information to a remote
control centre as well.
Robots are now being designed to assist
elderly or persons confined to a bed or wheel-chair and act as eyes, ears,
hands and legs for all kinds of people in need. They can be equipped with
latest speech synthesis technology and can speak in natural sounding voices.
Robots can be fitted with touch sensors on the head and body to achieve various
interactions with children from a wide range of ages and adults etc.
Swarm
Robotics:
In an ant colony, there is
no single or group of ants organising the multifarious work or “duties”.
However, ants are able to build relatively large ant-hills which are huge
complex structures and forage for food in a seemingly co-operative way where
every ant seems to know what it is required to do. For such a small size which
the ant has, these ant-hills last for several generations are story(ies) high
structures. When we visited Ghana in February 2013, we got to know from our
host that, he tried to demolish one of these abandoned ant-hills by using the
force of his tractor to bring it down, but the anthill stayed as it was and the
tractor instead sustained some damage. Ant hills have been found to be so
strong that there is research going on in Ghana to substitute concrete with the
material used by these small ants in the anthills in construction of buildings.
The
observation that the cooperation in ants and other small animal forms achieves
wonders by working in a systematic way, has led to the concept of swarm
robotics, a branch of robotics, which is concerned with modelling this
cooperative behaviour of large groups of robots.
Soft
Robotics:
Traditionally, robots have been made
from hard materials for example metals and plastic. They were driven by motors and other heavy electro-mechanical actuators
which are like “muscles” of a robot. As such, robots were more like
machines than biological organisms.
Soft robotics seeks to make robots that
are soft, flexible and compliant, just like biological organisms. The body of a
soft robot simulates natural tissue. These
robots are driven not by heavy motors, but by soft artificial muscles. The
energy store in a soft robot resembles a biological stomach rather than a
conventional electrical battery. Sensors and transducers in a soft robot tend to
mimic biological sensor systems. As such, a soft robot is more like an
artificial organism rather than a machine. For example, an artificial soft
robotic octopus can search for victims under collapsed buildings following a
natural disaster. When it finds a person trapped under the fallen structure, it
exerts localised forces to create an air pocket. Some components of soft
robotics are Artificial muscles (soft electro-active and chemo-active
actuators), Artificial Stomach (bio-inspired energy supplies), Soft sensors
(tactile sensors and active skins), Soft Brain (neuro-control of soft actuators
and sensors).
Some applications include artificial
autonomous organisms that are self-sufficient and self-repairing, soft rescue
robots, robots that interact with humans, medical robotics and devices,
morphing materials and structures for engineering, for example, in the movie “iRobot”.
Presence sensing systems are allowing
robots and humans to safely work in close proximity without barriers, by using
inter-facing safety-rated software for vision and robot motion.
Robots are cleverly focussing their
movements to finely tuned angles and reshaping the robot cell, reducing its
footprint and providing robot users more creativity and flexibility in safely
automating new processes. The primary enabler is safety-rated soft axis and
space limiting technology.
With new standards of space and speed limiting, now there is no need to
put artificial obstructions to block a robot’s movements in an undesired zone,
but now one is able to embed more of the safety related functions in the robot
controller and eliminate the need for external fixtures or mechanical devices
to provide this functionality. For example, Robocop in the movie Series by the
same name is programmed not to attack or harm its creators in any way, even if
when it assessed them to have a criminal intent/action.
Tiny
electrically activated “muscles” are providing scientists an opportunity to
explore creating microscopic robots that are smaller than a grain of sand.
The chains of particles that make up these
muscles can also lead to electronics that can automatically rewire themselves
as desired.
The
day may not be too far when microscopic robots or microbots can be injected
inside a human body to fight disease or crawl into bombs to defuse them among
several other tasks.
Bio-robotics:
The science of bio-robotics is used to give robots
graceful movements which simulate animal or human movement. Bio-robotic
machines can be used for studying hydrodynamics, biomechanics, neuroscience and
prosthetic limbs for human use. Interesting inclusions are Robotic fishes which have a flexible tail
section enabling them to move realistically through water, limbless robot
snakes which can move by undulating their “bodies” in the same way as a snake
or even walking robots which can move with a human-like gait.
Artificial
Intelligence:
Artificial Intelligence or (A.I.) is a
term introduced by John McCarthy in 1956, which is used for robots having
intelligent properties like reasoning, planning and learning. An example of
A.I. is face recognition. A.I. techniques for this purpose use “Artificial
Neural Network” (ANN) which can be trained to “recognise” and identify objects
from images not contained in its database. This is achieved by showing the
Neural Network a number of images of each face from different angles and in
different light conditions.
Through this method, it is possible for
the Neural Network to create an average image of the face, which can be used in
later comparisons to find the closest match. For example, this technology is
useful in locations like airports for identifying persons. However, face
recognition technology is not an exact match all the time, leading to terms
called “False Reject Rate” (FRR) or “False Accept Rate” (FAR) for describing
the errors the face recognition system throws out.
Some
other uses:
The majority of the robots
are found in industries for example – car manufacturing and in places where
they perform tasks otherwise considered dangerous or difficult/repetitive.
Robots are used at home
for vacuum cleaning and for lawn mowing.
Robotics has contributed
in several fields including entertainment and education. Popular Movie Robots
like the Androids in Star Wars, Terminator Series, Star Trek: the Next
Generation, Transformers and Wall-e have provided entertainment for the young
and adults alike. Some robots like the Mars Rovers and underwater robots help scientists
to gather information in areas which are otherwise considered too dangerous for
humans. In the movie Real Steel, a robot simulates the actions of its human
owner to win several robotic physical strength contests and emerge as a winner.
Robot pets often called
“cyber pets” are very popular which simulate sleeping, breathing, yawning,
wagging tails etc. Many universities have used robotic kits to teach students
in the fields of robotics and engineering.
A new germ-zapping robot has
been developed, which could stop the spread of deadly viruses like Ebola, uses
pulses of high intensity, high energy U.V. rays to split open bacterial cell
walls and kill dangerous pathogens.
The
DARPA Robotics Challenge:
In 2004 the First
“DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency) Grand Challenge” was
introduced, which was sponsored by the US Department of Defence, in which the
challenge was designed to create autonomous vehicles for warfare.
In this competition, robots are required to undergo
a series of trials that test their ability to navigate disaster areas and
perform tasks with specialised tools. This competition pits various robot systems
and software teams from around the world against each other in a bid to develop
robots capable of assisting humans in responding to natural and man-made
disasters.
In the competition robots
are required to make their way through obstacle courses and pass skill-testing
scenarios. These include driving a utility vehicle at the site, travelling
dismounted across rubble, removing debris from an entryway, opening a door and
entering a building, climbing an industrial ladder and traversing an industrial
walkway using tools to break a concrete panel, locating and closing a valve
near a leaking pipe and connecting a fire hose to a stand-pipe and turn on a
valve.
The Competition tests the
absolute limits of the robot’s ability to function on its own, without human
assistance while tackling unexpected interference and connectivity issues. The
team which demonstrates the best human-supervised robot technology for disaster
response is awarded a $ 2 million prize.
However,
the challenge has demonstrated that the human form is cumbersome and unreliable
when powered by actuators and batteries, rather than flesh and blood. This is
an irony, considering that one of the aims of the Challenge is to develop
robots capable of performing human tasks in conditions considered to be unsafe for
human beings. In other words, the most efficient robots may not be the ones
which mimic “human biology” but those whose form and function is most suited to
a particular task.
LAWS: LAWS (or Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems) are now all set to change the face of modern warfare. Several Nations, including the USA, UK, Russia, Israel and South Korea are all at advanced stages of developing "killer" robots. One of the examples of such "killer" robots is SGR-A 1 - a military Robot designed to police the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea. The Robot, fitted with a 5.56 mm automatic machine gun, is deadly as it tracks multiple moving targets via infra-red sensors and can identify and shoot a target automatically from two miles away.
Nevertheless, in the absence of human intervention, as it is implied by the term "autonomous", such weapons are dangerous and unethical as they delegate powers to machines, which inherently lack any compassion or intuition to make life and death decisions. LAWS may not be able to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants because they lack morality and judgement. As such using them in limited or full fledged warfare will make wars even more inhumane.
LAWS: LAWS (or Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems) are now all set to change the face of modern warfare. Several Nations, including the USA, UK, Russia, Israel and South Korea are all at advanced stages of developing "killer" robots. One of the examples of such "killer" robots is SGR-A 1 - a military Robot designed to police the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea. The Robot, fitted with a 5.56 mm automatic machine gun, is deadly as it tracks multiple moving targets via infra-red sensors and can identify and shoot a target automatically from two miles away.
Nevertheless, in the absence of human intervention, as it is implied by the term "autonomous", such weapons are dangerous and unethical as they delegate powers to machines, which inherently lack any compassion or intuition to make life and death decisions. LAWS may not be able to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants because they lack morality and judgement. As such using them in limited or full fledged warfare will make wars even more inhumane.
The
Vituvian Man:
“Le
proporzioni del corpo umano second Vitruvio” or “The Vitruvian
Man” is a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci made on 30.11.1504, when he was 52 years
old. It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the architect Vitruvius.
The drawing and accompanying text is also referred to as the “Canon of
Proportions” or the “Proportions of Man”.
The drawing is based on
the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described by the
ancient Roman architect Vitruvius (80 BC – 15 BC) in Book III of his treatise “De Architectura”, in which Vitruvius has
described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among
the Classical orders of Architecture.
Vitruvius opined that the
ideal body should be “eight head high”. He, further, wrote that “a building
should be symmetric and proportionate to be beautiful. Both attributes can be
found in nature and there is no more perfect natural example in symmetry and
proportion than the human body”.
Leonardo’s drawing is
named in honour of Vitruvius and it combines a careful reading of the ancient
text with Leonardo’s own observations of actual human form.
Leonardo believed that the
working of the human body was analogous to the workings of the Universe and
envisaged a picture chart of the human body through his various drawings as a “cosmografia del minor mondo” (meaning
“the cosmography of the microcosm”).
“Macrocosm”
and “Microcosm” is an ancient Greek
Neo-Platonic schema of seeing the same patterns reproduced in all levels of the
cosmos, from the largest scale (macrocosm or universe level) down to the
smallest scale, i.e. the sub-sub-atomic or even metaphysical level. In this
system, the mid-point is the Man who summarises the cosmos (“Kosmos” in Greek
stands for “order” and “world” – thus meaning “ordered world”).
Leonardo’s drawing is made
in ink on paper and shows two superimposed positions of a man with his arms and
legs apart and inscribed in a circle and square.
Interestingly, while
working on his drawings and notes, Leonardo was given to marking on the margins
the word “Dimmi” (meaning “Tell me”),
whenever he tried out a new pen-nib, as if challenging the drawing to tell him
something new every time.
He adopted the same procedure on this drawing,
till he came up with the final perfect answer to age-old the riddle.
To add to the mystery of
his drawing, he wrote “On St. Andrew’s night, I concluded the squaring of the
circle”. Further, inspired by Vitruvius, whom Leonardo regarded as his mentor
when it came to perfect proportion, Leonardo wrote “If you decrease your height
by one-fourteenth by spreading your legs and raising your arms so that your
middle fingers are level with the top of your head, your navel will then be at
the centre of a circle, with your outspread limbs touching the circumference”.
Leonardo’s
“Vitruvian Man” drawing is an answer to an old geometric problem that had mathematicians
vexed since Pythagoras’ times and a philosophical solution to the nature of
man.
The
perfectly proportioned Vitruvian Man drawing by Leonardo with outstretched
hands and feet, head erect and proud, encompasses the universe in harmony and
freedom. Within the squared circle of the macrocosm, this figure demonstrates
how man represents the totality of microcosm, just as Leonardo stretched
himself to fulfil the very limits of his own destiny. He concluded “It is easy
to make yourself universal”.
The
human figure inside the circle and the square is a metaphysical statement – the
Circle represents the infinite, the divine and the square represents the
material mundane world.
The above is an image of
the Vitruvian man as portrayed in the Tarot card “The World” from the “Da Vinci
Enigma Tarot” in my Tarot library. This card is from the 22 "Major Arcana cards" or "Macrocosm Cards" in the Deck.
The “Major
Arcana” Cards (or the “Macrocosm cards” in this deck), portray the “Fool’s”/initiate’s/querent’s
journey through life, in which he/she takes the “leap of faith”, trusts and
learns from using his/her own judgement and from interactions with his parents, teachers
and society at large. He learns to find a balance between the good and the bad experiences
in life till he reaches a level of self-actualisation. At the end of his
journey, he is finally “One with the World or the Universe”, having learnt of
the collective wisdom of the Ages and from the mysteries of the Universe.
The Vitruvian Man has,
therefore, been aptly placed as the final card of the Fool’s journey through
life in the “Macrocosm cards”.
Commemorative
coin:
This coin symbolises the
fusion between electronics and mechanics, fundamentals in Robotics.
On the Obverse of the coin are shown
the intricate illustrations of this cutting edge technology, featuring on the
right hand side three gears/mechanical cogs which symbolises the cooperation
between electronics and mechanics. On
the left to lower side, there is the digital binary code “0 and 1”, used to
digitally record information. The binary coding, as well as, the mechanical
cogs spill over from the Niobium core into the outer silver ring. In the centre
of this face, a modified robotic version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian man,
typifies the proportions of the ideal human body which are illustrated by a
robot and not a human.
Below the Robotic Arms on
the left side is also mentioned the denomination of the coin” 25 EURO”. On the
upper periphery of the coin on the silver ring portion is mentioned the name of
the country “REPUBLIK OSTERREICH” (meaning
“Republic of Austria”) followed by the year of issue “2011”. On the lower
periphery on the silver outer ring is mentioned the theme of the coin “ROBOTIK” (meaning “Robotics”).
The
colour of the Niobium core is Mars-red.
On the Reverse of the coin which
depicts the Martian landscape having mountain ranges, craters and rocks etc.,
together-with a European Space Agency
Mars robot exploring the red planet, having a backdrop of a star-filled sky on the coin’s upper and
left periphery and planet Earth on the right periphery engraved on the coin’s
outer silver edge. Some portions of the roblt spill over onto the silver outer
ring. Several numbers and criss-crossing lines depict system coordination.
On the bottom periphery is
mentioned “MARS ROBOTER” (meaning
“Mars Robotic Rover”).
The specifications of the coin
are:
Face value: 25 Euros; Metallic composition: Outer
ring: Silver (Ag) 900 – 9 gms, Niobium 998 – 6.50 gms; Diameter: 34 mm; Weight:
16.50 gms; Edge: smooth.
The mintage of this coin was limited to a maximum
of 65000 pieces.
The following coins have been issued in this
Series:
2003 – 700 years old Hall City in Tyrol or Tirol
2004 – 150 years Semmering Alpine Railway
2005 – 50 years of Television
2006 – The European Satellite Navigation
2007 – Austrian Aviators
2008 – Fascinating Light
2009 – Year of Astronomy
2010 – Renewable Energy Sources
2011 – Robotics
2012 – Bionics
2013 – Drilling tunnels
2014 - Evolution
2015 - Cosmology
Links:
1) The 25 Euro Silver-Niobium Coin Series issued by the Austrian Mint: First Coin: "700 Years of Hall City in Tirol or Tyrol"
For posts on COTY (Coin of the Year) winners since 2015 in a competition held by Krause Publications of Germany, please visit the following links:
2015 - Cosmology
Links:
1) The 25 Euro Silver-Niobium Coin Series issued by the Austrian Mint: First Coin: "700 Years of Hall City in Tirol or Tyrol"
Links to posts on Federal Republic of Germany issues and other posts on this blog:
For posts on COTY (Coin of the Year) winners since 2015 in a competition held by Krause Publications of Germany, please visit the following links:
Wniana0con-ji Joshua Jefferson https://wakelet.com/wake/9ouSP6Iuc3gS27-7jSGyb
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