Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
One can expect a revolution in our lives as such robots are developed to the point that they
become part of our daily activity. It would require the implementation of direct interaction schemes
that include the ability of robots to express themselves both in body language and verbal expres-
sions. Since different people view emotions and moods differently, users will need to have the
capability of user-friendly programming of the robot's behavior, emotion, and mood. This may also
be provided through self-learning and adaptive behavior just as kids learn that which is appropriate
or acceptable and that which is not. Further, while computers will have superior capabilities over
humans, there will be a need to assure the social order with the clear role of robots as the slaves in
master-slave relation. A certain level of independence will need to be provided with a user-selected
autonomous operation vs. fully programmable performance depending on the desired task. Also,
robots will need to have selectable behavior specifications that define their desired personality. This
personality may include friendliness, and ''cool'' operations with various algorithms of human
interaction and behavior.
20.5
SMART STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS
The development of smart materials has been the objective of researchers and engineers for over
three decades. Materials, systems, and structures are identified as smart if they can interact with the
environment and have an ability to predict the required future actions and to respond to change in
various ways. Adaptive capabilities have already been implemented in commercial materials. For
instance, liquid crystals are used to indicate changes in temperature, and there are commercially
available optical glasses that become dark with the increase in light intensity. To behave ''smart''
beyond the simple reactions to a specific condition, as sunglasses change their shade, it is necessary
to provide systems with the ability to learn the required response to various stimulations from the
environment and be capable of predicting future conditions and prepare to respond optimally.
It would be interesting to develop systems with individual characteristics that would be the
result of learning from the environment in which they operate and exhibit relatively wide variety of
shapes while still working properly. It may be feasible to define structures in terms of the ability to
carry loads and the positions or places where it can hold or place objects. Thus, such systems would
not need to be engineered to high tolerances, yet they will learn how to functionally deal with the
design details. Such development will require taking advantage of the increasingly evolving nano-
technology, where minute sensors will be integrated throughout the structure to provide informa-
tion and feedback for smart control. Ultimately, such smart structures would need to design and
construct themselves using resources from the environment or redistribute their structural materials
to allow effective handling of large loads. Such an approach would enable producing lighter and
safer structures that eliminate stress concentrations, perform optimally, and operate with long life
duration. Structures will need to be designed with scalability in mind to allow adapting the
technology to various aspects of our daily lives. An interesting distinction between biological
structures with bones compared to robots is the fact that the biological elements are not rigidly
connected. It would be a challenge for future roboticists to develop robots that have such a
structural flexibility of being an integrated system while still able to carry loads, move rapidly,
and perform all these functions that we recognize as biological.
20.6
IMPACT OF BIOMIMETICS ON NONENGINEERING FIELDS
Throughout the history of mankind, nature has been an inspiration to many nonengineering fields
including entertainment, toys, and art with the results well documented in such artistic objects as
paintings, statues, structures, and other artifacts. Engineering and art with biomimetic character-
istics are increasingly being integrated in the construction of modern buildings and other structures.
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