Editing Robot (section)

=== Dirty, dangerous, dull, or inaccessible tasks ===

{{see also|Dirty, dangerous and demeaning}}
There are many jobs that humans would rather leave to robots. The job may be boring, such as [[housekeeping|domestic cleaning]] or [[Line marker (sports)|sports field line marking]], or dangerous, such as exploring inside a [[volcano]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ri.cmu.edu/projects/project_163.html|title=Dante II, list of published papers|publisher=The Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University|access-date=16 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515015703/http://www.ri.cmu.edu/projects/project_163.html|archive-date=15 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other jobs are physically inaccessible, such as exploring another [[planet]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/rover/sojourner.html|title=Mars Pathfinder Mission: Rover Sojourner|publisher=[[NASA]]|date=8 July 1997|access-date=19 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201165939/http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/rover/sojourner.html|archive-date=1 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> cleaning the inside of a long pipe, or performing [[laparoscopic]] surgery.<ref name="daVinci">{{cite web|url=http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2005_Groups/04/davinci.html |title=Robot assisted surgery: da Vinci Surgical System |publisher=Brown University Division of Biology and Medicine |access-date=19 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916084349/http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2005_Groups/04/davinci.html |archive-date=16 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Space probes ====

Almost every unmanned [[space probe]] ever launched was a robot.<ref>{{cite conference |url=https://upes.academia.edu/SeeteshPANDE/Papers/1717325/The_Utilization_of_Robotic_Space_Probes_in_Deep_Space_Missions_Case_Study_of_AI_Protocols_and_Nuclear_Power_Requirements |title=The Utilization of Robotic Space Probes in Deep Space Missions:Case Study of AI Protocols and Nuclear Power Requirements |book-title=Proceedings of 2011 International Conference on Mechanical Engineering, Robotics and Aerospace |date=October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2004/1 |title=Review: Space Probes |first=Jeff |last=Foust |date=16 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831183945/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2004/1 |archive-date=31 August 2012 |url-status=live}} Review of Space Probes: 50 Years of Exploration from Luna 1 to New Horizons, by Philippe Séguéla Firefly, 2011.</ref> Some were launched in the 1960s with very limited abilities, but their ability to fly and land (in the case of [[Luna 9]]) is an indication of their status as a robot. This includes the [[Voyager probe]]s and the Galileo probes, among others.

==== Telerobots ====

[[File:IED detonator.jpg|thumb|A [[U.S. Marine Corps]] technician prepares to use a telerobot to detonate a buried [[improvised explosive device]] near [[Camp Fallujah]], Iraq.]]

[[telerobotics|Teleoperated robots]], or telerobots, are devices [[teleoperation|remotely operated]] from a distance by a human operator rather than following a predetermined sequence of movements, but which has semi-autonomous behaviour. They are used when a human cannot be present on site to perform a job because it is dangerous, far away, or inaccessible. The robot may be in another room or another country, or may be on a very different scale to the operator. For instance, a laparoscopic surgery robot allows the surgeon to work inside a human patient on a relatively small scale compared to open surgery, significantly shortening recovery time.<ref name="daVinci" /> They can also be used to avoid exposing workers to the hazardous and tight spaces such as in [[Duct (HVAC)|duct]] cleaning.<!--<ref>{{cite news|url=http://on.fb.me/1o843oN |title=The Trouble with Regulation |publisher=National Air Duct Cleaning Association |access-date=25 November 2014 | date=March–April 2014}}</ref>--> When disabling a bomb, the operator sends a small robot to disable it. Several authors have been using a device called the Longpen to sign books remotely.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/celebrities-set-to-reach-for-atwood-s-longpen-1.692622 |title=Celebrities set to reach for Atwood's LongPen |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=21 September 2008 | date=15 August 2007|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522221123/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2007/08/15/longpen-trial.html|archive-date=22 May 2009}}</ref> Teleoperated robot aircraft, like the Predator [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle]], are increasingly being used by the military. These pilotless drones can search terrain and fire on targets.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200606120018|work=[[New Statesman]]|title=America's robot army |date=12 June 2006 |access-date=24 September 2007 |first=Stephen|last=Graham|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217174704/http://www.newstatesman.com/200606120018|archive-date=17 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/battlefield-robots-to-iraq-and-beyond-0727|work=Defense Industry Daily|title=Battlefield Robots: to Iraq, and Beyond|date=20 June 2005|access-date=24 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826201610/http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/battlefield-robots-to-iraq-and-beyond-0727/|archive-date=26 August 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Hundreds of robots such as [[iRobot]]'s [[Packbot]] and the [[Foster-Miller TALON]] are being used in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]] by the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] to defuse roadside bombs or [[improvised explosive device]]s (IEDs) in an activity known as [[explosive ordnance disposal]] (EOD).<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bomb.html?pg=3&topic=bomb|title=The Baghdad Bomb Squad|first=Noah|last=Shachtman|date=November 2005|access-date=14 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422132525/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bomb.html?pg=3&topic=bomb|archive-date=22 April 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Automated fruit harvesting machines ====
Robots are used to [[fruit picking#automation|automate picking fruit]] on orchards at a cost lower than that of human pickers.

==== Domestic robots ====
[[File:Roomba original.jpg|thumb|The [[Roomba]] domestic [[vacuum cleaner]] robot does a single, menial job.]]

[[Domestic robots]] are simple robots dedicated to a single task work in home use. They are used in simple but often disliked jobs, such as [[vacuum cleaner|vacuum cleaning]], [[Scooba (brand)|floor washing]], and [[lawn mower|lawn mowing]]. An example of a domestic robot is a [[Roomba]].