Wed Mar 30, 2016 02:09PM
The second-generation version of the Iranian android Surena
The second-generation version of the Iranian android Surena
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Robotics was first introduced in Iran less than 30 years ago but Iran has since made considerable progress in this area.

There was a time when it was impossible to imagine an era in which humans could sit in an armchair, press a few buttons to do their daily grind and that way to provide for their families. But the industrial revolution and later on the discoveries and inventions that led to the creation of computers made that dream come true.

Man-made machines are now so part of our lives. They are everywhere: From agriculture, to industries, to households. But mankind continues to dream of something bigger and more impressive than assembly-line machines and combine harvesters. Yes, automatons or robots. The next generation of man-made machines accoutered with artificial intelligence that are bound to revolutionize the world and the lives of our children.

Robotics is a multidisciplinary field, a branch of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science which deals with designing constructing and operating and also applying robots. To be considered a robot, an automaton doesn’t have to look like a human being or do what living creatures do. Take our cell-phones for example. Many count them as robots. In a scientist’s eyes, any electromagnetic or programmable machine that can carry out our daily chores for us is a robot.

The technology to build robots is not in the possession of every country. Many countries are only consumers and import their needed technology. But there are countries who’ve decided they don’t want to be consumers of imported technology forever. Iran is one of them.

Robots could have multifarious benefits for mankind: assistant robots which are in two categories, at home and at work, assisting elderly people and giving services; rescue robots which could come handy in, for example, earthquakes or in hazardous conditions. These machines can simultaneously be faster, more precise and more powerful than any human being.

Although Iran has made big strides in building industrial machinery, it is yet to replicate those accomplishments in building industrial-scale robots because first robotics in Iran is still in its infancy and second, there’s a lack of investment by private sector industries.

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