Robots in the Library
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047711 |
| Pages | 101-102 |
| Published date | 01 April 1987 |
| Date | 01 April 1987 |
| Author | C. Tom Sutherland |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Robots
in
the Library
C. Tom Sutherland
We had a robot in the library for a week.
We watched it walk about, lurching and rocking.
It didn't clank, but it rattled a bit.
The robot was Robin, which is short for "robotic
insect".
Electric motors spin threaded shafts that make
its legs move. Because of the way its legs are
jointed, it walks like a spider and looks a little
like an upside-down "W". Robin is six-legged—
an insect; it is not an arachnid (eight legs would
have required two more microcomputers).
Robin has one seven-foot long arm that tele-
scopes and unfolds from a turret on top, making
it look like a metal python. At the end of its
arm are a gripper and a television camera. The
gripper looks like a thumb and forefinger poised
to pinch. We watched Robin swing its arm around,
pick up objects, and put them back down.
Robin drew a crowd while it was with us.
Everyone who came by the library stopped and
stared. The staff members received a great deal
of teasing about being replaced by the robot.
However, Robin was not sent to our library
to replace anyone, or to read or borrow books,
but to be seen. We expected a number of visitors
that week, and our laboratory's director wanted
to show them how Robin works. The library is
next to the front door of the main laboratory building
and thus is convenient for such demonstrations.
Robots have many advantages over humans
in industrial applications. They can work day and
night, do not take holidays, do not attend funerals,
and do not complain. They can be made smaller
than people in order to fit into cramped spaces
or made tall to reach high places. They can be
strong enough to lift car chassis and precise enough
Sutherland is head of technical services at
the library of the Savannah River Laboratory,
Atomic Energy Division, Dupont Corporation,
Aiken, SC.
This paper was prepared in connection with
work done under Contract No. DE-AC09-76SR00001
with the U.S. Department of Energy. This paper
is placed in the public domain and may be copied,
reproduced, and distributed without limitation, as
long as the original source of publication is cited.
ISSUE 20 101
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