In a developing country, a company that had previously specialized in manufacturing and operating heavy equipment began investing in research and development on robots. The executives planned to first use the technology to enhance their own manufacturing, and from there to produce and market these robots to other companies, creating a new revenue stream.
Of course, early prototypes and working versions of the robots came out rough, and communication with the robots was limited. The scientists and engineers on board began with remote-controlled models and from there progressed to limited preprogramming.
In an intermediate iteration of the robot, the workers coded the program onto a disk, which they inserted into a drive mounted on the robot’s forearm. However, they soon noticed that this design placed the drive in harm’s way, as in the course of the robot’s activities, the protruding compartment tended to catch on corners or moving machinery. The housing became scraped and displaced, threatening to allow damage to the drive and disruption of the robot’s reading of its programming.
Even when the next designs involved shifting the disk drive to the robot’s back or chest, testers found that it remained vulnerable and sustained wear and tear.
Finally, the scientists and engineers developed a version of the robot where they could install and update the program using a network connection, and the processing occurred entirely inside the robot’s body housing. This development kept the program protected from external forces as the robot performed its tasks. Pleased with the results, the executives acknowledged that this model could reliably perform its intended functions and help the company achieve its goals.
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