ROBOTICS

One of the most important steps in computing technology in the coming years is likely to be a return to mechanical methods. Using the same process used to create chips, it's possible to fabricate mechanical parts - levers, gear wheels, and small motors.

The best known example of a micro-machine was created by Sandia Laboratories in New Mexico in the US. It's a complete motor developing 50uW of power in one square millimetre - still a bit big for some of the micro-machines planned for the future.

What are micro-machines going to be used for? Obvious applications are sensors, gyros, and drug delivery. The idea is that a micro-machine could have a strain sensor or a gyroscopic attitude sensor and electronics built into a single chip-sized package. The idea of using a micro-machine to deliver drugs is getting a bit closer to more sci-fi applications. Only a step further is the idea of building insect-sized robots that could do difficult jobs in very small places.

Swallowing an ant-sired machine to cure you or putting one inside some failed machinery seems like a really good idea!

Speaking and Writing

3. What kind of information would you encode in three following smart cards? Compare your answers with the other students in your group.

1. A medical card 3. An identification card

2. A sport club membership card 4. An electronic wallet

4. We have looked throughThe Seven Wonders of the World of the past, present and several of the future. Write a short report on what wonders of the world could be created in the near future.

Unit 6

Four Industrial Revolutions

Before you start

1. Answer the following question:

How does the industrial revolution influence human life?

Reading

2. Read the text and find answers to the questions below:

1. When does the history of mechanical engineering begin?

2. What were the earliest types of machines?

3. What are the four stages of the development of world industry and what are they characterized by?

4. What period of industrial revolution occurs at present?

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