Automation and Types of Automation

This article discusses automation and its types, including industrial automation and home automation. It explains how automation is achieved and its benefits. The article also covers various automation tools, such as CAD/CAM/FEA and DFMA, and types of robots. References are included at the end of the article.

Literature review
Background Literature Review
Until recent, robots were primarily used in an industrial process for automation purposes,
and, in the 1970s, a debated was sparked over the fear of unemployment brought about by the
robotics. Robots have utterly changed how the various operation is done in the industries. The
emergence of robots in many professional fields today is no longer news. Every day, we hear
robots being used in the military, in medicine, in nursing homes, in the automotive industry and
so on. Ordinarily, whenever we make a call to a particular company and then have the response
done by a computer, the feeling we have is that the world is getting more and more automated
(Goldberg & Kehoe, 2013).
The study of robots keeps on evolving, as the research is geared towards creating robots
which are more social and can read facial expressions as well as holding conversations.
The research seems to widen out from the industrial perspective, into a more confined area such
as homes with enhanced levels of autonomy whereby the machines get to outsmart human
beings. We have been able to interact with this in movies, for instance, the terminator which
gives a more speculative spectrum of the robotic system. There is no specific definition of
autonomy, but, in this research, we will refer to it as the basic idea of making self-decision, void
of external influence.
Majorly, the study is focused on increasing the autonomy of the robots in various fields.
Taking an example of the military, the robots are very lethal in war factions by use of artificial
intelligence. To be precise, the robots utilize the ICT infrastructure which is existing together
with the technological innovation to perform autonomous operations (Pan et al., 2010).

Automation
Automation is a state of being automatically operated machines and equipment as well as
a step beyond mechanization that required physical labor to perform operations. The automation
process does away with manual work, and replace most of the task by use of computer
automated machines. The automation process is initiated by the use of sensory systems, actuating
devices and feedback control loops. A common misconception which turns out to be true is that
automation makes people unemployed; however, the purpose of automation is to increase quality
and precision. Besides, automation helps in improving productivity, safety as well as minimizing
the cost of production. Some of the control solutions which are achieved with automation
process include automobiles, domestic control, aircraft, and industries. The controllers are
usually programmable logic controllers with a central system (Groover, 2016).
Types of Automation
Automation applies minimal human intervention with various software and hardware
tools to achieve the set control objective. The different types of automation are classified
depending on the area of application (Kaber, 2018). Some of the kinds of automation includes Industrial automation
This is the process of simplifying the industrial process such that they become efficient
and effective. And flexible. Industrial automation aims at improving product quality and
productivity. As well, it is associated with minimized downtime and wastes. Some of the control
devices applied in industrial automation includes sensors, plc., actuators, machine drives,
communication modules/buses, human-machine interface systems among other control devices.
The diagram below illustrates the industrial automation (Lin et al., 2010).

 Numerically controlled machines
These are machines which use the computer to process, calculate and perform control action
on various variables. Also known as computerized numerical controlled machines, it is a process
of a programmed version of machine tools. They are applied in milling and cutting applications
for purposes of high precision and accuracy during operation. The diagram below illustrates the
machine (Moreno-Tapia et al., 2010)

 Computer-aided manufacturing
In this type of automation, the entire process utilizes industrial robots, automation devices as
well as numerically controlled machines to produce and manage various operations. Computers
are used in the planning of the automation devices, and some tools used in achieving this
includes Computer-aided design, computer-aided process planning, and computer-aided design
and drafting (Rosenbrock, 2012). Industrial robots
These are automation systems which can be used in robust environments that are considered
dangerous for humans (Engelberger, 2012). They have the possibility of performing a task for a
longer duration. Below is an illustration of the robots
 Flexible Manufacturing Systems
This is a fully automated system that integrates the numerically industrial robots, controlled
machines, as well as other automation devices to offer automation (Koren & Shpitalni, 2010).
Everything, from planning, process, and dispatching of products is automated in this case.

 Home automation
With the technological advancements, intelligent buildings are constructed which can
automatically control some of the house operations. For instance, the lighting, heating and
ventilation regulation, audio/video systems, security monitoring as well as other control tasks.
Below illustration indicates some of the various operations controlled by the home automation
system (Brush et al., 2011)
Various sensors are used in the setting of the parameter such as motion, pressure,
illumination, and temperature. They are connected to the microcontrollers which are
programmed to vis-à-vis the specific application. Power Line Home Automation System
This is an automation system which utilizes the power lines to transmit information, as
opposed to involving additional cables. However, it is more complicated as it requires other
converter circuits (Brandt et al., 2010).

 Wired Home Automation System
In this system, a universal communication bus is linked to all the home equipment's and also
to the programmable logic controller where it gets signals and then transmits to the actuators
(Javale et al., 2013). Wireless Home Automation
In this kind of automation, wireless technology is applied in the control of various operations
within the home system. Some of the techniques included in this system include Bluetooth, gsm,
WIFI, ZigBee, rf among others to achieve the remote control operation. The diagram below sows
the illustration (Gomez & Paradells, 2010)
Automation tools (i.e., Vibratory bowl feeders)

CAD/CAM/FEA
DFMA
Types of Robots
References
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and lossy networks (No. RFC 5826).

Brush, A.J., Lee, B., Mahajan, R., Agarwal, S., Saroiu, S. and Dixon, C., 2011, May. Home
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Engelberger, J.F., 2012. Robotics in practice: management and applications of industrial robots.
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Goldberg, K. and Kehoe, B., 2013. Cloud robotics and automation: A survey of related
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Groover, M.P., 2016. Automation, production systems, and computer-integrated manufacturing.
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Javale, D., Mohsin, M., Nandanwar, S. and Shingate, M., 2013. Home automation and security
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Moreno-Tapia, S.V., Vera-Salas, L.A., Osornio-Rios, R.A., Dominguez-Gonzalez, A., Stiharu, I.
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