Questão 25 - FACISA 2014/2

    Robots are on the march. Most of them work on assembly lines, building cars, making electronic devices and processing food, drugs and chemicals. These giant machines often operate in cages because of the danger they pose to anyone who gets in their way. But robots are spreading beyond the factory, a trend that will accelerate in 2014. […] Now sales of other sorts of robots are taking off. These “service” robots are […] not as powerful as industrial robots, but more flexible, decentralized systems that make individuals more productive.

    Researchers in many countries are developing humanoid robots to act as care assistants for old people. That is still a distant goal. But two other forms of robot are making rapid progress. The first is the unmanned aerial vehicle or drone, which is essentially a flying robot. The second sort of robot to look out for is the robot on wheels, better known as the selfdriving car. Some 2014 models will be able to drive themselves in stop-go traffic, steering and maintaining a constant distance from the car in front. […]

   The proliferation of robots is easily overlooked because many of them do not conform to the stereotypes of what a robot should look like. But they are already among us, and their numbers will grow in 2014.

Tom Standage, The World in 2014

TEXT B declares that “service robots” are