tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12273921.post114262659891752243..comments2024-02-13T02:04:31.705-08:00Comments on Robot Gossip: Robot Gossip Contest UpdateProspectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08789791369325078777noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12273921.post-1142730794843279342006-03-18T17:13:00.000-08:002006-03-18T17:13:00.000-08:00All right, proof you want? Proof you get.First, I...All right, proof you want? Proof you get.<BR/><BR/>First, I would like to draw this video to your attention.<BR/>http://www.appliedmaterials.com/HTMAC/animated.html<BR/>It shows the manufacturing process for a microchip from start to finish. Yes, humans are certainly involved in the proceedings, but many (if not most) of the critical steps could inarguably NOT be done without robots.<BR/><BR/>Why is that, you ask? Take a look at this page from history: http://www.semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/BellLabs/OralHistories/Coonce/Coonce_Index.htm<BR/>This is the best example of a hand-assembled semiconductor i could find. I'm sure robot-less manufacturing techniques would have evolved, but good enough to make a CPU? Even a lowly 33MHz 486 would need 1.25 million* of 'em--that's a lot of soldering, and on a nanometer scale!<BR/><BR/>In fact, the only references i could find to hand-assembly were one-sentence remarks about the "old days". These were often punctuated with exclamation marks, implying a "can you imagine?!?!" type attitude.<BR/><BR/>It is thus my conclusion that not only is the electronics industry a prime example of an industry that needs robots, but one of the only ones. Electronics have entered nearly all bastions of our lives, and microchips and other semiconductors are vital to those. While it MAY be possible to hand-build a device approaching today's standards in terms of speed or capacity, it would be near impossible to do it in anything near a similar size--let alone efficiently mass produced. The facts i found clearly show that it would be literally impossible to produce the electronic devices we all use with out the use of robots.<BR/>An unaided human is simply incapable of doing the precision work required.<BR/><BR/>(*1)http://www.zianet.com/kromeke/pastcomp/cpu_photo.htmJakeHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15966484844326269478noreply@blogger.com