Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/robots

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Non-silicon robot


Non-silicon robots are robotic systems that include no traditional computers, integrated digital or analog solid state devices, or other solid-state electronic devices. The term non-silicon robot is often used to describe a robot that has some autonomous abilities.

As a simple example, a non-silicon mobile robot could consist of a platform base with drive wheels and steering system connected to a series of mechanical switches arranged around the exterior of the robot so that when the robot collides with an object the switches are triggered so that it reverses direction.

One of the most important areas of non-silicon robotics includes molecular and nano-scale machines.

History

Any robotic system that was built before the advent of modern electronics could be considered a non-silicon robot. Automation has been a significant component of industry for over 150 years and pre-transistor control systems of the 1930s and 1940s were fairly sophisticated. These control methods are largely forgotten. Such systems use pneumatic, mechanical and electric control systems.

With some notable early exceptions (W. Grey Walter), in the modern era, non-silicon robots have been mainly confined to obscure research and purely teleoperated robots and have received relatively little attention. However, this is changing with the development of non-traditional computing technologies such as molecular computing (unconventional computing and non-silicon computing).

Journals and conferences

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Non-silicon robot — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report