6 - Automated Systems And Emerging Technologies

Question 1

Automated system

Answer 1

A combination of hardware and software that is designed and programmed to work automatically without any human intervention (however they do require humans to monitor them)

Question 2

Automated system contain (3)

Answer 2

• sensors - take in data continuously and sends it to microprocessors
• microprocessors - compares the data to threshold/rules/criterea
• actuators - take the signals from the microprocessors and turn them into physical movements

Question 3

Automated systems are used in (6)

Answer 3

• industry
• transport
• weather
• gaming
• lighting
• science

Question 4

Main advantages of automated systems (6)

Answer 4

• faster than humans
• much safer - keeps humans away from potentially dangerous situations/environments
• process can run/is more likely to run at optimum conditions (this is because small changes can be identified and made quickly)
• less expensive in the long run - replaces workforce
• higher productivity
• more consistent results

Question 5

Main disadvantages of automated systems (4)

Answer 5

• initially expensive to set up
• possible that a set of conditions which didn’t occur during testing to show up (makes need for monitoring station —> in case of safety issues)
• need for expert help can be hard to access and is expensive
• subject to cyber attacks

Question 6

3 laws of robotics

Answer 6

• a robot may not harm a human through action or inaction
• a robot must obey orders given by humans, unless it contradicts law 1
• a robot must protect itself, unless it contradicts law 1

Question 7

Robotics

Answer 7

A branch of computer science that bring together the design, construction and operation of robots

Question 8

Characteristics of a robot (3)

Answer 8

• ability to sense their surroundings
• have a degree of movement
• programmable

Question 9

Independent robots (2)

Answer 9

• no direct human control
• can replace human activity totally

Question 10

Dependant robots (2)

Answer 10

• have a human who is interfacing directly with the robot
• can supplement human activity - e.g car assembly plant (humans and robots work together)

Question 11

Robots are used in (6)

Answer 11

• industry
• transport
• agriculture
• medicine
• domestic/home use
• entertainment

Question 12

Automated system answer format

Answer 12

Sensors
- reads/takes in data continuously/constantly and sends it to the microprocessor

Microprocessor
- checks received data against (compares) the rules/threshold/criterea

Actuator
- if the data lies within the threshold or meets the criterea then the actuator is actived - e.g motor is turned on

*if nothing is detected by sensor the process keeps going

Question 13

AI

Answer 13

Technology that enables computer and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy

Question 14

Characteristic of AI (4)

Answer 14

• collects data
• has rules
• ability to reason
• ability to learn and adapt

Question 15

Types of AI (3)

Answer 15

• narrow AI
• general AI
• strong AI

Question 16

Narrow AI

Answer 16

When a machine has superior performance to a human when doing one specific task

Question 17

General AI

Answer 17

When s machine is similar (not superior) in its performance to a human doing a specific task (can do multiple tasks)

Question 18

Strong AI

Answer 18

When a machine has superior performance to a human in many tasks
- this is only a concept, it doesn’t exists

Question 19

Types of AI systems (2)

Answer 19

• expert system
• machine learning

Question 20

Expert system

Answer 20

A computer system that mimics the decision making ability of a human, expert systems use AI to simulate the judgement and behaviour of a human or organisation that has expert knowledge

Question 21

Machine learning

Answer 21

The science of training computers with sample data so that they can go on to make predictions about new unseen data, without the need to specifically program them for the new data

Question 22

Types of machine learning (3)

Answer 22

• supervised
• semi supervised
• unsupervised

Question 23

Setting up of an expert system

Answer 23

• info needs to be gathered - taken from experts, books, research papers etc
• info is used to populate knowledge base that first needs to be created
• rules base needs to be created - made up of a series of inference rules so that the inference engine can draw conclusions
• inference engine needs to be set up
• user interface needs to be developed
• system testing

Question 24

Inference engine

Answer 24

Main processing element in reasoned decision/conclusion making

Question 25

User interface

Answer 25

Allows user and expert system to communicate

Question 26

Advantages of expert system (6)

Answer 26

- very accurate - consistent - can hold lots of info - anyone can be trained to use it - quick response times - unbiased (mostly)

Question 27

Disadvantages of expert systems (6)

Answer 27

- users need training - set up and maintenance are very costly - responses can be ‘cold’ and inappropriate in certain circumstances - knowledge is limited by how much is put into its knowledge base - users sometimes assume the expert system knows everything