What Is Automation?

It is argued that automation has expanded beyond its roots in Manufacturing to include applications in Healthcare, Security, Transportation, Agriculture, Construction, Energy, and many other areas. Both Robotics and Automation explore the frontiers of automated and semi-automated machines. Both fields are increasingly concerned with the role of humans and human interfaces, and with the potential of the Internet and Cloud Computing. So what is the difference between Robotics and Automation? There are many possible distinctions. Here is the summary from our Society's Field of Interest Statement: "...Robotics focuses on systems incorporating sensors and actuators that operate autonomously or semi-autonomously in cooperation with humans. Robotics research emphasizes intelligence and adaptability to cope with unstructured environments. Automation research emphasizes efficiency, productivity, quality, and reliability, focusing on systems that operate autonomously, often in structured environments over extended periods, and on the explicit structuring of such environments." This statement emphasizes how Automation emphasizes structured versus unstructured environments, reliability versus adaptability, and efficiency versus exploratory operations. These are valuable distinctions and the author would like to propose another one. In his view, research in Robotics emphasizes Feasibility. Feasibility focuses on proof-of-concept, demonstrating how a new functionality can be achieved. On the other hand, he feels, research in Automation emphasizes Quality. The author wishes to dispel the myth of the excluded middle: Robotics and Automation are not disjoint. Feasibility and Quality are closely related.