</p>
</td>
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<h2>Exploration robots</h2>
<p>These cybernetic adventurers can range in complexity from simple probes to fully autonomous spacecraft. They are used to explore the farthest reaches of space and the darkest trenches of the ocean floor, boldly going where no man has gone before.</p>
<p><img src="https://learn.g2.com/hubfs/mars%20rover.jpg" alt="mars rover" width="300" style="width: 300px; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;">Some of the more famous examples of these, such as the Mars Rover Opportunity, are a type of robot known as ‘Remotely Operated Vehicle’ (or ROV) that performs some autonomous functions while having the capability of being operated by a remote operator or pilot. These robots typically come equipped with advanced observation or manipulation features. These features allow them to gather data from their assigned environments in a more focused way than their less complex aerospace cousins.</p>
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<h2>Consumer robots</h2>
<p>Consumer robots are so commonplace that many people fail to see them as robots at all! These are the little household helpers that unobtrusively improve the lives of countless homeowners the world over. The classic example of a consumer robot is the roomba, an autonomous cleaning machine complete with sensors to help it navigate any space you put it in.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://learn.g2.com/hubfs/DJ_Roomba_goes_camping.jpg" alt="dj roomba" width="600" style="width: 600px; display: block; margin: 0px auto;"><em>The infamous 'DJ Roomba'</em></p>
<p>More recently, simplistic AI has started to fuse with consumer robots and the <a href="https://www.g2.com/articles/ai-powered-iot" rel="noopener" target="_blank">internet of things</a> to give us devices such as the Amazon Alexa or Google Home. These stationary robots come equipped with what’s referred to as a ‘conversational AI’ that can read things such as tone and context to make an educated guess as to the intent of the speaker. While these devices are still far from perfect, it’s exciting to imagine the quality of life they could provide us in the next half century.</p>
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<h2>Medical robots</h2>
<p>Aside from production, exploration, and menial tasks, robots can also be literal lifesavers.</p>
<p>Medical robots can range from autonomous arms that help surgeons perform delicate operations to the emerging field of mind-controlled robotic prosthetics and exoskeletons. While we probably won’t see fully autonomous surgeons for many years to come, doctor-operated robots have pushed the boundaries of medicine in terms of what can be accomplished without having to resort to risky invasive procedures. Devices such as the daVinci system have made it possible to perform dangerous operations with a fraction of the normal risk.</p>
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<div class="hs-responsive-embed-inner-wrapper" style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; padding-bottom: 56.25%; margin: 0;"><iframe class="hs-responsive-embed-iframe" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: none;" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" xml="lang" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PiDdcEyJziE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen data-service="youtube"></iframe></div>
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<a id="aerospace" data-hs-anchor="true"></a>
<h2>Aerospace robots</h2>
<p>Aerospace robots are, in some capacity, able to fly. They differ from exploration robots in that they don’t include aquatic automatons or surface rovers. Common forms of these robots are autonomous or remote controlled drones or spacecraft that can be used for a variety of purposes such as research, military intelligence, or deep space exploration.</p>
<p><img src="https://learn.g2.com/hubfs/drone.jpg" alt="drone" width="600" style="width: 600px; margin: 0px auto; display: block;"></p>
<a id="aquatic" data-hs-anchor="true"></a>
<h2>Aquatic Robots</h2>
<p>Aquatic robots go far beyond deep-sea exploration. They can work with the coast guard as unmanned boats and have often been used by marine biologists and conservationists to help supplement parts of marine ecosystems that have been ravaged by climate change and industrialization efforts like off-shore drilling.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Aquatic robotics is also one of the subfields at the forefront of biorobotics, where the robots developed take inspiration from organic animals in the wild for how they move.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://learn.g2.com/hubfs/snake-robot.jpg" alt="snake robot" width="578" style="width: 578px; display: block; margin: 0px auto;"><em>Source: botmag.com</em></p>
<p>Many researchers have found great success with modeling their swimming robots off of common underwater species such as fish or eels, whose innate abilities to navigate the underwater seascape is far superior to traditional methods of locomotion for human-made sea-craft.</p>
<h3>A cybernetic menagerie</h3>
<p>With so many different possibilities and applications in the field of robotics, it can be difficult to identify the inventions you need from the countless others with a similar function. So long as you keep the intent of the inventor in mind, you should have no trouble when it comes to identifying a robot in all of your future endeavors.</p>
<p><strong>If you're interested in learning more about the development and research behind these different types of robots, check out our guide: <a href="https://www.g2.com/articles/what-is-robotics" rel="noopener" target="_blank">What is Robotics</a>.</strong></p>
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