In an emergency, search and rescue devices need to be put swiftly to use and cannot shutdown until the mission is complete. Therefore, the source of power should be a vital consideration for OEMs early in the product development or design process. Taking emergency beacons and drones as examples; here we consider how the functionality of these devices can dictate the battery design.
If there is one form of robotics where safety is of paramount importance, it would be in the medical or surgical sectors. Batteries have played a vital role in allowing surgical robots to become accepted by medical professionals and patients alike. To understand the impact that batteries have had on surgical robots and, perhaps more importantly, the impact they could have in the future, it is useful to go back to the beginning.
When the word “robot” is mentioned, most people think about old sci-fi depictions like droids in Star Wars or Cybermen in Dr Who; where actors hid inside shiny, light covered costumes. Back then, little more than metallic spray-paint and a ring-modulated audio track was enough to create a robotic superstar, but today’s world is filled with genuine robotic celebrities.
