Many people fail to realize how much robots are affecting their

          daily lives.  People's every day routines,such as driving to work

          are  largely  dependent on automated industries  that  are  using

          robots on their work force.   Robotics  are more present in these

          areas than in any other.  The automotive industries,  in order to

          keep  up  with  the  high  pace  competition,have become  largely

          automated by robots.Most  major  factories  and industrial plants

          requiring some form of product assembly have turned  to  robotics

          to increase productivity.  Robots are now blending their way into

          the household.   Although the limitations of household robots are

          many they can still perform simple household functions.Much money

          is being put into research in robotics,  and leaps and bounds are

          being made every  day  in  this  study.  The future of robots has

          been debated by many,but most agree that for  the present, robots

          are in an early stage of productivity and should not be thought a

          threat to mankind.


            Westinghouse, General  Electric,  and  General  Motors  are the

          three largest users and manufacturers of robots in America.   The

          robots used and manufactured by  these  companies  are  different

          from the robots most people would automatically think of.  Robots

          do  not  fit the stereotypical descriptions  placed  in  people's

          minds by movies  such  as  "Star  Wars".   Alex  C. Mair,the Vice

          President and  Group Executive of General Motors Technical Staffs

          Group, gives two similar definitions of what an industrial  robot

          is.  He says that an  industrial  robot is "a programmable device

          capable of  performing  a  complex series of motor actions over a



                                                                      - 1 -










          wide  variety  of  processes"  or  "a  reprogrammable  multi-axis

          mechanical  manipulator."[1]It is also important to explain  what

          an industrial robot does.  These  robots  can  be  programmed  to

          perform various functions given  various  tasks.   They are "pick

          and place" robots.   They  are  painters  and  welders.   On  the

          assembly the applications of these  robots  are  numerous.A  very

          important  fact  about  these  robots  is  that  they   are   not

          "mechanical manipulators" which  some  people have referred to as

          robots, but microprocessor driven machines.


            Westinghouse is not only one of the  largest users of robots in

          industry, but is also one of the nations largest manufacturers of

          robots.  Unimation Incorporated is  the  Westinghouse  subsidiary

          that manufactures the many robots.  Westinghouse corp.  presently

          100 robots in operation that perform various tasks  from "hot and

          hazardous swagging operations  to  the automatic assembly of high

          tolerance printed circuit boards"[2].Unimate products  include  a

          whole line of robots beginning with their Puma  series of robots.

          The  first  of the Pumas is the "Puma 200". It is a compact  high

          speed robot  with  six axis of motion ,a two pound payload,and is

          used for delicate assembly and inspection; either alone or as the

          flexible of an automated assembly system.The "Puma 500" series is

          similar  to  the "200",but it is more versatile and  can  hold  a


          ----------

          1. Pamphlet of comments made  by  Alex  C.  Mair."Why  Industrial
          Robots?"  p.1

          2. Pamphlet: "Westinghouse Robotics Experience" n.p.pp., n.d



                                                                      - 2 -










          payload of up to five and a half pounds.   The  last of the Pumas

          is  the  "700".  Beingc larger and more expens