In other words, a Robot will take inputs without any special interference from humans, process it based on either some learning algorithm or match it with some data stored in its data base , and provide an output.
The bottom line is the word “automatically” : without human intervention.
Now lets have a look at the demonstration : Watch: 'Mitra' robot greets Ivanka, PM Modi at GES 2017
The robot is not bi-pedal , yet humanoid; well, I understand that the structural design of bi-pedal robots are hard; and takes up somewhat more energy, so I won’t comment on the seemingly bad design.
However , let us have a look at three pseudo codes, as it is called in Computer Science. Non technical people are welcome to take a look, these are pseudo codes , not robot science.
Code 1:
if( touch() AND grid_in_touchscreen( India_grids() ) )
Output : Welcome_PM_Modi ();
else if ( touch() and grid_in_touchscreen( US_grids() ) )
Output : Welcome_Ivanka();
exit
Code 2 :
if( touch() )
value = Take_inputs();
if ( Match_Inputs( value ) returns PM_Modi )
Output : Welcome_PM_Modi();
else if ( Match_Inputs( value ) returns Ivanka_Trump)
Output : Welcome_Ivanka();
exit
Code 3 :
while (true)
value = Change_Orientation_to_take_inputs()
if ( Match_Inputs ( value ) returns PM_Modi )
Change_Orientation_to_face ( value);
Output : Welcome_PM_Modi ();
count= count + 1;
if( Match_inputs ( value ) returns Ivanka_Trump)
Change_Orientation_to_face( value);
Output : Welcome_Ivanka();
count = count + 1;
if( count = 2 )
break;
exit
Notice that I have not specified anything about how the robot is supposed to take inputs or how it should change its orientation. These are the most important part in the code , which is planned by the designer , and which actually prove’s the designer’s skill.
Notice how code 3 , despite being stripped off of all real technical details is more complex ? It has three extremely complicated modules, which are generic in nature , and are really hard to design.
Notice how human interaction decreases with the increase in complexity of the code. The first code needs that only two specific users touch specific grids of the touch screen to have a result that is pre decided; the second one requires that two specific users at least touch the touch screen, while the third does not need any human interaction at all.
Mitra displayed functionalities that could be implemented by the first algorithm. It was totally hardcoded , which would mean extremely simple to build, , and did not display any signs of being generic. A typical problem of hardcoding was encountered , the simultaneous touching of both the input sections of the touch screen, leading to a probable race condition, resulting in the malfunctioning of the robot.