European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Twenty brainier new ones ism 7450 Assembly robots still in their original packing crates came from a company that encountered financial strains and decided it could not use them. Well into the 1980s, robot enthusiasts were predicting that by 1990, hundreds of thousands of the machines would have displaced millions of workers because they believed they would work better faster longer and at lower Cost than regular mortals. Goliath of american Industry a among them t general electric general motors Westi Rig House Quot Cincinnati Mil Acron ism a jumped into the business of Selling robots some making their own some through alliances with japanese robot makers. Quot it was a Star wars Quot said Walter Bohland Ford motor  expert in using robots and automation. Quot they became bigger than life.�?T1 at a congressional hearing on robots seven years ago an alarmed sen. Lloyd Bentsen a Texas cited predictions that by 1992, sales of robots would exceed $2 billion. He warned of an upheaval in the work Force. But the More competent and versatile that scientists and engineers try to make a robot the More it costs to the Point where the Price of a robot exceeds a factory worker s lifetime wages and therefore what companies Are willing to pay to do a factory worker s Job. A a a a a. Keith Mckee director of the manufacturing productivity Center at the Illinois Institute of technology said Quot a lot of companies will buy a robot or two and then find that its care and feeding is More difficult than the care and feeding of a Many Bohland said Ford could use robots and other forms of automation to make automobiles without any human intervention at All. 1 Quot would that be economically justified Quot he asked. Quot or would we go broke i think the latter Quot robots Best year was 1987, when 6,219 were sold for $443 million. A 1 a. The evolving View of robots is expressed by people like Walter seering a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of technology. A. Quot robots Are just machines Quot he said. Quot they have a place like All other machines.  continue to account for a Small fraction of All automation. They tend to be most effective at jobs people Don t want very much or Aren t very Good  he said they Are Are particularly Good for painting automobiles working in rooms where paint Spray Clouds the air. Quot robots Don t have to breathe Quot he said. Not robots have fatten out of favor with Many american businesses. Stave Antenena a company to Hamilton Ohio buys used robots that other companies no longer want and tries to resell  on Mars new York times i f there is life on Mars it May one Day be rudely awakened by Ambler a 12-foot-tall, six legged walking robot being developed for Nasa by Carnegie Mellon University s robotics Institute. With the software Quot brains Quot and motor skills to explore , Ambler could bring a new dimension to exploration of the solar system Nasa and University officials say. Because the robot literally walks it can traverse rough terrain by stepping Over crevices and Large boulders allowing it to reach areas on the Moon or Mars inaccessible to wheeled vehicles or too dangerous for humans. With sophisticated sensors for vision and software that allows it la create its own maps and choose a course Ambler Wili be Able to make decisions about How to proceed. This is necessary because of the Long transmission times for commands Belicen Earth and the planets a about 45 minutes to Mars. The prototype Ambler recently took its first Steps in a demonstration for Nasa at Carnegie Mellon the11pes sentenced to prison a a a must serve 5 months pay $50,000 a Tom Al a a _ a p�?��?�7igltwtotghr Antichrist charged with desertion. Earthquake death toll posses 600 5-,t in nit Rye very Day can make a world of difference in your life in a world that never lakes a Day to rest every Day can make a world of difference. A Day can mean the difference Between a Campaign and a Victory. A budget and a budget Cut. A revolutionary idea and a revolution. The stars and stripes has All the news it takes to keep you on top of the world s events. And a subscription to the stars and stripes can assure you that you la never fall a Day behind. Call one of our circulation offices today listing on Page 11 for your subscription to the stars and Snipes. Or write to the Siars and stripes attn sales promotion apr 09211 the stars and stripes a we can make a world of difference in your life. Every Day. Saturday july 21, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 17