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In which industries are robots being used?

A robot is a device that performs a wide range of functions under the direction of a computer. A robot can even respond to reprogramming or to feedback from sensors, enabling it to alter its maneuvers and complete a changed task. There are about 250,000 robots in use throughout the world. About 65 percent of these are located in Japan. The United States, the second-largest user of robots, has about 14 percent.

Automobile factories employ over 50 percent of robots in the United States. Robots are used to do welding, painting, drilling, sanding, cutting, and moving tasks in manufacturing plants.

Robots are especially valuable in environments that are unsafe, or physically difficult, for humans. Robots can clean up radioactive areas, extinguish fires, disarm bombs, and load and unload explosives and toxic chemicals. Robots can also work in the dark processing...

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