Robots working on a car assembly line.
The world of automated machines is vast and contains a wide variety of machines and functions, but these machines are typically divided into two main categories: those aimed at consumers and those designed for businesses such as retail, healthcare and industry. . Essentially, an automated machine is a machine unit that performs one function, and often multiple functions, with little or no human assistance. The types of automated machines used by consumers include machines for food preparation, transportation, or processing. In manufacturing and retail, automated machines can create a product, transport personnel, or sell it to a customer, often without the help of a human. Sometimes a machine used by a business to sell is also used by a customer to purchase a product.
Some automated X-ray machines rotate and provide better images for doctors to use than those created by portable devices.
Many people use an automated teller machine (ATM) to handle everyday banking transactions and get cash. Another of the most common automatic machines found in homes is a coffee maker. Bread makers, electric staplers and photocopiers are machines that automate processes frequently used in daily life. Food vendors and customers can benefit from the use of these machines; Every time a person gets a snack from a vending machine, uses the whipped coffee machine at the local store, or fills their own drink into a soda at a fast food restaurant, they’re using one.
Many types of factories use raw materials at one end and produce a finished product through automated systems.
In manufacturing, automated machines can be used to create and assemble parts, process materials, and package products for delivery. Many large factories use almost fully automated systems that receive raw material at the entrance and produce a packaged product at the end of the production line. Automated machines can also load trucks with the packaged product for delivery to the customer. Most of the packaged snacks in supermarkets are made through a fully automated factory process, producing snacks that a human hand may never have touched.
An automated dialysis machine cleans the blood of a kidney patient.
In addition to its applications that facilitate convenience for retailers and more efficient manufacturing, automated machinery can also be used to save lives and help people heal. In the hospital, a patient may be attached to an automatic ventilator to help them breathe. An automated dialysis machine cleans the blood of a kidney patient. Some X-ray technicians use automated X-ray machines that rotate and move to provide a reliable X-ray image for the doctor to use in diagnosis. A chiropractor may use an automated massage machine to help relax patients’ muscles before providing chiropractic care.