Robotics

RoboticsHistory

Robotics Technology

Types of Robots

First use of work “Robotics”

Three law of Robotics

The First Robot “ Ultimate”

The acclaimed Czech

playwright Karel Capek (1890-

1938) made the first use of the

word ‘robot’, from the Czech

word for forced labor or serf.

Capek was reportedly several

times a candidate for the Nobel

prize for his works and very

influential and prolific as a

writer and playwright.

Asimov also proposed his three "Laws of

Robotics", and he later added a 'zeroth law'.

Law Zero: A robot may not injure humanity, or,

through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

Law One: A robot may not injure a human being,

or, through inaction, allow a human being to come

to harm, unless this would violate a higher order

law.

Law Two: A robot must obey orders given it by

human beings, except where such orders would

conflict with a higher order law.

Law Three: A robot must protect its own existence

as long as such protection does not conflict with a

higher order law.

The first Unimate was installed at a

General Motors plant to work with heated

die-casting machines. In fact most

Unimates were sold to extract die castings

from die casting machines and to perform

spot welding on auto bodies, both tasks

being particularly hateful jobs for people.

Both applications were commercially

successful, i.e., the robots worked reliably

and saved money by replacing people

Unimation is still in production today, with

robots for sale.

Robotics TechnologyMost industrial robots have at least the following five parts:

Most robots of today are nearly deaf

and blind. Sensors can provide some

limited feedback to the robot so it can

do its job.

The sensor sends information, in the

form of electronic signals back to the

controller. Sensors also give the

robot controller information about its

surroundings and lets it know the

exact position of the arm, or the state

of the world around it.

An effector is any device that

affects the environment.

Robots control their effectors,

which are also known as end

effectors. Effectors include

legs, wheels, arms, fingers,

wings and fins. Controllers

cause the effectors to

produce desired effects on

the environment.

Actuators, also known as drives, are

mechanisms for getting robots to

move. Most actuators are powered by

pneumatics (air pressure), hydraulics

(fluid pressure), or motors (electric

current). Most actuation uses

electromagnetic motors and gears but

there have been frequent uses of

other forms of actuation including

NiTinOL"muscle-wires" and

inexpensive Radio Control servos.

The robot connects to a

computer, which keeps the

pieces of the arm working

together. This computer is the

controller. The controller

functions as the "brain" of the

robot. The controller can also

network to other systems, so

that the robot may work together

with other machines, processes,

or robots

The robot arm comes in all

shapes and sizes and is the

single most important part in

robotic architecture. The arm is

the part of the robot that positions

the End Effector and Sensors to

do their pre-programmed

business. Many (but not all)

resemble human arms, and have

shoulders, elbows, wrists, even

fingers. This gives the robot a lot

of ways to position itself in its

environment.

Mobile robots are able to move,

usually they perform task such as

search areas. A prime example is

the Mars Explorer, specifically

designed to roam the mars surface .

Mobile robots are a great help to

such collapsed building for survivors

Mobile robots are used for task

where people cannot go. Either

because it is too dangerous of

because people cannot reach the

area that needs to be searched.

Rolling robots have wheels

to move around. These are

the type of robots that can

quickly and easily search

move around. However they

are only useful in flat areas,

rocky terrains give them a

hard time. Flat terrains are

their territory.

Robots on legs are usually

brought in when the terrain is

rocky and difficult to enter with

wheels. Robots have a hard

time shifting balance and keep

them from tumbling. That’s why

most robots with have at least 4

of them, usually they have 6

legs or more.

Robots are not only used to

explore areas or imitate a

human being. Most robots

perform repeating tasks

without ever moving an

inch. Most robots are

‘working’ in industry

settings and are stationary

Autonomous robots are self

supporting or in other words

self contained. In a way they

rely on their own ‘brains’.

Autonomous robots run a

program that give them the

opportunity to decide on the

action to perform depending

on their surroundings. At

times these robots even

learn new behavior.

An autonomous robot is despite its

autonomous not a very clever or

intelligent unit. The memory and

brain capacity is usually limited, an

autonomous robot can be compared

to an insect in that respect . In case a

robot needs to perform more

complicated yet undetermined tasks

an autonomous robot is not the right

choice.

Virtual robots don’t exits in real

life. Virtual robots are just

programs, building blocks of

software inside a computer. A

virtual robot can simulate a real

robot or just perform a

repeating task. A special kind

of robot is a robot that

searches the world wide web.

BEAM is short for

Biology, Electronics,

Aesthetics and

Mechanics. BEAM

robots are made by

hobbyists. BEAM robots

can be simple and very

suitable for starters.