Robotics

Robotics

Sparsa Roychowdhury,Abir Dutta,

Sayantan Dolai

November 22, 2012

Sparsa, Abir, Sayantan () Robotics November 22, 2012 1 / 18

What is your favorite Game?

Figure: ROBOCUP 2010,Singapore


What is your favorite Game?

Figure: ROBOCUP 2010,Singapore


What is a Robot?

Definition

A robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually anelectro-mechanical machine that is guided by a computer program orelectronic circuitry. —Wikipedia


What is robotics?

Definition

Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design,construction, operation and application of robots and computer systems fortheir control, sensory feedback, and information processing. —Wikipedia

The word robot comes from the Slavic word robots, which is used to referforced labor.


What is hard for humans is easy for robots

Robots can do any physical work that a human can do and they can do itvery efficiently and fast. These are some tasks that are easy for Robotsbut not for a human.

1 Repetitive Tasks

2 There are various places unsuitable for humans, where a robot can go.NASA’s Curiosity is a great example of that.

3 Do complicated calculations

4 Refer to huge databases

5 Very fast operation


What is easy for human and hard for robots

There are also various works that are easy for humans and very hard forrobots.

Reasoning

Adapting to new situations

Flexible to changing requirements

Integrating multiple sensors

Resolving conflicting data

Synthesizing unrelated information

Creativity


Suitable tasks for a Robot

1 Dangerous

Space ExplorationChemical spill cleanupDisarming bombsDisaster cleanup

2 Boring or/and Repetitive

Welding car framesPart pick and placeManufacturing parts

3 High precision or high speed

Electronics testingMicrosurgeryPrecision matching


Subsystems of a robot:

So what are the main components of a robot?

1 Power Source

2 Actuation

3 Sensing

4 Manipulation

5 Locomotion

6 Environmental Integration and navigation

7 Human-robot Interaction


Power Source:

At present mostly batteries are used a power source.

Types of Batteries:

There are various type of batteries are available in the market, anddepending on the robotics design and need of power batteries are selected.Mainly lead-acid batteries are used.

Many different type of power source can be used.

1 Pneumatic is the use of pressurized air to achieve mechanicalmovement.

2 Hydraulics can be used as another source of power where pressurizedliquid is used.


Actuation

What is an Actuation?

Actuation are like the muscles of the robot. Which convert stored energyinto movement.

By far the most popular actuator are electric motors that spin a wheel orgear. But various other acuators are available.

1 Linear Actuators

When very large forces are neededTypically powered by pneumatic or hydraulic actuators.

2 Series elastic Actuators

To improve force control a spring can be used as a actuator

3 Air muscles

These are spiral tubes that contract when air is forced inside them.

4 Muscle Wire

It is a material that contracts slightly when electricity runs through it.


Sensing

Sensor:

Sensors allow robots to receive information about a certain measurementof the environment or internal components.

There are many necessary inputs that a robot need to get fromenvironment. Thus we need sensors for,

Touch

Vision

RADAR

SONAR


Manipulation

Robots need to manipulate objects; like pick up, modify, destroy, orotherwise have an effect.

Manipulator

The hand or arm of a robot by which a robot manipulates an object iscalled a manipulator.

1 Mechanical Grippers

It consists of just two fingers or more which can open and close to pickup and let go of range of small objects.

2 Vacuum Grippers

This kind of grippers use air pressure to hold objects, but they canthold any large object.

3 General purpose effects

It is just like a fully humanoid hands.


Locomotion

Locomotion

Locomotion denotes how a robot moves. By means of their movingtechniques various robots are named so.

1 Rolling Robots

They normally have two wheels of more to move one place to other.

2 Tracked Robots

Tank tracks are used as locomotion.

3 Walking

Due to extensive research it is possible make robots that walk likehumans.


Environmental Integration

There are many robots available that work on human supervision or in astatic environment. But as the development continues we have inventedrobots that can work in the dynamic environment too.

Dynamic environment:

It is the environment where conditions can not be guessed before, all thedecision have to take on the fly by the robots.

Such environment can be found in

Navigation Systems

Inertial Guidance Systems


Human-Robot Interaction

If robots are to work in homes and other non-industrial environments, theway they are instructed to perform their jobs.

Human-Robot Interaction

This is the function by means a robot can interact with Humans.

There various ways how a robot can interact with humans they are

Speech Recognition

Robotic Voice

Gestures

Facial Expression

Artificial emotions

Personality


Control

The robot must be controlled by some means to operate. There are variousways to control a robots they are graded by the autonomy levels they have.

Autonomy Level

This is the measurement of Autonomy of a robot.

1 Direct Interaction is used, and human has nearly complete controlover the robots motion.

2 Operator-assist modes have the operator commandingmedium-to-high-level tasks

3 An autonomous robot may go for extended periods of time with outhuman interaction.

Higher level denotes higher autonomy.


Future of Robotics

The Future Is Not Far

Todays robots is still not mature enough to beat human intelligence, butwith the continuous development of robotics the day is not very far when arobot’s intelligence level will beat the human intelligence in every prospect.



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