Robotics study guide

ITE I

The main parts of a robot

A robot has five main parts:

•Arm •Controller

•Drive •End Effector

•Sensor

CONTROLLER - Every robot is connected to a computer, which keeps the pieces of the arm working together. This computer is known as the controller. The controller functions as the "brain" of the robot.

CONTROLLER

ARM - Robot arms come in all shapes and sizes. The arm is the part of the robot that positions the end-effector and sensors to do their pre-programmed business.

ARM

DRIVE - The drive is the "engine" that drives the links (the sections between the joints into their desired position. Without a drive, a robot would just sit there, which is not often helpful. Most drives are powered by air, water pressure, or electricity.

END- EFFECTOR - The end-effector is the "hand" connected to the robot's arm. It is often different from a human hand - it could be a tool such as a gripper, a vacuum pump, tweezers, scalpel, blowtorch - just about anything that helps it do its job. Some robots can change end-effectors, and be reprogrammed for a different set of tasks.

SENSOR - Most robots of today are nearly deaf and blind. Sensors can provide some limited feedback to the robot so it can do its job. Compared to the senses and abilities of even the simplest living things, robots have a very long way to go.

DEGREES OF FREEDOM

Click on the robot's color-coded joints to see how they move.

                                    

    ROTATE BASE OF ARM

    PIVOT BASE OF ARM

    BEND ELBOW

    WRIST UP AND DOWN

    WRIST LEFT AND RIGHT

    ROTATE WRIST

Some robots have 8, 12, or even 20 degrees of freedom, but these 6 are enough for most basic tasks. As a result, most jointed-arm robots in use today have 6 degrees of freedom.

Work Envelope: the area in which the robot operates.

200 B.C.The Greek inventor and physicist Ctesibus ('ti sib ee uhs') of Alexandria designs water clocks that have movable figures on them. Water clocks are a big breakthrough for timepieces. Up until then the Greeks used hour glasses that had to be turned over after all the sand ran through. Ctesibus' invention changed this because it measured time as a result of the force of water falling through it at a constant rate. In general, the Greeks were fascinated with automata of all kinds often using them in theater productions and religious ceremonies.

1738Jacques de Vaucanson begins building automata in Grenoble, France. He builds three in all. His first was the flute player that could play twelve songs. This was closely followed by his second automaton that played a flute and a drum or tambourine, but by far his third was the most famous of them all. The duck was an example of Vaucanson's attempt at what he called "moving anatomy", or modeling human or animal anatomy with mechanics." The duck moved, quacked, flapped it's wings and even ate and digested food

1822Charles Babbage demonstrates a prototype of his "Difference Engine" to the Royal Astronomical Society. He continues his work by designing an even more ambitious project "the Analytical Engine" that reportedly was to use punch cards inspired by Joseph Jacquard's invention. During his lifetime he never produces a functional version of either machine. Despite this shortcoming he is often heralded as the "Father of the Computer" and his work lives on as the foundation for the binary numbering system that is the basis of modern computers.

1921Czech writer Karel Capek introduced the word "Robot" in his play "R.U.R" (Rossuum's Universal Robots). "Robot" in Czech comes from the word "robota", meaning "compulsory labor"

Issac Asimov's most important contribution to the history of the robot is the creation of his Three Laws of Robotics:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

1959John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky start the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1961Heinrich Ernst develops the MH-1, a computer operated

mechanical hand at MIT.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with intelligent behavior, learning, and adaptation in machines. Research in AI is concerned with producing machines to automate tasks requiring intelligent behavior

1962The first industrial arm robot - the Unimate - is introduced. It is designed to complete repetitive or dangerous tasks on a General Motors assembly line.

Ninety percent of robots work in factories, and more than half

are at work making automobiles.

Sony’s AIBO

Lego Mindstorm

Asimov

The Five Factors to developing a Humanoid Robot•Interaction•Locomotion•Navigation•Manipulation•Intelligence

Spirit and Opportunity