CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION

Robot
- The concept of artificial humans predates recorded history but the modern term robot derives from the
Czech word robota (“forced labour”), used in Karel Čapek’s play Rossum’s Universal Robots.
- A robot is a “programmable, multifunction manipulator design to move materials, parts, tools or special
devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of the variety of task”. Robotics
Institute of America

Robotics
- The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots,
as well as computer system for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing.
- The design of a given robotic system will often contain principles of mechanical and electronic
engineering and computer science.
- The word robotics was first used in 1941 by the writer Isaac Asimov in his science-fiction story Runaround
(1942)

Isaac Asimov’s 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.

Advantages of having robots in our society:

 Efficiency and Productivity
 Safety
 Accuracy
 Cost Savings
 Exploration and Research having robots in our society.

Disadvantages of having robots in our society:

 Job displacement
 Dependency and Skill Gap
 Ethical Concerns
 Initial Costs and Maintenance
 Social Isolation

Automation
- The technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, as by
electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum.
- A mechanical device, operated electronically, that functions automatically, without continuous input from
an operator.
- A technology that is concerned with the use of electronic, mechanical and computer-based system in the
operation control and production.
- The definition of automation is the use of machines and technology to make processes run on their own
without manpower.
Difference between robotics and automation
 Automation is the process of using technology to complete human tasks.
 Robotics is the process of developing robots to carry out particular function.

HISTORY OF ROBOTICS
270BC
- An ancient Greek engineer named Ctesibus made organs and water clocks with moveable figures.

1495
- Leonardo da Vinci designed and possibly built the first humanoid robot.
- The robot was design to sit up, wave its arms, and move its head via a flexible neck while opening and
closing its jaw.

1818
- Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein” which was about a frightening artificial life form created by Dr.
Frankenstein.

1921
- The term "robot" was first used in a play called "R.U.R." or Rossum's Universal Robots by the Czech
writer Karel Čapek. The plot was simple: man makes robot then robot kills man.

1941
- Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov first used the word "robotics" to describe the technology of robots
and predicted the rise of a powerful robot industry.

1968
- The octopus-like Tentacle Arm was developed by Marvin Minsky.
1969
- Victor Scheinman creates the Stanford Arm, which was the first successful electrically-powered,
computer-controlled robot arm.

1969
- WAP-1 is the first biped robot designed by Ichiro Kato.
- Computers were used to stimulate artificial muscles connected to the frame.

1970
- Shakey was introduced as the first mobile robot controlled by artificial intelligence. It was produced by
SRI International.

1975
- Programmable Universal Manipulation Arm (PUMA) was capable of moving an object and placing it with
any orientation in a desired location within its reach. The basic multijointed concept of the PUMA is the
template for most contemporary robots.

1998
- LEGO releases their MINDSTORMS product line, which is a system for inventing robots.

1999
- Sony released the first Aibo robotic dog.
1999
- Personal Robots released the Cye robot. It performed a variety of household chores, such as delivering
mail, camping dishes, and vacuuming. It was created by Probotics Inc.
- Sony unveiled the Sony Dream Robots (SDR) at Robodex. It was able to recognize 10 different faces,
expresses emotion through speech and body language, and can walk on flat as well as irregular surfaces.

2001
- iRobot Packbots searched through the rubble of the world Trade Center. Subsequent versions of the
Packbot robots are used in Afghanistan and Iraq.

2002
- Honda created the Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO).
- It is intended to be a personal assistant.
- It recognizes its owner's face, voice, and name.
- Can read email and is capable of streaming video from its camera to a PC.

2002
- iRobot released the first generation of Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners.

2003
- As part of their mission to explore Mars, NASA launched tuin robotic rovers on June 10 and July 7, 2003
called Spirit and Sojourner.

2005
- The Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), created HUBO.
- Claims it is the smartest mobile robot in the world.
- This robot is linked to a computer to a high-speed wireless connection; the computer does all of the
thinking for the robot.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROBOTS
Branches involved in robotics
Robotics in contrast to other branches is a reasonably new domain of engineering. It is a multi-disciplinary
domain. The different branches occupied in the development of Robotics are:
Mechanical Engineering
- Deals with the machinery & structure of the Robots.
Electrical Engineering
- Deals with the controlling & intelligence (sensing) of Robots.
Computer Engineering
- Deals with the movement development and observation of Robots.
Artificial Intelligence
- the developing of an intelligence of machine and is a branch of computer science
Nanorobotics
- the field of creating machines that are at a scale of a nanometer
Telepresence
- the study given to an illusion of being at a place without being there physically.
Robot Locomotion
- the study of the methods that robots use to transport themselves from place to another.

TYPES OF ROBOTS
The most common types of robots are:
 Mobile robots
 Rolling Robots – have wheels to move around they can quickly and easily search. However, they
are only in flat areas.
 Walking Robots – Robots on legs are usually brought in when the terrain is rocky. Most robot
have at least 4 legs usually they have 6 or more.

 Stationary Robots – are not only used to explore areas or copy human being. Most robots perform
repeating tasks without moving. 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’.

CLASSIFICATION OF ROBOTS
Robots are categorized depending upon the circuits of the Robots and the variety of application it can
perform. The robots are classified into three types:
 Simple level Robots - These are automatic machines which do not contain complex circuit. They are
developed just to extend human potential.
 Middle level Robots - These robots are programmed but can never be reprogrammed. These robots
contain sensor-based circuit & can perform multiple tasks.
 Complex level Robots - These robots are programmed and can be reprogrammed as well. They contain
complex model-based circuit.
CLASSIFICATION BY DEGREES OF FREEDOM
Degrees of freedom refers to the different directions a robotic arm can move. They represent the location as
well as the orientation of an object. Basically, such type of robots is pick and place robots, which pick and
place the objects on a location and with an orientation.
 3 Degrees of Freedom: A robot with 3 degrees of freedom can only pick up the object and place it
anywhere in its workspace, using the 3 different coordinate axes.
 6 Degrees of Freedom: A robot with 6 degrees of freedom can pick the object and place it anywhere in its
workspace, at any orientation.

CLASSIFICATION AS PER APPLICATION

 Industrial: Industrial robots are generally fixed manipulators which perform in various working
environments. They perform various general-purpose tasks like Welding, Painting, machining, etc. In fact,
the first robots were the industrial robots which were used for simple repetitive tasks.
 Non-Industrial or Special Purpose: These are robots which assist humans in their chores.
 Medical: There has been an increasing use of robots in the medical field for surgery, rehabilitation and
training. Medical robots are not meant to replace the surgeons but serve as a surgical assistant to the
surgeon.
 Space: With the advent of robotic technologies, exploration of various celestial bodies has been a reality.
Tasks like space manipulation, surface mobility and scientific experiments are performed by space robots.
 Entertainment: These types of robots are employed for entertainment. This is an extremely wide-ranging
category. It begins with model robots such as Robosapien or the running photo frames and concludes
with real heavyweights like articulated robot arms employed as movement simulators.
 Hobby and competition: Robots that are created by students. Sumo-bots, Line followers, robots prepared
merely for learning, fun, and robots prepared for contests.

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PHYSICAL CONFIGURATION

 A Cartesian coordinate robot (also called linear robot) – is an industrial robot whose three principal axes
of control are linear (i.e. they move in a straight line rather than rotate) and are at right angles to each
other. The three sliding joints correspond to moving the wrist up-down, in-out, back-forth.
 Cylindrical configuration – consists of a vertical column, relative to which an arm assembly is moved in
and out relative to the axis of the column. Common configuration is to use a T-joint to rotate the column
about it axes.
 Polar/Spherical configurations – with a combined linear joint and two rotary joints, with an arm
connected to a robotic base and a twisting joint. Also known as spherical robots, the axes create a
spherical work envelope and a polar coordinate system. They are well-known in the history of robotics.
 Articulated Robots – mechanical movement and configuration closely resembles a human arm. The arm is
mounted to a base with a twisting joint. The arm itself can feature anywhere from two rotary joints up to
ten rotary joints