ROBOTICS

A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer— capable of carrying out a complex series of actions
automatically. Robots can be guided by an external control device or the control may be embedded within. Robots may
be constructed to take on human form but most robots are machines designed to perform a task with no regard to how
they look.

Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in
Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, medical operating
robots, patient assist robots, dog therapy robots, collectively programmed swarm robots, UAV drones such as General
Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and even microscopic nano robots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating
movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought of its own. Autonomous Things are expected to
proliferate in the coming decade, with home robotics and the autonomous car as some of the main drivers.

The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, as well as
computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing is robotics. These technologies deal
with automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or
resemble humans in appearance, behavior, or cognition. Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to
the field of bio-inspired robotics. These robots have also created a newer branch of robotics: soft robotics.

Origin of the term 'robot'

'Robot' was first applied as a term for artificial automata in a 1920 play R.U.R. by the Czech writer, Karel Čapek.
However, Josef Čapek was named by his brother Karel as the true inventor of the term robot.[7][8] The word 'robot' itself
was not new, having been in Slavic language as robota (forced laborer), a term which classified those peasants obligated
to compulsory service under the feudal system widespread in 19th century Europe (see: Robot Patent). Čapek's fictional
story postulated the technological creation of artificial human bodies without souls, and the old theme of the
feudal robota class eloquently fit the imagination of a new class of manufactured, artificial workers.

Early robots

W. H. Richards with "George", 1932

In 1928, one of the first humanoid robots, Eric, was exhibited at the annual exhibition of the Model Engineers Society
in London, where it delivered a speech. Invented by W. H. Richards, the robot's frame consisted of an aluminium body of
armour with eleven electromagnets and one motor powered by a twelve-volt power source. The robot could move its
hands and head and could be controlled through remote control or voice control. Both Eric and his "brother" George
toured the world.

Westinghouse Electric Corporation built Televox in 1926; it was a cardboard cutout connected to various devices which
users could turn on and off. In 1939, the humanoid robot known as Elektro was debuted at the 1939 New York World's
Fair. Seven feet tall (2.1 m) and weighing 265 pounds (120.2 kg), it could walk by voice command, speak about 700
words (using a 78-rpm record player), smoke cigarettes, blow up balloons, and move its head and arms. The body
consisted of a steel gear, cam and motor skeleton covered by an aluminum skin. In 1928, Japan's first
robot, Gakutensoku, was designed and constructed by biologist Makoto Nishimura.

Modern autonomous robots

The first electronic autonomous robots with complex behaviour were created by William Grey Walter of the Burden
Neurological Institute at Bristol, England in 1948 and 1949. He wanted to prove that rich connections between a small
number of brain cells could give rise to very complex behaviors– essentially that the secret of how the brain worked lay
in how it was wired up. His first robots, named Elmer and Elsie, were constructed between 1948 and 1949 and were
often described as tortoises due to their shape and slow rate of movement. The three-wheeled tortoise robots were
capable of phototaxis, by which they could find their way to a recharging station when they ran low on battery power.

Walter stressed the importance of using purely analogue electronics to simulate brain processes at a time when his
contemporaries such as Alan Turing and John von Neumannwere all turning towards a view of mental processes in terms
of digital computation. His work inspired subsequent generations of robotics researchers such as Rodney Brooks, Hans
Moravec and Mark Tilden. Modern incarnations of Walter's turtles may be found in the form of BEAM robotics.

U.S. Patent 2,988,237, issued in 1961 to Devol.

The first digitally operated and programmable robot was invented by George Devol in 1954 and was ultimately called
the Unimate. This ultimately laid the foundations of the modern robotics industry. Devol sold the first Unimate
to General Motors in 1960, and it was installed in 1961 in a plant in Trenton, New Jersey to lift hot pieces of metal from
a die casting machine and stack them. Devol's patent for the first digitally operated programmable robotic arm
represents the foundation of the modern robotics industry.

The first palletizing robot was introduced in 1963 by the Fuji Yusoki Kogyo Company. In 1973, a robot with six
electromechanically driven axes was patented by KUKA robotics in Germany, and the programmable universal
manipulation arm was invented by Victor Scheinman in 1976, and the design was sold to Unimation.

Commercial and industrial robots are now in widespread use performing jobs more cheaply or with greater accuracy and
reliability than humans. They are also employed for jobs which are too dirty, dangerous or dull to be suitable for
humans. Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly and packing, transport, earth and space exploration,
surgery, weaponry, laboratory research, and mass production of consumer and industrial goods.

Kinds and Types of Robotics

I. Pre-Programmed Robots
Pre-programmed robots operate in a simple, controlled environment so that they do not require a great deal in the way
of intelligent control systems ("artificial intelligence") to operate successfully. The most familiar pre-programmed robots
are probably the robots used to build cars in most automobile plants around the world. There are similar robots that
operate not on cars, but on the human body. Learn more about pre-programmed robots in both industry and in the
medical field.

II. Autonomous Robots

Autonomous robots operate independently of human operators in environments that are not as tightly controlled as
pre-programmed robots. They have "autonomy" because it is ultimately the machine's responsibility to detect changes
in the environment and to adapt to it. When operating properly it is not necessary for humans to constantly monitor and
manipulate the environment to accommodate limitations in the robot's ability to cope. Autonomous robots are used in
industry, as labor-saving devices at home, and are even becoming popular toys.

III. Teleoperated Robots

Teleoperated robots are controlled remotely by a human being. The underwater robots that helped fix the oil leak in the
Gulf of Mexico were teleoperated. The robotic arm on the Space Shuttle is another example. There are many such
examples with the number and kind of robots growing with each passing year. Special emphasis will be given to the use
of such robots in the medical field. It is now possible for your physician to be tele-present in your home town, even if she
is on a trip to China.

IV. Augmenting Robots

Some robots are connected directly to the human user's body, either by the user gripping the controls in their hand or
by having it in contact witj the user's body in some other way. Movements of the users body (sometimes it is only the
mental activity of the user's brain) ultimately control a robotic effector of some kind. These robots can either enhance
the user's natural skill in some way (e.g., extending their reach) or give them a skill they don't have or have lost (e.g., a
robotic prosthetic arm). These robots can give humans the lifting power of giants and the dexterity of a virtuoso
surgeon.

Interestingly a robot that looks like a human is probably the most difficult robot to make. It is usually a waste of time
and not the most sensible thing to model a robot after a human being. A robot needs to be above all functional and
designed with qualities that suits its primary tasks. It depends on the task at hand whether the robot is big, small, able
to move or nailed to the ground. Each and every task means different qualities, form and function, a robot needs to be
designed with the task in mind

Mobile Robots

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.

Mobile robots can be divided in two categories:

1. Rolling Robots: 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.
2. Walking Robots: 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. Even when they lift one or more legs they still keep their balance.
Development of legged robots is often modeled after insects or crawfish

BEAM Robots

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.

Biology

Robots are often modeled after nature. A lot of BEAM robots look remarkably like insects. Insects are easy to build in
mechanical form. Not just the mechanics are in inspiration also the limited behavior can easily be programmed in a
limited amount of memory and processing power.

Electronics

Like all robots they also contain electronics. Without electronic circuits the engines cannot be controlled. Lots of Beam
Robots also use solar power as their main source of energy.

Aesthetics

A BEAM Robot should look nice and attractive. BEAM robots have no printed circuits with some parts but an appealing
and original appearance.

Mechanics

In contrast with expensive big robots BEAM robots are cheap, simple, built out of recycled material and running on solar
energy.

Basic Parts of a Robot

Sensors

Sensors are what allow a robot to gather information about its environment. This information can be used to guide the
robot's behavior. Some sensors are relatively familiar pieces of equipment. Cameras allow a robot to construct a visual
representation of its environment. This allows the robot to judge attributes of the environment that can only be
determined by vision, such as shape and color, as well as aid in determining other important qualities, such as the size
and distance of objects.

Microphones allow robots to detect sounds. Sensors such as buttons embedded in bumpers can allow the robot to
determine when it has collided with an object or a wall. Some robots come equipped
with thermometers and barometers to sense temperature and pressure.

Other types of sensors are more complex, and give a robot more interesting capabilities. Robots equipped with LIght
Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) sensors use lasers to construct three dimensional maps of their surroundings as they
navigate through the world. Supersonic sensors are a cheaper way to accomplish a similar goal only using high frequency
sound instead of lasers. Finally, some robots are equipped with specialized sensors
suchas accelerometers and magnetometers that allow the robot to sense its movement with respect to the Earth's
gravity and magnetic field.

Effectors

The effectors are the parts of the robot that actually do the work. Effectors can be any sort of tool that you can mount
on your robot and control with the robot's computer. Most of the time, the effectors are specific to the tasks that you
want your robot to do. For example, in addition to some of the very common effectors listed below, the Mars rovers
have tools like hammers, shovels, and a mass spectrometer to use in analyzing the soil of Mars. Obviously a mail-
delivering robot would not need any of those.

End-Effectors are the tools at the end of robotic arms and other robotic appendiges that directly interact with objects in
the world. A "gripper" at the end of a robotic arm is a common end-effector. Others include spikes, lights, hammers and
screw-drivers. Medical robots have their own specialized effectors, such as tools for cutting in surgery and suturing
incisions.

Motors can be used for many of the moving parts of a robot, from joints on robotic limbs to wheels on robotic vehicles,
to the flaps and propellors on a robotic airplane. Pneumatics and hydraulics are another way of moving parts of the
robot, particularly where the robot needs a lot of strength to perform a particular task.
Speakers can allow certain robots to talk to us or generate other sounds. Speech is, after all, a behavior intended to
modify the environment, usually by conveying some sort of information to the people around us.

Basic Components of a Robot

1. Locomotion System – This system defines how the robot moves whether it is translatory motion, rotatory motion,
etc. Using this system, you can make your robot move forward, backward, right, left, climb up/down, etc. To accomplish
this, we need devices which convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Such devices are called actuators and the
most popular actuator is the DC Motor.

2. Power Supply System – For a robot to work, we need a power supply. It acts as food to the robot. Unless you feed
your robot, it cannot work! Thus, we need to provide a power supply for that. For robotic applications (in fact most
major applications), we need DC supply (usually 5V, 9V, 12V DC, sometimes goes as high as 18V, 24V, 36V, etc. as per
your requirement). The best way for this is to use a battery (as it provides DC supply directly) or use an SMPS/Eliminator
to convert AC to DC and then use it. But voltage is not the only thing that matters while choosing a proper supply. Your
power source should also be able to supply sufficient current to drive all the loads connected to it, directly or indirectly.

3. Actuator System – As described above, actuators are devices which bring about the locomotion of the robot. There
are many actuators used like DC Motors, Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, etc. The way they are connected together, their
circuit diagram, their location, orientation, position, etc. everything comes under Actuator System.

4. Sensor System – In order for the robot to interact with the physical world, we need to introduce sensors (which can
measure physical parameters like temperature, pressure, heat, radio waves, IR waves, etc). These sensor systems
provide a feedback from the real world to the digital world (embedded electronics), which are processed and the robot
takes the decision accordingly.

5. Signal Processing System – The data from the sensors and other electrical and digital signals need to be processed, so
that the robot analyzes the situation and makes its moves. For this, we introduce electronic components to process the
signals. The components can be any analog/digital device, or even a microcontroller.

6. Control System – This is the major governing system of the robot. Every system that is present inside the robot and
functioning can be represented in form of a control system (open-loop and closed-loop).