Introduction
Robotics is
an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science that includes mechanical
engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and others. Robotics
deals with the design, construction, operation, and use of robots, as well as computer
systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing.
These technologies
are used to develop machines that can substitute for humans. Robots can be used
in any situation and for any purpose, but today many are used in dangerous
environments (including bomb detection and de-activation), manufacturing
processes, or where humans cannot survive. Robots can take on any form but some
are made to resemble humans in appearance. This is said to help in the
acceptance of a robot in certain replicative behaviors usually performed by
people. Such robots attempt to replicate walking, lifting, speech, cognition,
and basically anything a human can do. Many of today's robots are inspired by
nature, contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics.
The concept of
creating machines that can operate autonomously dates back to classical times,
but research into the functionality and potential uses of robots did not grow
substantially until the 20th century. Throughout history, it has been frequently
assumed that robots will one day be able to mimic human behavior and manage
tasks in a human-like fashion. Today, robotics is a rapidly growing field, as
technological advances continue; researching, designing, and building new
robots serve various practical purposes, whether domestically, commercially, or
militarily. Many robots are built to do jobs that are hazardous to people such
as defusing bombs, finding survivors in unstable ruins, and exploring mines and
shipwrecks. Robotics is also used in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics) as a teaching aid.
History
In 1942,
the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov created his Three Laws of Robotics.
In 1948,
Norbert Wiener formulated the principles of cybernetics, the basis of practical
robotics.
Fully
autonomous only appeared in the second half of the 20th century. The first
digitally operated and programmable robot, the Animate, was installed in 1961
to lift hot pieces of metal from a die casting machine and stack them.
Commercial and industrial robots are widespread today and used to perform jobs
more cheaply, more accurately and more reliably, than humans. They are also
employed in some jobs which are too dirty, dangerous, or dull to be suitable
for humans. Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly, packing and
packaging, mining, transport, earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry,
laboratory research, safety, and the mass production of consumer
and industrial goods.[6]
Robotic aspect
Robotic construction
Electrical aspect
A level of
programming
There are
many types of robots; they are used in many different environments and for many
different uses, although being very diverse in application and form they all
share three basic similarities when it comes to their construction:
- Robots all have some kind of mechanical construction, a frame, form or shape designed to achieve a particular task. For example, a robot designed to travel across heavy dirt or mud, might use caterpillar tracks. The mechanical aspect is mostly the creator's solution to completing the assigned task and dealing with the physics of the environment around it. Form follows function.
- Robots have electrical components which power and control the machinery. For example, the robot with caterpillar tracks would need some kind of power to move the tracker treads. That power comes in the form of electricity, which will have to travel through a wire and originate from a battery, a basic electrical circuit. Even petrol powered machines that get their power mainly from petrol still require an electric current to start the combustion process which is why most petrol powered machines like cars, have batteries. The electrical aspect of robots is used for movement (through motors), sensing (where electrical signals are used to measure things like heat, sound, position, and energy status) and operation (robots need some level of electrical energy supplied to their motors and sensors in order to activate and perform basic operations)
- All robots contain some level of computer programming code. A program is how a robot decides when or how to do something. In the caterpillar track example, a robot that needs to move across a muddy road may have the correct mechanical construction and receive the correct amount of power from its battery, but would not go anywhere without a program telling it to move. Programs are the core essence of a robot, it could have excellent mechanical and electrical construction, but if its program is poorly constructed its performance will be very poor (or it may not perform at all). There are three different types of robotic programs: remote control, artificial intelligence and hybrid. A robot with remote control programing has a preexisting set of commands that it will only perform if and when it receives a signal from a control source, typically a human being with a remote control. It is perhaps more appropriate to view devices controlled primarily by human commands as falling in the discipline of automation rather than robotics. Robots that use artificial intelligence interact with their environment on their own without a control source, and can determine reactions to objects and problems they encounter using their preexisting programming. Hybrid is a form of programming that incorporates both AI and RC functions.
Applications
As more and more
robots are designed for specific tasks this method of classification becomes
more relevant. For example, many robots are designed for assembly work, which
may not be readily adaptable for other applications. They are termed as
"assembly robots". For seam welding, some suppliers provide complete
welding systems with the robot i.e. the welding equipment along with other
material handling facilities like turntables etc. as an integrated unit. Such
an integrated robotic system is called a "welding robot" even though
its discrete manipulator unit could be adapted to a variety of tasks. Some
robots are specifically designed for heavy load manipulation, and are labelled
as "heavy duty robots".
Current and
potential applications include:
- Military robots
- Caterpillar plans to develop remote controlled machines and expects to develop fully autonomous heavy robots by 2021.Some cranes already are remote controlled.
- It was demonstrated that a robot can perform a herdingtask.
- Robots are increasingly used in manufacturing (since the 1960s). In the auto industry, they can amount for more than half of the "labor". There are even "lights off" factories such as an IBM keyboard manufacturing factory in Texas that is 100% automated.
- Robots such as HOSPI are used as couriers in hospitals (hospital robot). Other hospital tasks performed by robots are receptionists, guides and porters helpers.
- Robots can serve as waitersand cooks, also at home. Boris is a robot that can load a dishwasher.
- Robot combat for sport – hobby or sport event where two or more robots fight in an arena to disable each other. This has developed from a hobby in the 1990s to several TV series worldwide.
- Cleanup of contaminated areas, such as toxic waste or nuclear facilities.
- Agricultural robots (AgRobots).
- Domestic robots, cleaning and caring for the elderly
- Medical robots performing low-invasive surgery
- Household robots with full use.
- Nano robots
- Swarm robotics
A course in robotics trains and
educates a student in the field of artificial intelligence, computer-aided
manufacturing, computer integrated manufacturing system, computational
geometry, robot motion planning, digital electronics and micro processing.
Robotics is an essential component in many modern manufacturing industries. As
the industries increases, scope for robotics also increases. Robots are mainly
used for carrying materials including heavy parts to and from inconvenient
locations and handling hazardous materials like nuclear waste.
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