Robot Applications Submitted by: Hira

What is in a Robot?  Sensors  Effectors and actuators  Used for locomotion and manipulation  Controllers for the above systems  Coordinating information from sensors with commands for the robot’s actuators  Robot = an autonomous system which exists in the physical world, can sense its environment and can act on it to achieve some goals 2

Characteristics of robot  A robot has these essential characteristics:  Sensing First of all your robot would have to be able to sense its surroundings. It would do this in ways that are not unsimilar to the way that you sense your surroundings. Giving your robot sensors: light sensors (eyes), touch and pressure sensors (hands), chemical sensors (nose), hearing and sonar sensors (ears), andtaste sensors (tongue) will give your robot awareness of its environment.chemical sensorshearing and sonar sensorstaste sensors  Movement A robot needs to be able to move around its environment. Whether rolling on wheels, walking on legs or propelling by thrusters a robot needs to be able to move. To count as a robot either the whole robot moves, like the Sojourner or just parts of the robot moves, like the Canada Arm.  Energy A robot needs to be able to power itself. A robot might be solar powered, electrically powered, battery powered. The way your robot gets its energy will depend on what your robot needs to do.  Intelligence A robot needs some kind of "smarts." This is where programming enters the pictures. A programmer is the person who gives the robot its 'smarts.' The robot will have to have some way to receive the program so that it knows what it is to do.

Robotics Applications  Today, commercial robots are used routinely in the following applications:  Industrial Manufacturing – “Transforming objects” - arc/spot welding, milling/drilling, glueing/sealing, laser/water jet cutting, grinding, deburring, screwing, painting, and assembly.  Material Handling: “Pick and Place”- palletizing (placing objects on a pellet in an ordered way), warehouse loading/unloading, part sorting, packaging, electronic chip pick and place, hazardous material handling.  Measurement: object finding, contour finding, inspection, 3D registration.  Entertainment robotics: animated figures, flight simulator, robotic pets.  Service robotics: robotic aids for handicapped people, artificial limbs, robotic vacuum, courier.  Military robotics: defusing explosive devices, scout robots, UAVs.  Surgical Robotics: drilling, suturing, cauterizing, tool holding.

Robotics Applications  Robot prices continue to drop compared to the cost of human labor.  In the year 2000, 78% of all robots installed in the US were welding or material-handling robots.