What is in a ROBOT? Robotic Components Unit A – Ch 3

Definition from Ch 1: A robot is an autonomous system which exists in the physical world, can sense its environment and acts on it to achieve some goal.

Robotic Components This definition tells us our robot needs a: Physical body so that it can exist in the physical world Sensors, o it can perceive/sense its environment Effectors and actuators, so that it can take action A controller so it can be autonomous (brain) We will refer to these as the components of: embodiment, sensing, action, and autonomy. To this definition, we will add POWER SOURCE.

Embodiment The physical body Allows the robot to move, shake, go places, meet people -- interface with other agents –and interact with the physical world Limitations: Influenced by space and time

Question: Software Agents A robot is a special kind of agent. Agents are an entities that: Act on the environment direct activity towards a its goal Is a software agent a robot?

Sensing Sensing and perception are treated as synonyms – receiving data about the real world What does a robot need to sense? Ideally, accurate information that helps it to best achieve its goal. Good design and good software are important.

Animals Many animals have sensors well suited for their niche, namely their environment and position in their ecosystem See animal echolocationanimal echolocation The better a robot can fit their niche, the more likely they are to survive.

Robot States Sensing allows a robot to know its state Borrowed from physics Description of the system at any particular point in time Robot is in state x at time t The larger the state, b/c it takes more symbols to write it down States are observable, partially observable, or hidden State space is the set of all possible states a system (robot) can be in

Representation Robots can ``remember’’ facts about the world (e.g. path through a maze, map) by using models External states are the robot’s perception of the outside world What do you think are internal states? Control system complexity is associated with the type of internal modeling a robot uses

What can robots sense? Anything it has a sensor for! Cameras, sonar, laser, switches and others. Currently, there are machine versions for eyes, ears, noses, tongues, hairs and various other organs

Action Effectors enable a robot to take action The underlying mechanism to make effectors work are actuators Effectors and actuators are mainly used for: Locomotion: moving around, going places Manipulation: handling objects The dimensions a manipulator can move is called its degrees of freedom

Power Source Brains and brawn both require energy Portable power sources can impact the mobility of robots Renewing power sources w/o human intervention is also a current issues

Autonomy (Controllers) Controllers provide the hardware/software that allows autonomy, they: Get sensor readings and existing information Decide course of action to complete the subgoal/goal Give CONTROL to the effectors to take action Play the role of a ``brain and nervous system” Autonomy is the ability to make decisions and act on them Can be complete or partial