1. INTRODUCTION TO ROBOTICS Part 1: Overview Robotics and Automation Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 1

2. Early Robot History The word robot was introduced in 1920 in a play by Czech writer Karel Capek called R.U.R., or Rossum's Universal Robots. Robot comes from the Czech word robota, meaning serf labor or drudgery. The term robotics was coined in the 1940s by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. In a series of stories and novels, he imagined a world in which mechanical beings were mankind's devoted helpers. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 2

3. Asimov's 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. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 3

4. Name Robots You Know What robots do you know about or have heard of ? Give a name and a brief description. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 4

5. The First Robot The first robot was called the Unimate Installed in a General Motors automobile manufacturing plant in 1961 Used to move and weld die castings Basically a moving arm on a fixed base The first robots were expensive (more than $100,000) and not that useful These robots look nothing like the popular android concept used by fiction writers Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 5

6. Three Common Robot Applications Industrial robots are used for jobs that are: Dirty Dangerous Repetitive Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 6

7. Key factors in actual robot use Knowledge of manufacturing system dynamics, including: materials handling manufacturing processes manufacturing economics human behavior in factories Each of these are Industrial Engineering field specialties Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 7

8. Benefits of Robot Use Increased productivity Improved (and consistent) quality Reduction in cost of manufacturing Improved management control of process and productivity Operation in hostile environments Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 8

9. Focus on Jobs Robots replace human workers Primarily routine and labor intensive jobs Robots create different types of jobs Robot technicians, operators, and repairmen Salesmen with technical knowledge Engineers Programmers Supervisors with technical process and workflow design expertise New jobs require more knowledge and skill Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 9

10. What is a Robot? A machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, esp. one programmable by a computer. A robot is a mechanical contraption which can perform tasks on its own, or with guidance. In practice a robot is usually an electromechanical machine which is told what to do by computer and electronic programming. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 10

11. Example Robots View example robots from the following internet websites: Industry Student Competitions Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 11

12. General Description There is no consensus on which machines qualify as robots but there is general agreement among experts, and the public, that robots tend to do some or all of the following: move around operate a mechanical limb sense and manipulate their environment exhibit intelligent behavior especially behavior which mimics humans or other animals. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 12

13. Our Definition For us, a robot will have 3 features: a mechanical device that can move around and manipulate its environment uses a microcontroller requires a computer program to operate Some robots we build may not be technically considered true robots, primarily because they will be manually controlled by the user. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 13

14. Robot Systems Structural System Physical system that provides support and stability Propulsion System (motion) Drive system includes motors, wheels, and gears Sensor, Tool, and Feedback System Perception, transducers Tools, arms, grippers, manipulators, actuators Control System Microcontroller, electrical power, and joystick Programming Operation and control Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 14

15. Simple Robot Block Diagram External Environment Sensors Internal Environment Sensors Control Unit Actuator External Action Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 15

16. Robot Basics A robot is a device that can respond to and manipulate its environment. Sensors are used to gain information about the robot environment. A robot can only respond to what it senses. Actuators are those devices which perform the physical operations of the robot. Manipulators/arms/grippers Motors/propulsion/motion Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 16

17. Types Of Control Remote Control Wireless using some type of joystick Uses radio frequencies to communicate Autonomous Performs without human guidance A computer program tells it what to do Has sensors to respond to its environment Tethered Wires physically connect controller to robot Wires may also deliver power Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 17

18. Power Our primary power source will be a battery Portable (robot moves freely) Heavy (may need extra support and protection) Steady DC voltage Needs to be recharged or replaced May need multiple batteries with different voltages One for propulsion (motors), one for the controller (joystick), one for the microcontroller Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 18

19. Control System Microcontroller (  c) Runs the computer program Needs proper connections to make things work Needs proper signals to make things work Joystick Sends user control signals to the  c Receives control signals from the  c Motor controller Gets signals from the  c Sends power to the motors Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 19

20. Robot Evolution A robot cannot understand what it is sensing in the traditional way that humans do. It can only understand in the way that a program can get information and make useful decisions as a result. What we think of as robot intelligence is simply the ability to handle an increased number of variables. varieties of situations Newer robots are able to perform tasks that are non repetitive and non sequential, and in more and more complex environments. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. 20