Robotics
Robotics is a confluence science using the continuing advancements of Mechanical Engineering. Material Science, Sensor Fabrication, Manufacturing Techniques and Advanced Algorithms. The study and practice of robotics will expose professionals to hundreds of different avenues in the areas of Innovation and Automation. Robotics brings forth a magical curiosity of the world leading to creation of amazing machines.
Robotics can be defined as the science or study of the technology primarily associated with the design, fabrication, theory and application of robots, other areas which contribute includes knowledge of mathematics, techniques and components enable robotics to create the magical end product.
The practical applications of robots drive development of robotics and drive advancements in other sciences. Robotics spans multiple scientific and engineering disciplines, when a person wants to design a better robot, he/she should get some basic knowledge.
How much one should learn depends on how complex one wants to make a robot.
Example: A small tethered tabletop robot would only require some basic knowledge in electronics and programming, a shoe box sized robot would require some additional knowledge on mechanics (mostly about balance) and a large robot might even require some knowledge on solid mechanics. This page covers the fields that are very much used in robotics.
You don't need to know everything about all of these subjects, however knowing the basics of each of these fields can help in building better robots and prevent you from making (some of the) beginner's mistakes. Robots hold the promise of moving and transforming materials with the same momentum and ease as a computer program transforms data.
History of Robotics
The word "robot" conjures up a variety of images, from R2D2 and C3PO of Star Wars fame; to human-like machines that exist to serve their creators (perhaps in the form of the cooking and cleaning Rosie in the popular cartoon series the Jet sons); to the Rover Sojourner, which explored the Martian landscape as part of the Mars Pathfinder mission. Some people may alternatively perceive robots as dangerous technological ventures that will someday lead to the demise of the human race, either by outsmarting or out muscling us and taking over the world, or by turning us into completely technology- dependent beings who passively sit by and program robots to do all of our work.
In fact,the first use of the word robot" occurred in a play about mechanical men that are built to work on factory assembly lines and that rebel again their human masters. These machines in R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). written by Czech playwright Karl Capek in 1921, got their name from the Czech word for siave.
The word "robotics" was also coined by a writer. Russian-born American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov first used the word in 1942 in his short story "Runabout." Asimov had a much brighter and more optimistic opinion of the robot's role in human society than did Capek.
He generally characterized the robots in his short stories as helpful servants of man and viewed robots as "a better, cleaner race."
Asimov also proposed three Laws of Robotics:
Law One: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to ham.
Law Two: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Law Three: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Classification of Robots.
There are different types of Robots as per different criteria. First and foremost, let us look at some of the internationally approved classifications: Classification by Japanese Industrial Robot Association (JIRA):
1. Class 1 or Manual Handling Device: Device with multiple degrees of freedom (different directions in which a part can move) and actuated by an operator.
An example is a Crane.
2. Class 2 or Fixed Sequence Robot: Device which performs successive stages of a task as per a fixed method.
3. Class 3 or Variable Sequence Robot: Device that performs same as Class 2 robots, but whose control can be modified.
4. Class 4 or Playback Robot: Device which repeats tasks performed by humans, by following the recorded version of manual work
5. Class 5 or Numerical Control Robot: Device controlled by a computer through movement program.
6. Class 6 or Intelligent Robot: A device which has a good assessment of its environment and performs tasks by manipulating its movements as per changes in the surroundings.
However, note that as per the Robotics Institute of America (RIA), only the last four types are Robots and not the first two. Classification by Association Francoise de Robotique (AFR):
1. Type A: Manually controlled handling devices.
2. Type B: Automatic handling devices with predetermined cycles.
3. Type C: Programmable, motor-controlled robots with the point to point or continuous path.
4. Type D: Same as Type C, but with environmental sensing capacity.
These robots work in the environment like that of humans and are designed to imitate human behaviour. Stability is maintained by calculating each step and moving the weight in a well-defined way. Practical examples include Sony's QRIO and Honda's ASIMO.
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