ROBOTICS

DEFINITION

Robotics is the science and technology of robots, and their design, manufacture, and application. Robotics has connections to electronics, mechanics, and software.

ORIGIN

fully autonomous machines came in 20th century. first digitally operated and programmable robot, the Unimate,in 1961 to lift hot pieces of metal from casting machine and stack them.

USE

manufacturing space exploration surgery laboratory research mass production of consumer and industrial goods.

Structure

The structure of a robot is usually mechanical and can be called a kinematic. The chain is formed of links (its bones), actuators (its muscles), and joints which can allow one or more degrees of freedom.

Power source

lead-acid batteries potential power sources could be: compressed air canisters (eg:-air car) organic garbage

Actuation

"muscles" of a robot, convert stored energy into movement. Popular motors electric motors but there are many others, powered by electricity, chemicals, and compressed air.

Manipulation

For the real world we need to manipulate objects; pick up, modify, destroy. 'hands' of a robot i.k.a end effectors arm i.k.a manipulator. TYPES OF GRIPPERS:Mechanical Grippers Vacuum Grippers General purpose effectors

CHALLENGES FOR ROBOTS Human interaction

Speech recognition Gestures Facial expression Personality

Control

perception, processing, and action have varying levels of autonomy. Direct interaction is used for tele-operated devices, and the human has nearly complete control over the robot's motion.
An autonomous robot may go for extended periods of time without human interaction. For example, robots in assembly plants are completely autonomous, but operate in a fixed pattern.

Robot research

new types of robots, alternative ways to think about or design robots, and new ways to manufacture them. MORAVECs PREDICTIONS:First generation robots-intellectual capacity comparable to lizard by 2010. Moravec second generation with an intelligence of a mouse available by 2020. The third generation robot should have an intelligence that of a monkey. Though fourth generation robots, with human intelligence, around 2040 or 2050.