IAR

Fall 2008 Semester

Introduction to Robotics

Lecture #1
Shahid S. Jan
Assistant Professor

What is a Robot?
• A robot is a
– software-controllable
ft t ll bl mechanical
h i ld device
i
– that uses sensors to guide one or more end-
effectors
– through programmed motions in a workspace
– in order to manipulate physical objects.

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 Androids
• Androids are synthetic human beings with
– mechanical limbs and
– electronic brains.
• This type
yp of robot is also called humanoid.
• Good examples are
– R2-D2 and CP30 of Star Wars fame.
• Despite continuing advances,
– we are still nowhere near capable of
producing android
– that accurately duplicates a human
being.

Industrial Robots
• Today’s industrial robots are not androids built to
impersonate humans.
• Indeed, most are not even capable of self-locomotion.
• Consequently, industrial robots are often referred to as
– robotic arms or,
– more generally, as robotic manipulators.

Fig 1

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 Industrial Robots
• Fig 1 shows an articulated robotic arm
– roughly similar to a human arm.
• It can be modeled as a chain of rigid links
interconnected by flexible joints.
• At the end of a robotic arm is an end-
effector,
– also called a tool, gripper or hand.
• The tool often has two or more ffingers g that
open and close.

What is Robotics?
• Robotics is the art, knowledge base and the know-how of
– designing,
– applying and
– using robots in human endeavors.
endeavors
• Robotic systems consist of not just robots,
– but also other devices and systems
– used together with the robots to perform the necessary
tasks.
• Robotics is an interdisciplinary
p y subject
j that benefits from
– Mechanical, electrical and computer engineering,
– computer science,
– biology and many other disciplines.

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 Robots in Science Fiction
ƒ Robotics has its origins in science fiction.
ƒ The word robot came into the popular consciousness
ƒ on January 25, 1921,
ƒ in Prague
ƒ with the first performance of Karel Capek’s play, R.U.R.
(Rossum’s Universal Robots).
ƒ In R.U.R., Rossum, a brilliant scientist,
ƒ has created a race of workers made from a vat of
biological parts,
ƒ smart enough to replace a human in any job (hence,
universal).
ƒ Their plan is that the robots will serve humankind
obediently.
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Robots in Science Fiction

ƒ Capek described the workers as robots,
ƒ a term derived from the Czech word robota
y translated as menial laborer.
ƒ which is loosely
ƒ Robot workers were too lowly to merit respect.
ƒ The plot takes a sour turn when
ƒ the perfect robots begin to dislike their subservient
role
ƒ and proceed to rebel against their masters, killing all
human life.
life

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 Robots in Science Fiction
• Isaac Asimov contributed a number of stories about
robots,
– starting in 1939, and
– indeed is credited with coining
g the term robotics.
• He described a robot as a well-designed, fail-safe
machine that performs according to three principles.
• These principles were called
– the Three Laws of Robotics by Asimov,
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through
i
inaction,
ti allow
ll a human
h t be
to b harmed.
h d
2. A robot must obey orders given by humans except
when that conflicts with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence unless that
conflicts with the First or Second Laws.
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Robots in Science Fiction

• A number of movies and television shows added to the
lore of robotics,
• They pictured robots as friendly servants and
companions etc.
• Three classic films,
i. Metropolis (1926),
ii. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and
iii. Forbidden Planet (1956),
– cemented the connotation that robots were mechanical
i origin,
in i i
– ignoring the biological origins in Capek’s play.

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 Robots in Science Fiction
• The 1968 movie 2001:A Space Odyssey
– contained not a mechanical robot
– but a highly intelligent, talking computer named HAL.
• The Star Wars series
i. Star Wars in 1977,
ii. The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and
iii. The Return of the Jedi in 1983)
– pictured robots as friendly, harmless machines.
• The robots R2D2 and C3PO are
– able to move around,
– they are intelligent and
– they can communicate with their human masters
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Robots Vs Cranes
• The robot manipulator is very similar to the crane
attached to, say, a utility or towing vehicle.
• Both possess a number of links attached serially to
each other with joints.
• In both systems,
– the hand of the manipulator can be moved in space
and
– be placed in any desired location within the
workspace of the manipulator, and
– each one is controlled by a central controller which
controls the actuators.
• However, one is called a robot and the other a
manipulator (or, in this case, a crane).

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 Robots Vs Cranes
• The fundamental difference between the two is that
– the crane is controlled by a human who operates and
controls the actuators,
– whereas the robot manipulator is controlled by a
computer that runs a program.
• This difference between the two determines whether a
device is a simple manipulator or a robot.
• Thus, if the program is changed,
– the actions of the robot will be changed accordingly.

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Automation and Robots

• Automation: The capability to operate without
direct human intervention.
• Concerned with the use of
– mechanical, electronic and computer-based
p systems
y
– in the operation and control of production.
• Examples of this technology include
– transfer lines,
– mechanized assembly machines,
– feedback control systems
y ((applied
pp to industrial
processes),
– numerically controlled machine tools and robots.
• Accordingly robotics is a form of industrial
automation.
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 Hard Automation
• Specialized machines
– designed and developed for high-volume production
– of mechanical and electrical parts.
• When new models of the p parts are to be introduced,,
– the specialized machines have to be shut down and
– the hardware retooled for the next generation of
models.
• Since periodic modification of the production hardware is
required
– the
th configuration
fi ti off suchh devices
d i cannott be
b easily
il
changed
• Here the machines and processes are often very efficient
but they have limited flexibility.
15

Soft Automation
• Computer-controlled mechanical manipulators
– that can be easily converted through software
– to do a variety of tasks.
• More recently,
y, the auto industry
y and other industries have
introduced more flexible forms of automation in the
manufacturing cycle.
• Programmable mechanical manipulators are now being
used to perform such tasks as
– spot welding,
– spray painting,
painting
– material handling and
– component assembly.

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 Qualitative comparison of the cost effectiveness
• For very low production volumes,
– manual labor is the most cost-effective.
• As the production volume increases,
– there comes a point v1 where robots become more cost-effective.
• As the production volume increases still further,
– it eventually reaches a point v2 where
– hard automation surpasses both in cost-effectiveness.
• As robots become more sophisticated and less expensive,
– the range of production volumes [v1, v2] over which they are cost-
effective
– continues to expand at both ends of the production spectrum.

Fig 2: Relative Cost-

effectiveness of soft-
automation (Dorf, 1983)
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Robot Components
• Manipulator or Rover
– Links
– Joints
– Wrist
• End Effector
• Sensors
• Drive System (or Actuators)
• Controller
• Processor
• Software

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 Manipulator or Rover
• Main body of the robot
– and is also referred to as robotic arm.
• It consists of the links, the joints, wrist and other
structural elements of the robot.
• Most robots used in plants
– mounted on a base which is fastened to the floor.
• Wrist
– consists of a number of components
– that allow it to be oriented in a variety of positions.

Fig 3

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Manipulator or Rover
• Powered Joints
– Provide relative movements between
– the various components of the body, arm, and wrist.
– These joint movements usually involve either rotating or sliding
motions.
• Links
– Rigid Components that connect the various manipulator joints.
– In any link-joint-link chain,
• the link closest to the base in the chain the input link.
• The output link is the one that moves with respect to the
input link.

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 Robot Joints
• Two basic types are commonly used in industrial
robotics
• Listed in table 1.

Type Notation Description

Revolute R Rotary motion about an axis

Prismatic P Linear motion along an axis Table 1

Fig 4

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Robot Joints
• Revolute joints (R) exhibit rotary motion about an axis.
• They are the most common type of joint.

Fig 5

• Prismatic joints (P), exhibit sliding or linear motion

along an axis.
• Prismatic joints tend to be simpler than revolute joints.

Fig 6

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 End Effector
• End effector is the part that is connected to the last joint
(hand) of a manipulator, which generally
– handles objects,
– makes connection to other machines or
– performs the required tasks.
• It is also referred to as a tool, gripper or hand.
• The tool often has two or more fingers that open and close.

Fig 7 23

End Effector
• Robot manufacturers generally do not design or sell end
effectors.
• Generally, the hand of a robot has provisions for
connecting specialty end effectors.
• To retain flexibility,
– most robots can be fitted
– with a variety of different hands or grippers.
• A welding torch, a paint spray gun, a glue-laying device
and a part handler are but a few of the possibilities.
• In manyy applications,
pp no actual holding g or g
gripping
pp g takes
place.
• E.g., many robots have special tools such as welding
heads, grinders, applicator nozzles etc.
– permanently attached to the end of the robot arm.
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 End Effector
• End effectors can be divided into two categories:
– grippers and
– tools.
• Grippers
pp would be utilized to
– grasp an object, usually the workpart, and
– hold it during the robot work cycle.
• A tool would be used as
– an end effector in applications
– where the robot is required to perform some operation
on the workpart.
• These applications include spotwelding, arc welding,
spray painting and drilling.
• In each case, the particular tool is attached to the robot’s
wrist. 25

Sensors
• Sensors are used to
– collect information about the internal state of the robot or
– to communicate with the outside environment.
• Sensors integrated into the robot send information
– about each joint or link to the controller,
controller
– which determines the configuration of the robot.
• Robots are often equipped with external sensory devices
such as
– a vision system,
– touch and tactile sensors,
– speech synthesizers, etc.
– which enable the robot to communicate with the outside
world.
• Sensors are an important component in work cell control
and in safety monitoring system.

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 Sensors Types
• Tactile sensors:
– Respond to contact forces with another object.
– Some of these devices are capable of measuring the level of force
involved.
• Proximity and range sensors:
– A proximity sensor is a device that indicates when an object is close
to another object but before contact has been made.
– When the distance between the objects can be sensed, the device is
called a range sensor.
• Miscellaneous types:
– Remaining kinds of sensors used in robotics.
– These
Th include
i l d sensors for
f temperature,
t t pressure and
d other
th variables.
i bl
• Machine vision:
– A machine vision system is capable of viewing the work-space and
interpreting what it sees.
– These systems are used in robotics to perform inspection, parts
recognition and other similar tasks. 27

Robot Drive System (or actuators)

• The robot’s capacity to move its body, arm and
wrist is provided by the drive system used to
power the robot.
• Types of Drive Systems
• Commercially available industrial robots are
powered by one of three types of drive systems.
These three systems are:
i. Hydraulic drive
ii Electric
ii. El i drive
di
iii. Pneumatic drive
• Hydraulic and pneumatic actuators are both
powered by moving fluids.
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 Hydraulic Drive System
• In Hydraulic drive, the fluid is usually pressurized oil.
• Generally associated with larger robots
– Unimate 2000 series.
• Advantages
– Provides the robot with greater speed and strength.
• Disadvantages
– adds to the floor space required by the robot and
– that a hydraulic system is inclined to leak oil which is a
nuisance.
• Hydraulic drive systems can be designed to actuate either
rotational joints or linear joints.

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Electric Drive System

• Electric drive robots are actuated by dc stepping
motors or dc servomotors.
• These motors are ideally suited to the actuation of
rotational joints
– through appropriate drive train and gear
systems.
• Electric motors can also be used to actuate linear
joints (e.g. telescoping arms)
– byb means off pulley ll systems or otherh
translational mechanisms.

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 Electric Drive System
• Advantages
– The accuracy and repeatability of the electric drive
robots are usually better.
– Consequently,
q y, electric robots
• tend to be smaller,
• requiring less floor space and
• their applications tend forward more precise work
such as assembly.
– The MAKER 110 is an example of an electric drive robot
th t is
that i consistent
i t t with
ith these
th t d
tendencies.
i
• Disadvantage
– Electric drive systems do not generally provide as
much speed or power as hydraulic systems.
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Pneumatic Drive System

• In Pneumatic drive, the fluid is compressed air.
• Pneumatic drive is generally reserved for smaller robots
– that possess fewer degrees of freedom (two- to four-
jjoint motions).
)
• These robots are often limited to simple pick-and-place
operations with fast cycles.
• Pneumatic power can be readily adapted to the actuation
of piston devices
– to provide translation movement of sliding joints.
• It can also l b used
be d to
t operate t rotary
t actuators
t t f
for
rotational joints.

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 Controller
• The controller receives its data from the computer,
– controls the motions of the actuators and
– coordinates the motions with the sensory feedback
information.
• Suppose
pp that in order for the robot to p pick uppap part
from a bin, it is necessary that its first joint be at 35°.
• If the joint is not already at this magnitude, the
controller will send a signal to the actuator, causing it
to move.
• It will then measure the change in the joint angle
through the feedback sensor attached to the joint (a
potentiometer, an encoder etc.).
• When the joint reaches the desired value, the signal is
stopped.
• In more sophisticated robots, the velocity and the force
exerted by the robot are also controlled by the
controller.
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Processor
• The processor is the brain of the robot.
• It calculates the motions of the robot’s joints,
– determines how much and how fast each joint
must move to achieve the desired locations and
p
– speeds and oversees the coordinated actions of the
controllers and the sensors.
• The processor is generally a computer, which works
like all other computers, but is dedicated to a single
purpose.
• It requires an
– Operating System,
– programs,
– peripheral equipment such as monitors and
– has many of the same limitations and capabilities
of a PC processor.

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 Software
• Three groups of software that are used in a robot.
• One is the OS, which operates the computer.
• The second is the robotic software,
– which calculates the necessary motions of each joint
– based on the kinematic equations of the robot.
robot
• This information is sent to the controller.
• This software may be at many different levels, from
machine language to sophisticated languages used by
modern robots.
• The third group is
– the collection of routines and applications programs
that are developed in order to use the peripheral
devices of the robots,
– such as vision routines, or to perform specific tasks.

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Software
• It is important to note that
– in many systems,
– the controller and the processor are placed in
the same unit.
• Although
Al h h these
h two units are in the
h same box,
b andd
even if they are integrated into the same circuit,
– they have two separate functions.

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