WHAT IS ROBOTICS?
Robots” which opened in Pragued in January
Robotics is the science of studying and creating
robots. The earliest recorded use of the word
robotics is from Isaac Asimov, a science fiction
novelist in his story “Liar!” (1941).
The idea of robots is not new. Man has been
imagining intelligent mechanized devices that
perform human-like tasks. He has built
automatic toys and mechanisms and imagined
robots in drawing, books, play, and science
fiction movies.
WHERE DID THE WORD ‘ROBOTICS’
COME FROM?
In 1941, the word robotics was first used by
Isaac Asimov, who wrote a series of books
called I, Robot.
LAWS OF ROBOTICS
1. A robot may not injure a human being or
through inaction, allow human beings 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 Laws.
Isaac Asimov “Good Robots Obey The Law!”
WHAT IS A ROBOT?
A programmable, multifunctional manipulator
designed to move materials, parts, tools, or
specialized devices through various
programmed motions for the performance of a
variety of tasks.
WHERE DID THE WORD ‘ROBOT’
COME FROM?
The word was first used in 1920 by the Czech
playwright Karel Capek from the Czech word
forced labor or serf. The word was introduced
into his play “R.U.R” or “Rossum’s Universal
1921.
R.U.R (ROSSUM’S UNIVERSAL ROBOT)
"On this island is the central factory of
Rossum's universal robots. These Robots
are being built by other robots to be sold to
the world as a cheap labour force. The
Idealistic Helena Glory, President of The
Humanity League, believes that Robots
have (or are developing) souls, and feels
that they should be freed.”
The Robots can clearly think for
themselves, though they are content to
serve. They remember everything, but think
of nothing original or unique. Helena Glory
orders the scientist to develop more robots
so they could fully develop their “souls”. Her
plan backfires, the robots realize they are
more superior than humans in terms of their
physical and mental capabilities.
The Robots declare war on all humans and
destroy the human race. Helena Glory
destroys the recipe for the making of The
Robots thinking that she would save the
people on the island except the master
builder Alquist who refused to fight the
robots were killed. The Robots which were
produced without a reproductive system
would die after 20 years.
Damon, the robot leader, forced Alquist to
produce the formula, however, the formula
was destroyed by Helena Glory and not
even Alquist can write it again. When the
Robots tell him that he is the last human
alive, he expels them and falls asleep. He is
woken up by two robots: Helena (a
beautiful modified robot named after Helena
Glory) and Primus. The two robots fell in
love with one another. With the blessing of
Alquist, the lovers are married, and
renamed Adam and Eve.
In the play RUR, the robots nearly took over
the world. They stop only when they could
not answer the question: “What do we do
after we have destroyed all the humans?”
WHAT IS AN AUTONOMOUS ROBOT?
A mobile computer that is capable of interacting
with the environment through sensors and
actuators in order to perform various tasks
without constant attention from humans.
THE TORTOISE
The Tortoise is the first real autonomous robot
made by Dr. Grey Walter in 1949. The Tortoise
is the first real world demonstration of artificial
life.
ROBOTS IN MOVIES AND
TELEVISION SHOWS
1980’s - VOLTES V and MAZINGER-Z
2007 - First TRANSFORMERS science fiction
movie. It features Autobots and the evil
Decepticons comprising the two factions of
alien robots who can disguise themselves by
transforming.
2008 - WALL-E, an animated sci-fi romantic
movie produced by Pixar Animation Studios
became a box office hit.
2009 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2011 - Transformers: Dark of the Moon
MARC ANDRE BAZERGUI
A Canadian scientist/programmer, Lego
enthusiast made his own version of Wall-E
made of Lego Mindstorms. He used 6 NXT
bricks, 17 motors and thousands of parts to
make his Wall-E. Fictional robots were either
featured as heroes or villains.
THE OLDEST ROBOT IN THE WORLD
The oldest robot in the world is the 240-year-old
automaton, The Writer. The automaton which
looks like a doll holding a quill and sitting on a
pedestal, still works perfectly to this day. The
writer is made from around 6000 parts, which
have been miniaturized and designed to fit into
the body of the doll.
THE BUILDER OF THE AUTOMATON
Jaquet-Droz built the automaton with the help of
his son and used techniques such as
homeostasis and miniaturization to complete
the robot.
The doll can write any word or sentence up to
40 characters in length. As well as writing, the
doll is able to control the pressure of the quill on
the paper while writing and the eyes follow the
writing on the paper as if it is actually following
what it is writing.
Jaquet-Droz made two other automatons: The
Musician and The Draughtsman. This was
made as an ancestor to modern computers
because it was programmable. The letters and
words would be the preset and could be easily
rearranged, meaning The Writer could write
virtually anything within a 40 character limit.
TYPES OF ROBOTS
The types of robots are based on its locomotive
property. It may be stationary, wheeled,
legged, or specialized locomotor.
Capability of Stationary Robot
Work Envelope / Work Space
The envelope or space within which the robot
can manipulate the end of its wrist. The
extreme positions of the robot axes, describe a
boundary for the region in which the robot
operates.
It can be determined by the number of joints,
types of joints, range of motion of joints, and
physical size of joints.
 THE DEGREES OF FREEDOM (D.O.F)
Every mechanical point on a robot, except in
the gripper or tool, at which some form of joint
includes motion in a robot is called a degree of
freedom. Robots are normally classified
according to the number of degrees of freedom
they possess.
ASSOCIATION OF ROBOTICS
JIRA (Japan Industrial Robotics Association)
WRO (World Robotic Olympiad)
Intel ISEF
RIA (Robotics Institute of America)
IFR (International Federation of Robotics)
CRIA (China Robot Industry Alliance)
IEEE Robotics & Automation Society
CLASSIFICATION OF ROBOTS
a. Variable-Sequence Robot
A device that performs the successive stages of
a task according to a predetermined method
easy to identify.
b. Numerical Control Robot
The operator supplies the movement program
rather than teaching it the task manually.
c. Playback Robot
A human operator performs the task manually
by leading the robot.
d. Intelligent Robot
A robot with the means to understand its
environment and the ability to successfully
complete tasks despite changes in environment
CLASSIFICATION OF ROBOTS
ACCORDING TO JIRA
JIRA is concerned with industrial robots but has
created a robot classification system.
a. Manual Robot
This type of robot has multiple degrees of
freedom, but all of its actions are performed
under the direct control of an operator.
b. Fixed Sequence Robot
This type of robot repeats a fixed sequence of
actions without needing to be controlled by an
operator.
c. Variable Sequence Robot
This type of robot is similar to Fixed Sequence
Robot, except that the sequence of actions can
be reprogrammed easily allowing it to be
quickly adapted to perform new tasks.
d. Numerical Robot
This type of robot moves through a sequence of
actions, which it receives in the form of
numerical data.
e. Playback Robot
This type of robot is first guided through a
sequence of actions by an operator, then
repeats the same actions automatically.
f. Intelligent Robot
A robot that senses its surroundings and
responds to changes in it in order to continue
performing its function.
CLASSIFICATION OF ROBOTS
ACCORDING TO INTEL ISEF
a. Biomechanics
Studies and apparatus which mimic the role of
mechanics in biological systems.
b. Cognitive Systems
Studies that operate similarly to ways humans
think and process information.
c. Control Theory
Studies that explore the behavior of dynamical
systems with inputs, and how their behavior is
modified by feedback.
d. Machine Learning
Construction and/or study of algorithms that can
learn from data.
e. Robot Kinematics
The study of movement in robotic systems.