Robotics

• Outline
• Before studying the course
• Summary
• Useful Text Books
• Introduction and History of Robotics

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Before Studying the Course
• Math: linear/matrix algebra, trigonometry,
differential equations.
• Controls: stability, linear & nonlinear
systems.
• Physics: mechanics, force & motion.
• Programming: MATLAB

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Summary
• Course Description: Overview of
industrial robots. Principles of kinematics,
dynamics, and control as applied to
industrial robotic systems; robotic sensors
and actuators; path planning;
programming an industrial robot in the
laboratory; survey of application of robots
in manufacturing; and guidelines to robot
arm selection.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Useful Text books
1. “Introduction to Robotics: Mechanics and Control (3rd
Edition),” by John J. Craig, (primary text)
2. “Mobile Robotics: A Practical Introduction,” by Ulrich
Nehmzow, Publisher: Springer; 2 edition (January 6,
2006) (secondary text)
3. “Robot Manipulator Control: Theory and Practice
(Control Engineering, 15),” by Frank L. Lewis, et. al.
4. “Introduction to Robotics,” by Phillip John McKerrow ,
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub (Sd) (May 1991)
5. Student Edition of MATLAB Version 5 for Windows by
Mathworks, Mathworks Staff, MathWorks Inc.
(recommended)

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Introduction and History of
Robotics

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Introduction to Robotics
– Origins of robotics in the scifi artistic genre
– Definition of robots
– Manipulators and mobile robots
– History of robotics with timeline
– Overview of robotics research at ARRI-UTA
– Basic robotics concepts

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 History of Robotics
• Robotics was first introduced into our vocabulary by Czech playwright Karel
Capek in his 1920’s play Rossum’s Universal Robots.

• The word “robota” in Czech means simply work. Robots as machines that
resemble people, work tirelessly, and revolt against their creators.

• The same myth/concept is found in many books/movies today:

– “Terminator”, “Star-Wars” series.
– Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein.
• Frankenstein & The Borg are examples of “cybernetic organisms”.

• Cybernetics is a discipline that was created in the late 1940’s by Norbert

Wiener, combining feedback control theory, information sciences and
biology to try to explain the common principles of control and
communications in both animals and machines.

• “Behavioral robotics”: organisms as machines interacting with their

environment according to behavioral models.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 History of Robotics
• Should robots look like humans?
“anthropomorphic or humanoid
robots”.
• Need for these machines to also be
intelligent - link to “Artificial
Intelligence (AI)”.
• Need for humans to create machines
similar to them is rooted in religious
beliefs, recommended reading “God
in the Machine” by Anne Foerst
• It is not the appearance of the robot
that most connects it to humans: HAL
in “Space Odyssey 2001”, Lt. Data in
“Startrek-TNG”, R2D2 and C3PO in
“Star Wars”. Which one is more
“likeable” and why?

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 History of Robotics
• Robots need not look like humanoids, but they make use of:
– Strong & precise articulated arms to accomplish tasks that were
performed by humans – “articulated robots”, or “manipulators”. Fear
that they will replace human laborers.
– Use of mobility to reposition the robot from one location to another,
“mobile robots”. This can be done by locomotion like humans do
(“legged robots”), but most likely it will use other means such as
wheels (“wheeled robots”).

• Robotics is a multi-disciplinary field. Best robotics researchers and

engineers will touch upon all disciplines:
– Mechanical Engineering – concerned primarily with manipulator/mobile
robot design, kinematics, dynamics, compliance and actuation.
– Electrical Engineering – concerned primarily with robot actuation,
electronic interfacing to computers and sensors, and control algorithms.
– Computer Science – concerned primarily with robot programming,
planning, and intelligent behavior.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Definition of Robots
• According to the Robotics Industries Association (RIA): “A robot is a
reprogrammable multifunctional manipulator designed to move material,
parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions
for the performance of a variety of tasks (Jablonski and Posey, 1985)”.
• This definition underscored the reprogrammability of robots, but it also just
deals with manipulators and excludes mobile robots.

• Close relationship with the concept of “automation”, the discipline that

implements principles of control in specialized hardware. Three levels of
implementation:
– Rigid automation – factory context oriented to the mass manufacturing of
products of the same type. Uses fixed operational sequences that cannot be
altered.
– Programmable automation – factory context oriented to low-medium batches of
different types of products. A programmable system allows for changing of
manufacturing sequences.
– Flexible automation – evolution of programmable automation by allowing the
quick reconfiguration and reprogramming of the sequence of operation. Flexible
automation is often implemented as “Flexible robotic workcells” (Decelle 1988,
Pugh 1983). Reprogramming/retooling the robots changes the functionality of the
workcell.
Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007
 Definition of Robots
• According to the Japanese Industrial Robot Association (JIRA), robots can
be classified as follows:
– Class 1: manual handling device – a device with several DOF’s actuated by the
operator.
– Class 2: fixed sequence robot – similar to fixed automation.
– Class 3: variable sequence robot – similar to programmable automation.
– Class 4: playback robot – the human performs tasks manually to teach the robot
what trajectories to follow.
– Class 5: numerical control robot – the operator provides the robot with the
sequence of tasks to follow rather than teach it.
– Class 6: intelligent robot – a robot with the means to understand its environment,
and the ability to successfully complete a task despite changes in the
surrounding conditions where it is performed.

• Another definition describes robotics as the intelligent connection between

perception and action (Brady 1985). This is an overly inclusive definition.
• Yet another definition, which focuses on mobile robots (Arkin 1998) is “A
robot is a machine able to extract information from its environment, and use
this knowledge to move safely, in a meaningful and purposive manner”.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Definition of Robots
G. Bekey definition: an entity that can sense, think and act.
Extensions: communicate, imitate, collaborate
Classification: manipulators, mobile robots, mobile
manipulators.

Sense Think Act

Robot
Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007
 Manipulators
• Industrial manipulators were born after WWII out of
earlier technologies:
– Teleoperators. Teleoperators, or remotely controlled
mechanical manipulator, were developed at first by Argonne and
Oak Ridge National Labs to handle radioactive materials. These
devices are also called “master-slave”, and consisted of a
“master” arm being guided through mechanical links to mimic the
motion of a “slave” arm that is operated by the user. Eventually,
the mechanical links were replaced by electrical or hydraulic
links.
– Numerically controlled milling machines (CNC). CNC
machines were needed because of machining needs for very
complex and accurate shapes, in particular aircraft parts.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Mobile Robots
• Mobile robots were born out of “unmanned vehicles”, which also
appear in WWII (for example an unmanned plane dropped the
atomic bomb at Nagasaki).

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Underwater Vehicles (UUV) and

Ground Vehicles (UGV).

• Because tethered mobile vehicles could not move very far, and
radio communications were limited, an approach to mobile robots is
to endow them with the necessary control and decision capability -
“autonomy”
• Autonomous Underwater/Ground/Aerial Vehicles (AUV/AGV/AAV).

• Unlike manipulators, we do not think of a remotely controlled toy as

a mobile robot, suggesting that one of the fundamental aspects of
mobile robotics is the capacity for autonomous operation.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Anthropomorphic Robots

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Animal-like Robots

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Unmanned Vehicles

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Robot History Timeline
• 1947-1949 – first electric and hydraulic teleoperators are developed
by General Electric and General Mills. Force feedback is added to
prevent the crushing of glass containers during manipulation.
• 1949 - CNC machine tools for accurate milling of aircraft parts are
introduced.
• 1953 – W. Grey Walter applies cybernetics principles to a robotic
design called “machine speculatrix”, which became a robotic
tortoise. The simple principles involved were:
– Parsimony: simple is better. Simple reflexes are the basis of robot
behavior.
– Exploration or speculation: the system never remains still except when
recharging. Constant motion is needed to keep it from being trapped.
– Attraction: the system is motivated to move towards objects or light.
– Aversion: the system moves away from certain objects, such as
obstacles.
– Discernment: the system can distinguish between productive and
unproductive behavior, adapting itself to the situation.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 G. Walter Grey's tortoise

These vehicles
had a light
sensor, touch
sensor,
propulsion motor,
steering motor,
and a two
vacuum tube
analog computer.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Robot History Timeline
• 1954 – George Devol replaced the slave manipulator in a teleoperator with the
programmability of the CNC controller, thus creating the first “industrial robot”, called
the “Programmable Article Transfer Device”.

• 1955 – The Darmouth Summer Research Conference marks the birth of AI. Marvin
Minsky, from the AI lab at MIT defines an intelligent machine as one that would tend
to “build up within itself an abstract model of the environment in which it is placed. If
it were given a problem, it could first explore solutions within the internal abstract
model of the environment and then attempt external experiments”. This approach
dominated robotics research for the next 30 years.

• 1956 - Joseph Engleberger, a Columbia physics student buys the rights to Devol’s
robot and founds the Unimation Company.

• 1961 – The first Unimate robot is installed in a Trenton, NJ General Motors plant to
tend a die casting machine. The key was the reprogrammability and retooling of the
machine to perform different tasks. The Unimate robot was an innovative mechanical
design based on a multi-degree of freedom cantilever beam. The beam flexibility
presented challenges for control. Hydraulic actuation was eventually used to alleviate
precision problems.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 UNIMATE robot

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Robot History Timeline
• 1962 – 1963 – The introduction of sensors is seen as a way to enhance the
operation of robots. This includes force sensing for stacking blocks (Ernst,
1961), vision system for binary decision for presence of obstacles in the
environment (McCarthy 1963), pressure sensors for grasping (Tomovic and
Boni, 1962). Robot interaction with an unstructured environment at MIT’s AI
lab (Man and Computer – MAC project).

• 1968 – Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan acquires a license for Unimate.

• 1968 – Shakey, a mobile robot is developed by SRI (Stanford Research

Institute). It was placed in a special room with specially colored objects. A
vision system would recognize objects and pushed objects according to a
plan. This planning software was STRIPS, and it maintained and updated a
world model. The robot had pan/tilt and focus for the camera, and bump
sensors.

• 1971 -1973 – The Stanford Arm is developed, along with the first language
for programming robots - WAVE.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Robot History Timeline
• Late 1970’s – First assembly applications of robotics are considered: water
pumps – Paul and Bolles, typewriter – Will and Grossman, Remote Center
of Compliance gripper (RCC) developed at Draper Labs.

• 1970’s – Innovation in the type of robots introduced: Unimation 2000,

Cincinnati Milacron (“The tomorrow tool, T3”) – the first computer controlled
manipulator, the PUMA (“Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly”)
by Unimation, the SCARA (“Selective compliant articulated robot for
Assembly”) introduced in Japan and the US (by Adept Technologies).

• 1972 – First snake-like robot – ACM III – Hirose – Tokyo Inst. Of Tech.

• 1977 – Development of mobile robot Hilaire at Laboratoise d’Automatique et

d’Analyse des Systemes (LAAS) in Toulouse, France. This mobile robot had
three wheels and it is still in use.

• 1970’s – JPL develops its first planetary exploration Rover using a TV

camera, laser range finder and tactile sensors.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Snake-like robot

A. Hirose (Tokyo IT)

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Snake (MIT) and Swimming (Eel)
Robot (UHK)

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Robot History Timeline
• 1980’s – Innovation in improving the performance of robot arms – feedback
control to improve accuracy, program compliance, the introduction of
personal computers as controllers, and commercialization of robots by a
large number of companies: KUKA (Germany), IBM 7535, Adept Robot
(USA), Hitachi, Seiko (Japan).

• Early 1980’s – Multi-fingered hands developed, Utah-MIT arm (16 DOF)

developed by Steve Jacobsen, Salisbury’s hand (9 dof).

• 1977-1983 – Stanford cart/CMU rover developed by Hans Moravec, later on

became the Nomad mobile robot.

• 1980’s – Legged and hopping robots (BIPER – Shimoyama) and Raibert

1986.

• 1984 -1991 – V. Braitenberg revived the tortoise mobile robots of W. Grey

Walter creating autonomous robots exhibiting behaviors. Hogg, Martin and
Resnick at MIT create mobile robots using LEGO blocks (precursor to
LEGO Mindstorms). Rodney Brooks at MIT creates first insect robots at MIT
AI Lab – birth of behavioral robotics.
Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007
 KUKA

They can load,

unload, deburr,
flame-machine,
laser, weld, bond,
assemble,
inspect, and sort.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 IBM 7535

• IBM 7535
Manufacturing
System provided
it advanced
programming
functions,
including data
communications,
programmable
speed.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Utah-MIT arm

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Nomad mobile robot

The XR4000 is an
advanced mobile robot
system that incorporates
state of the art drive,
control, networking,
power management,
sensing, communication
and software
development
technologies.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
CAT Robots

Tetrobot: Modular & Reconfigurable Stewart Platform CAT-Mobile: Autonomous Tractor-Trailer

(Sanderson & Lee) Robot (Wen, Divelbiss, Popa)
Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007
 Robot History Timeline
• 1990’s – Humanoid robots – Cog, Kismet (MIT), Wasubot, WHL-I –
Japan, Honda P2 (1.82m, 210kg), and P3 (1.6m, 130kg), ASIMO.

• 1990’s – Entertainment and Education Robots – SARCOS

(“Jurassic Park”), Sony AIBO, LEGO Mindstorms, Khypera,
Parallax.

• ROBOCUP, the competition simulating the game of soccer played

by two teams of robots having been held around the world since
1997 (Osaka) .

• 1990’s – Introduction of space robots (manipulators as well as

rovers – the MARS rover 1996), parallel manipulators (Stewart-
Gough Platforms), multiple manipulators, precision robots
(“Robotworld”), surgical robots (“RoboDoc”), first service robots (as
couriers in hospitals, etc)

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Lego Mindstorms

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Asimo
Honda announced •
the development of
new technologies
for the next-
generation ASIMO
humanoid robot,
targeting a new
level of mobility.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Entertainment robots from SARCOS

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Kismet – MIT AI Lab

• Kismet consists
of a head with
large eyes with
eyelids, bushy
eyebrows,
rubber lips, and
floppy ears.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Cog – MIT AI Lab

Cog is a humanoid
robot. It has a torso,
arms and a head but no
legs. Cog's torso does
not have a spine but it
can bend at the waist
from side-to-side and
from front-to-back and
can twist its torso the
same way a person
can. Cog's arms also
move in a natural way.

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Hierarchical family of robots (K-
Team - Switzerland)
Khepera (6 in)

Koala (20 in)

Alice (1 in)

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 ARV Wall-Climbing Robot for
Fuselage Inspection

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007

 Robot History Timeline
• 2000’s – IRobot introduces the first autonomous vacuum
– “Roomba”.

• 2000’s – Mini and micro robots, “Smart Dust” – Pister @

Berkeley, UTA, EPFL/Lausanne, microfactories.

• 2000’s – Military applications - Robotic assistants for

dangerous environments and reconnaissance, AUV’s
and UUV’s, etc.

• 2000’s – Intuitive Surgical introduces the Da Vinci

surgical robot.

• 2000’s – Robotic Deployment of Sensor Networks

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007
 END

Dan O. Popa, Robotics EE4315, Spring 2007