An Overview of Robotics

Jinxiang Chai

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• Two more presentations: - An overview of Robotics (today)

- Guest lecture from Schlumberger (This Thursday)

What is A Robot?

What is A Robot?• “A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move

material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks.“

Robot Institute of America, 1979

• “A physical agent that generates “intelligent” connection between perception and action”

• “Where AI (Artificial Intelligence) meet the real world.”

• “An automatic device that performs functions normally ascribed to humans or a machine in the form of a human.”

Webster’s Dictionary

History of Robotics• 1921: The first reference to the word robot is made in a play

by Czech writer Karel Capek (1890 - 1938) - R.U.R (Rossum's Universal Robots). The word comes from the Czech “robota” which means serf or one in subservient labour.

• In the play, the Czechrobot is defined as "a worker of forced labour". After thisplay, electromechanicalautomatons werereferred to as robots

History of Robotics• 1940: Westinghouse Electric Corp. creates two of the first

robots that use the electric motor for entire body motion. Elektra could dance, count to ten and smoke, while his dog companion Sparko, could walk, stand on its hind legs and bark. • 1941: Isaac Asimov

first uses theterm 'robotics' to describe thetechnology of robots. He predictedthe rise of the robot industry.

History of Robotics• Dr. W. Grey Walter, one of the great pioneers in the field

of robotics, develops the first autonomous tortoise-type robots, Elsie and Elmer (Electro MEchanical Robot, Light-Sensitive), designed with wheel motors controlled by very basic electronic circuitry and two vacuum tubes.

• 1951: Raymond Goertz designs the first 'teleoperator' - a device allowing actions to be performed at a distance. Goertz's device was an articulated arm, used to handle radioactive material.

• 1962: General Motors installs the first industrial robot on a production line. It is a Unimate robot and is used in a car factory run by General Motors in Trenton, New Jersey. The robot lifted hot pieces of metal from a die-casting machine and stacked them.

History of Robotics• 1968: SRI International, formerly known

as the Stanford Research Institute, builds and tests the first mobile robot with vision capability.

• Shakey was equipped with a television

camera, a range finder and sensors.

• Shakey was the first mobile robot that could think and respond to the world around it.

History of Robotics• 1968: The General

Electric Walking Truck was the first manual controlled walking truck.

History of Robotics• 1969: Stanford University develop the first electrically

powered computer controlled robotic arm. This becomes standard for research projects

• 1974: Professor Sheinman, ofStanford Arm fame, forms Vicarm

Inc. to market a version of the arm controlled by microcomputer for industrial applications. This robotic arm, known as the Silver Arm performs small-parts assembly using touch sensitive sensors.

What is in A Robot?

What is in A Robot?

environmentagent

?

sensors

effectors

Robots Physical sensors and effectors

What is in A Robot?

Sensors• Sensors that tell the robot position/change of

joints: odometers, speedometers, etc.

• Force sensing. Enables compliant motion--robot just maintains contact with object

• Sonar. Send out sound waves and measure how long it takes for it to be reflected back. Good for obstacle avoidance.

• Vision systems

• Tactile touch sensors

• Etc.

Actuators/Effectors• Converts software commands into physical motion

• Actuators are like the "muscles" of a robot, the parts which convert stored energy into movement.

- By far the most popular actuators are electric motors that spin a wheel or gear, and linear actuators that control industrial robots in factories.

- But there are some recent advances in alternative types of actuators, powered by electricity, chemicals, or compressed air.

• Two main types of effectors:– locomotion– manipulation

Locomotion• Legs!

– traditional such as Honda Asimo

• Still, wheeled or tread locomotion like Shakey is still most practical for typical environments

• Other methods: reconfigurable robots, fish robots, snake-like robots, UAVs, etc

Manipulation

• Manipulation of objects• Typical manipulators allow for:

– Prismatic motion (linear movement)– Rotary motion (around a fixed hub)

• Robot hands go from complex anthropomorphic models to simpler ones that are just graspers– (video: surgery on grape, Robotic heart surgery)

What Are Basic Robot Software Issues?

Perception• What to perceive: - Where am I? (Localization and Mapping, video) - Where are targets? (e.g., object recognition) - Who/what are you, where are you, what are you doing, etc.?...

• Science fiction authors also typically assume that robots will eventually be capable of communicating with humans through speech, gestures, and facial expressions, rather than a command-line interface.

Motion Planning

• Simplest task that a robot needs to accomplish• Goal: move robot from one configuration to another

under certain constraints (e.g., without colliding an obstacle).

Control• How to design a controller for generating

appropriate forces/torques to achieve particular tasks, e.g., move from one point to another?

• How can a humanoid robot walk with

particular speeds, step sizes or turn angles? How to ride a bicycle?

• How to balance your body when some one is pushing you?

• How to cooperate a group of robots to achieve a specific goal?

• etc

Challenges

Uncertainty

Software For Robotics

Software For Robotics

BigDog

Statement of Robotics Applications• Moving from manufacturing,

industrial manipulators to: – Entertainment robotics – Personal service robots – Medical robots – Industrial applications beyond factory

(e.g., mining, agriculture) – Hazardous applications (e.g., military,

toxic cleanup, space)

Some Current Robots

Need for Humanoid Robots• Industrial robots not flexible enough

for unmodified environments• Separated from humans• New applications: Service, household

helper, entertainment, ...• Interaction with people needed• Human-like body helps when acting in

environments designed for humans• Intuitive multimodal communication• Programming by demonstration,

imitation learning

Humanoid Robots

Humanoid Robots

• Honda Asimo Robots - youtube video (click here)

Other Humanoid Robotsvideo

More Robots

video

And Even More Robots

video

Robots: Alternative Terms• UAV - Unmanned aerial vehicles• UGV (Rover) - Unmanned ground vehicles• UUV - Unmanned undersea vehicles

CSE Faculty in Robotics

Prof. Robin Murph Prof. Dezhen Song- Distributed Sensing, - Networked Robots, - Vision and Surveillance

Prof. Nancy Amato

- Motion planning

Prof. Dylan Shell

- Distributed AI, - Biologically-inspired

multi-robot systems, - Coordinated system,

analysis of multi-agent systems

- Rescue robotics

CSE Courses in Robotics

• CSCE 420: Artificial Intelligence

• CSCE 452: Robotics and Spatial Intelligence

• CSCE 489: Special Topics in Robotics