Automation and RoboticsThe Basics

A brief historyGolem

Yan Shi’s AutomatonTalos

!941-42 Isaac Asimov – The Three Laws of Robotics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWJJnQybZlk

What defines a robot? Sense – a robot has to take in information

about its environment

Plan – a robot has to use that information to make a decision

Act – a robot needs moving parts to carry out commands

Built by Carnegie Mellon University in 1993

• Crane arm to pick up boxes

• Video camera to get information & take pictures

• Sonar sensors to find out position of objects in its path

• Roamed the halls on its four-wheel base

• Could be commanded over the internet

• Could be programmed to take pictures, go to various offices, tell knock-knock jokes

XAVIER

Xavier is big!

2 feet in diameter

More than3 feet tall!

Motors

Sonar sensors

Cameras Computers

Laser

Wheels

Touch sensors

You need a lot of space to fit in all that stuff!

Mobile Robots

Why do robots need to move?

What ways do robots move? Rotate Convey Walk Swim Fly Reach Bend Poke Roll

Snake Robot

Manipulative MovementRobots that use an arm,

belt or other means to grab and maneuver objects

Locomotion Robots that can move

from place to place

Most robots getaround by rolling

Walking is hard – it requires balancing

Swimming only works in water

Flying requires a lot

of speed and energy

Wheels and treads make moving over ground easier

They provide stability with multiple points that touch the ground

AutomationThe use of control systems to operate devices with minimal or reduced human intervention.

Used in 1946 by the Ford Motor Company

Terms to knowController (cortex) – stores programmed information, receives information from the sensors and sends instructions to actuators

Sensor – a device that responds to physical stimuli (e.g. light, heat, motion, pressure)

Actuator – a type of motor that is responsible for moving or controlling a mechanism or system

More termsFeedback - signal from the robot equipment about conditions as they actually exist, not as the computer thinks they do.

End effector - Any object attached to the robot flange (wrist) that serves a function.

Load cycle time - the complete time to unload the last work-piece and load the next one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB_3awvUTyo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpeNSamWgTU

Jeep factory

painting