Scribd
Upload
18 views

ROBOTICS

The document provides an overview of the history and current state of robotics research. It discusses how robots have evolved from simple industrial robots in the 1950s to more advanced robots today that can be mind-controlled or have gecko-inspired grips. It also outlines different classifications of robots, including pre-programmed, humanoid, autonomous, teleoperated, and augmenting robots.

Uploaded by

Alexandre Bonos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
18 views

ROBOTICS

The document provides an overview of the history and current state of robotics research. It discusses how robots have evolved from simple industrial robots in the 1950s to more advanced robots today that can be mind-controlled or have gecko-inspired grips. It also outlines different classifications of robots, including pre-programmed, humanoid, autonomous, teleoperated, and augmenting robots.

Uploaded by

Alexandre Bonos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Royen Paul Alexandre G.

Bonos Assignment 1
BSME-4 ME ELECT-2(ROBOTICS)

1. History of Robotics

According to the encyclopedia, a robot may be defined as a completely self-


controlled device consisting of electronic, electrical or mechanical units; more
generally, it is a machine devised to function in place of a living agent. The word
robot comes from a story and play produced in 1921 called R.U.R (for Rossum’s
Universal Robots), by Karel Capek. In Czech the word robot means “worker”, but
the English translation (1923) retained the original term.

Most of robots sit alongside assembly lines and perform such tasks as
welding, painting, and inspection. Japan is both the leading maker and user of
robots, with a majority of them employed automobile assembly lines. In general,
such robots do not have the ability to learn new tasks; instead they perform
carefully orchestrated procedures, guided by a computer program.

Robots have ventured into other areas. In medicine, a robotic arm equipped
with surgical tools has assisted doctors in a delicate brain operation; in the field of
computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing, robotic structures have
been used to manufacture such things as integrated circuits and solid metals.

The earliest robots as we know them were created in the early 1950s by
George C. Devol, an inventor from Louisville, Kentucky. He invented and patented
a reprogrammable manipulator called "Unimate," from "Universal
Automation." For the next decade, he attempted to sell his product in the industry,
but did not succeed. In the late 1960s, businessman/engineer Joseph
Engleberger acquired Devol's robot patent and was able to modify it into an
industrial robot and form a company called Unimation to produce and market the
robots. For his efforts and successes, Engleberger is known in the industry as "the
Father of Robotics."

Academia also made much progress in the creation new robots. In 1958 at
the Stanford Research Institute, Charles Rosen led a research team in developing
a robot called "Shakey." Shakey was far more advanced than the original
Unimate, which was designed for specialized, industrial applications. Shakey
could wheel around the room, observe the scene with his television "eyes," move
across unfamiliar surroundings, and to a certain degree, respond to his
environment. He was given his name because of his wobbly and clattering
movements.
2. Current Researches of Robotics

Mind-Controlled Robots Now One Step Closer

Two EPFL research teams collaborated to create a machine-learning


algorithm that can be linked to a human brain and used to control a robot. Based
on electrical inputs from the brain, the algorithm changes the robot's motions. The
expectation is that tetraplegic patients will be able to do more day-to-day tasks on
their own as a result of this development.

Patients who are tetraplegic are prisoners of their own bodies, unable to talk
or make even the tiniest movement. For years, researchers have been attempting
to build technologies that can assist these individuals in performing certain tasks
on their own. "People who have had a spinal cord injury frequently have persistent
neurological impairments and significant motor difficulties, which prohibit them
from doing even simple activities like gripping an item," explains Prof. Aude Billard,
head of EPFL's Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory. "Robot assistance
might help these folks regain some of their lost dexterity by allowing the robot to
perform chores in their place."

A Robotic Hand With a Gecko-Inspired Grip

Aiming to create a robotic gripper that can grasp with delicate strength,
researchers combine adhesives based on gecko toes with a customized robotic
hand.
Across a vast array of robotic hands and clamps, there is a common foe:
the heirloom tomato. You may have seen a robotic gripper deftly pluck an egg or
smoothly palm a basketball -- but, unlike human hands, one gripper is unlikely to
be able to do both and a key challenge remains hidden in the middle ground.

"You'll see robotic hands do a power grasp and a precision grasp and then
kind of imply that they can do everything in between," said Wilson Ruotolo, PhD
'21, a former graduate student in the Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Lab
at Stanford University. "What we wanted to address is how to create manipulators
that are both dexterous and strong at the same time."

The result of this goal is "farmHand," a robotic hand developed by engineers


Ruotolo and Dane Brouwer, a graduate student in the Biomimetics and Dextrous
Manipulation Lab, at Stanford (aka "the Farm") and detailed in a paper published
Dec. 15 in Science Robotics. In their testing, the researchers demonstrated that
farmHand is capable of handling a wide variety of items, including raw eggs,
bunches of grapes, plates, jugs of liquids, basketballs and even an angle grinder.
3. Different Classifications of Robots

a. Pre-Programmed Robots

Pre-programmed robots do simple, repetitive activities in a controlled


setting. A mechanical arm in an automotive assembly line is an example of a pre-
programmed robot. The arm has only one duty to accomplish - weld a door shut,
put a part into the engine, etc. — and it's goal is to do it better, quicker, and longer
than a person could.

b. Humanoid Robots

Humanoid robots have the appearance and/or behavior of humans. These


robots often do human-like tasks (such as running, leaping, and carrying goods)
and are occasionally made to resemble humans, with human-like features and
attitudes. Hanson Robotics' Sophia and Boston Dynamics' Atlas are two of the
most well-known humanoid robots.

c. Autonomous Robots

Human operators are not required for autonomous robots to function. These
robots are often built to do jobs in open spaces without the need for human
supervision. They're one-of-a-kind in that they utilize sensors to detect the
environment around them, then use decision-making mechanisms (typically a
computer) to choose the best next action based on their data and purpose. The
Roomba vacuum cleaner, which utilizes sensors to move freely throughout a
home, is an example of an autonomous robot.

d. Tele operated Robots

Teleoperated robots are semi-autonomous robots that may be controlled


remotely over a wireless network. These robots are typically used in remote
locations with harsh weather, climate, and other factors. Human-controlled
submarines were employed to repair undersea pipe breaks during the BP oil spill,
and drones were used to locate landmines on a battlefield as examples of
teleoperated robots.

e. Augmenting Robots

Augmenting robots either enhance current human capabilities or replace


the capabilities a human may have lost. The field of robotics for human
augmentation is a field where science fiction could become reality very soon, with
bots that have the ability to redefine the definition of humanity by making humans
faster and stronger. Some examples of current augmenting robots are robotic
prosthetic limbs or exoskeletons used to lift hefty weights.

You might also like