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Introduction to Robots and

Robotics
Neeraj Mishra
NPIU faculty
Department of Mechanical engineering
MITS Gwalior

Reference Books

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Common Questions are raised in our mind

• What is a robot and robotics?
• Why do we study robotics?
• Basic Idea of robot?
• Possible applications of robots?
• Can a human being be replaced by a robot?, and so on.

Robots
• The word robot itself comes from Czech robota, “servitude, forced
labor,” and was coined in 1923 (from dictionary.com).
• Robots are very powerful elements of today’s industry.
• They are capable of performing many different tasks and operations,
• They are accurate, Do not require comfort elements humans need
• Robots in industry working tirelessly and satisfactorily for the
intended jobs
• Robots have not overwhelmingly replaced workers.

• However, it takes much effort and many resources to make a robot

function properly.

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Robotics
• Robotics is an interdisciplinary
subject that benefits from Mechanics
mechanical
engineering, electrical and electronic Control AI
engineering, computer science,
cognitive sciences, biology, and many Robotics
other disciplines.
Vision IT

EE

Robotics (cont.)
• Robotics is the art, knowledge base, and the know-how of designing,
applying, and using robots in human endeavors.

• Robotic systems consist of not just robots, but also other devices and
systems used together with the robots.

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Motivation
The following requirements:
• Industrial Application
o Reduced production cost
o Increased productivity
o Improved product quality
• Medical application
• Prosthetics
• Military and Law Enforcement Applications
• Space application or exploration
• Disaster management
• Surveillance (1) Automation can help to fulfil the above requirements
(2) Automation: Either Hard or flexible automation
• House service (3) Robotics is an example of flexible automation

Definitions

• The term: robot has come from the Czech word: robota, which
means forced or slave laborer

• In 1921, Karel Capek, a Czech playwright, used the term: robot first
in his drama named Rossum’s Universal Robots (R.U.R)

• According to Karel Capek, a robot is a machine look-wise similar to a

human being

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A Brief History of Robotics

• Mechanical Automata
• Ancient Greece & Egypt
• Water powered for ceremonies
• 14th – 19th century Europe
• Clockwork driven for entertainment
• Motor driven Robots Maillardet’s Automaton
• 1928: First motor driven automata
• 1961: Unimate
• First industrial robot
• 1967: Shakey
• Autonomous mobile research robot
• 1969: Stanford Arm
• Dextrous, electric motor driven robot arm
Unimate 9

Early stage of robotics

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Town Hall, Munich, Germany

Early Robots Renaissance

1497 Clock Tower in Piazza San

Marco, Venice, Italy

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The Early Stages (cont.)

20th Century
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 Czech

robot is defined as "a
worker of forced
labour". After this
play,
electromechanical
automatons were
referred to as robots.

University of Ottawa – Enrichment Mini-Course 12

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The Early Stages (cont.)

• Starting with Karel Capek and
his book, Rossum’s Universal
Robots, and later, movies like
Flash Gordon, Metropolis, Lost
in Space, The Day The Earth
Stood Still, and The Forbidden
Planet, the stage was set for a
machine to be built to do a
human’s job (and, of course,
R2D2, C3PO, Robocop, and
others continued the trend).
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The Early Stages (cont.)

20th Century (cont.)
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 the

term 'robotics' to describe the
technology of robots. He predicted
the rise of the robot industry.
University of Ottawa – Enrichment Mini-Course 14

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Law of Robots Isaac Asimov: “Runaround,” 1942

0. Law Zero: A robot may not injure humanity, or, through

inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

1. Law One: A robot may not injure a human being, or,

through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm,
unless this would violate a higher order law.

2. Law Two: A robot must obey orders given it by human

beings, except where such orders would conflict with a higher
order law.

3. Law Three: A robot must protect its own existence as long

as such protection does not conflict with a higher order law.

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Maillardet, 1805

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The Early Stages (cont.)

20th Century (cont.)  Shakey, an
intelligent
mobile robot,
1968: SRI International, was built by
formerly known as the Stanford Stanford
Research
Research Institute, builds and Institute (SRI)
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.

University of Ottawa – Enrichment Mini-Course 17

The Early Stages (cont.)

20th Century (cont.)
1969: Stanford University develop the first
electrically powered computer controlled robotic
arm. This becomes standard for research projects.

1974: Professor Sheinman, of

Stanford 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.
University of Ottawa – Enrichment Mini-Course 18

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Stanford Scheinman Arm,1969

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The Early Stages (cont.)

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The Early Stages (cont.)

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The Early Stages (cont.)

20th Century (cont.)

1968: The General

Electric Walking
Truck was the first
manual controlled
walking truck.

University of Ottawa – Enrichment Mini-Course 22

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PUMA, 1978

Joseph Engelberger Biomemetics: Lobster 1992

Unimation’s Programmable Universal Joseph Ayers

Machine for Assembly Northeastern
(PUMA)
full neural
1956: Joseph Engelberger started the first emulation
robotics company: Unimation

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Da Vinci Surgical Robot - ca. 2000 HONDA Asimo

1986

2012

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Hand prosthetic

Exoskeleton

The first idea for this type of artificial hand was patented in
1957 in the USSR by N. Kobrinsky, M. Breydo, B.
Gurfinkel, A. Sysin, and J. Jacobson. Later, such hands
were created in Yugoslavia, Canada and the U.S.A.
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Robots
 Robot Manipulators

 Mobile Robots

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D EFINITION

• No clear definition of a “robot”!

• The Robot Institute of America (1969) defines robot as “.... a
• re-programmable, multi-functional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools
or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a
variety of tasks”.
• Currently the term “robots” are used more broadly as an “intelligent agent, physical or
virtual, capable of doing a task autonomously or with guidance”.
• Robot – An electro-mechanical machine with sensors, electronics and guided by
computers.
• Key concept is re-programmable and the extent of programming — Distinguishes a
robot from CNC machine tools.

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TYPES AND CLASSIFICATION OF

ROBOTS

Various ways of classifying a robot

Fixed or mobile. Serial or parallel.
According to degree of freedom (DOF). Rigid or flexible.
Control — Point-to-point, autonomy and “intelligence”.
Most older industrial robots — Fixed base and consisting of links connected by actuated joints.

Many modern robots can move on factory floors, uneven terrains or even walk, swim and fly!

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Robots

• Japanese Industrial Robot Association (JIRA) :

“A device with degrees of freedom that can be controlled.”
• Class 1 : Manual handling device
• Class 2 : Fixed sequence robot
• Class 3 : Variable sequence robot
• Class 4 : Playback robot
• Class 5 : Numerical control robot
• Class 6 : Intelligent robot

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Outline

1. Rigid bodies

2. Elements of a Robot

3. Joints

4. Grübler’s formula

5. Configuration space

6. Operational space

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ELEMENTS OF A ROBOT

Robot is a sophisticated and expensive equipment!

Components making up a robot undergoes constant improvement and advancement and hard to
keep up!
Main components: mechanical components, actuators, transmission devices, sensors, electronics and
computers.
Mechanical components — Links and joints
Links should be strong and lightweight — Usually die-cast sections. Joints are friction and backlash free to the extent
possible.
Actuators are electric, pneumatic or hydraulic.
Transmission device needed/required to transfer motion

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Elements of a Robot

Robot

Mechanical systems

Instructions Sensing systems Actions

Tasks Workspace

Actuation systems

Control systems

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Elements of a Robot
1. Mechanical Systems (mechanical structure)
• Links (rigid bodies) connected through joints (motion axes)
• Parts: base, supporting structure, end effector (gripper, hand),
chassis, wheels, etc.

joint

chassis
links End
(rigid bodies)
effector
base

JACO Robot (Kinova)

Pioneer Robot

Elements of a Robot
2. Sensing systems
a) Proprioceptive sensors
- Internal sate of the robot
- Example: position, velocity, acceleration, torque (at the joints), orientation
(of the robot)

b) Exteroceptive sensors
- External environment
- Example: force/torque, proximity, cameras Force/torque sensor

3. Actuation systems
• Motors: electric, hydraulic, pneumatic
• Algorithms for motor control
• Transmissions

Harmonic Drive transmission

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Elements of a Robot
4. Control systems
• “Brain” of the robot
• 2 levels:
- Low level: Motor control (actuation)
- High level: Planning, task control, “learning”

ABB robot Univ of Bonn

How to Represent a Robot?

Link
Link

Revolute
joint

Prismatic
joint
SCARA (Adept)

KUKA KR Agilus

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How to Represent a Robot?

• A robot is represented (modelled) as:
A kinematic chain of rigid bodies (links) connected through joints
(revolute or prismatic, usually)

Link

Revolute
• Joints (axes): mobile components
joint that generate relative motion
between 2 links

Base • Link: rigid bodies joined through

joints

Robot Configuration
• It is the complete specification of the point of every point of the robot
• It is the complete specification of the position and orientation of
every rigid body (link) of the robot
• Example: - The configuration of every (free) link is
Configuration of a 2R robot specified using 6 parameters
- Every joint imposes 5 constraints on every
link
5 constraints
- Total:
• The complete configuration of a link is
specified with only 1 parameter
5 constraints • The complete configuration of a robot is
specified with 2 parameters

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Degrees of Freedom (dof) of a Robot

• It is the minimum number of coordinates needed (independent coordinates) to
represent the configuration of a robot
• In general: dof = (Σ freedom of every link) – (independent constraints)

• Examples

4 dof 6 dof 7 dof 30 dof

A robot is characterized by the total number of degrees of freedom that it

possesses (example: 6 dof robot, 7 dof robot, …)

Outline

1. Rigid Bodies

2. Elements of a robot

3. Joints

4. Grübler’s formula

5. Configuration space

6. Operational space

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Rigid Bodies
• Rigid Body (RB):
Set of particles where the relative distance between any 2 particles is
(always) constant

pA

pA
At time 0 pB At time t
pB

‖ p A (0)  p B (0)‖  ‖ p A (t )  p B (t )‖
Whatever the motion of the rigid body, the relative distance (between
any 2 points in the body) remains fixed

• Spatial rigid body: it moves in 3 dimensions (in the space)

• Planar rigid body: it moves in 2 dimensions (in a plane)

Rigid Bodies
Configuration of a Rigid Body

• Configuration:
- Complete specification of the position of all the points of the rigid body
- Complete specification of the position and orientation of the rigid body
(assuming the shape of the rigid body is known)

• Examples:
- Configuration of a door with hinge: angle (θ) about the hinge
- Configuration of a point in the plane: x, y
- Configuration of a rigid body in the plane: x, y, θ

θ
θ y y

x x
Door with hinge Point in the plane Rigid body in the plane
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Rigid Bodies
Degrees of Freedom of a Rigid Body

• Degree of Freedom (dof):

- Minimum number of coordinates needed to represent the configuration of a
rigid body.
- Number of independent coordinates needed to represent the configuration
(position and orientation) of a rigid body

• Examples
- Points: → Dof of a point in the plane: 2
→ Dof of a point in the space: 3

z
y
y
x
x
Point in the plane: 2 dof Point in the space: 3 dof
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Rigid Bodies
Degrees of Freedom of a Rigid Body

• Examples
- Rigid bodies:
→ Dof of a door with a hinge: 1
→ Dof of a rigid body in the plane: 3 (2 position + 1 orientation)
→ Dof of a rigid body in the space: 6 (3 position + 3 orientation)

θ
y

x
Rigid body in the plane: 3 dof Rigid body in the space: 6 dof

- Dof of a person walking on the surface of a sphere: 2

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Rigid Bodies
Mechanisms

• A mechanism is a system that consists of:

1. Rigid bodies (links)
2. Joints or axes

Joint i

Joint i+1
Link n-1

Link n
Link 0

• Kinematic chain: link-joint structure

• From the mechanical point of view, a robot is a mechanism
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Rigid Bodies
Mechanisms

• Types of mechanisms
a) Closed chain mechanisms
• They have (closed) loops
• Examples:
• 4-bar linkage
• Parallel robots 4-bar linkage mechanism

Delta parallel robot

[ABB IRB 340 Flex Picker] Two 4-bar linkage mechanisms at the end effector
https://youtu.be/jkaBeuQTEo0
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Rigid Bodies
Mechanisms

• Types of mechanisms
b) Open chain mechanisms
• They do not have any loop
• Structure: “series” of link-joint
• Examples:
- All serial robots

link

UR5 robot ABB IRB2400

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Outline

1. Rigid bodies

2. Elements of a robot

3. Joints

4. Grübler’s formula

5. Configuration space

6. Operational space

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