21ME71 Automation and Robotics

AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

21ME71

MODULE-3
Industrial Robotics:
Robotic Configuration, Robot Anatomy and Related Attributes, Robot Control
Systems, End Effectors, Sensors In Robotics, Industrial Robot Applications,
Robot Accuracy And Repeatability, Different Types Of Robots, Various
Generations Of Robots, Degrees Of Freedom, Asimov’s Laws Of Robotics,
Dynamic Stabilization Of Robots.
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An Industrial Robot is a general-purpose, programmable machine. It possesses some

anthropomorphic characteristics, i.e. human-like characteristics that resemble the human
physical structure. The robots also respond to sensory signals in a manner that is similar to
humans. Anthropomorphic characteristics such as mechanical arms are used for various
industry tasks. Sensory perceptive devices such as sensors allow the robots to communicate
and interact with other machines and to take simple decisions.

• Definition of Robot:

A Robot is a programmable, multi-function manipulator designed to move material

part, tools, or special devices through variable programmed motion for the performance of a
variety of tasks.

History of Robotics

• 1922 Czech author Karel Capek wrote a story called Rossum’s Universal Robots and
introduced the word “Rabota”(meaning worker)

• 1954 George Devol developed the first programmable Robot.

• 1955 Denavit and Hartenberg developed the homogenous transformation matrices

• 1962 Unimation was formed, first industrial Robots appeared.

• 1973 Cincinnati Milacron introduced the T3 model robot, which became very popular
in industry.

• 1990 Cincinnati Milacron was acquired by ABB

• 21C: Walking Robots, Mobile Robots, Humanoid Robots

The General Commercial and Technological Advantages of Robots

• Robots are good substitutes to the human beings in hazardous or uncomfortable work
environments.

• A robot performs its work cycle with a consistency and repeatability which is difficult
for human beings to attain over a long period of continuous working.

• Robots can be reprogrammed. When the production run of the current task is completed,
a robot can be reprogrammed and equipped with the necessary tooling to perform an
altogether different task.

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• Robots can be connected to the computer systems and other robotics systems.
Nowadays robots can be controlled with wire-less control technologies. This has
enhanced the productivity and efficiency of automation industry.

Joints and Links

The manipulator of an industrial robot consists of a series of joints and links. Robot anatomy
deals with the study of different joints and links and other aspects of the manipulator's physical
construction. A robotic joint provides relative motion between two links of the robot. Each
joint, or axis, provides a certain Degree-Of-Freedom (DOF) of motion. In most of the cases,
only one degree-of-freedom is associated with each joint. Therefore the robot's complexity can
be classified according to the total number of degrees-of-freedom they possess.

Each joint is connected to two links, an input link and an output link. Joint provides controlled
relative movement between the input link and output link. A robotic link is the rigid component
of the robot manipulator. Most of the robots are mounted upon a stationary base, such as the
floor.

From this base, a joint-link numbering scheme may be recognized. The robotic base
and its connection to the first joint are termed as link-0. The first joint in the sequence is joint-
1. Link-0 is the input link for joint-1, while the output link from joint-1 is link-1—which leads
to joint-2. Thus link 1 is, simultaneously, the output link for joint-1 and the input link for joint-
2. This joint-link-numbering scheme is further followed for all joints and links in the robotic
systems.

Robot Manipulator

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Robot Configurations
a. Polar configuration: It consists of a sliding arm L-joint, actuated relative to the body, which
rotates around both a vertical axis (T-joint), and horizontal axis (R-joint).

b. Cylindrical configuration: It consists of a vertical column. An arm assembly is moved up

or down relative to the vertical column. The arm can be moved in and out relative to the axis
of the column. Common configuration is to use a T-joint to rotate the column about its axis.
An L-joint is used to move the arm assembly vertically along the column, while an O-joint is
used to achieve radial movement of the arm.

c. Cartesian co-ordinate robot: It is also known as rectilinear robot and x-y-z robot. It consists
of three sliding joints, two of which are orthogonal O-joints.

d. Jointed-arm robot: It is similar to the configuration of a human arm. It consists of a vertical

column that swivels about the base using a T-joint. Shoulder joint (R-joint) is located at the top
of the column. The output link is an elbow joint (another R joint).

e. SCARA: Its full form is ‘Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm'. It is similar in
construction to the jointer-arm robot, except the shoulder and elbow rotational axes are vertical.
It means that the arm is very rigid in the vertical direction, but compliant in the horizontal
direction.

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Basic Robot Motions

1. Rotational Traverse
2. Radial Traverse
3. Vertical Traverse
4. Wrist Pitch
5. Wrist Yaw
6. Wrist roll

Wrist Motions

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Types of Joint in Robot

a) Linear joint (type L joint): The relative movement between the input link and the output link
is a translational sliding motion, with the axes of the two links being parallel.

b) Orthogonal joint (type U joint): This is also a translational sliding motion, but the input and
output links are perpendicular to each other during the move.

c) Rotational joint (type R joint): This type provides rotational relative motion, with the axis
of rotation perpendicular to the axes of the input and output links.

d) Twisting joint (type T joint): This joint also involves rotary motion, but the axis or rotation
is parallel to the axes of the two links.

e) Revolving joint (type V-joint, V from the “v” in revolving): In this type, axis of input link
is parallel to the axis of rotation of the joint. However the axis of the output link is perpendicular
to the axis of rotation.

Robot Specifications
• Number of Axes
• Capacity
• Speed
• Work Volume
• Operating Environment

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• Type of Drive system

– Electric motor
– Hydraulic
– Pneumatic
• Performance Parameters
– Spatial Resolution
– Accuracy
– Repeatability
• Number of Axes: This specifies the number of independent degrees of freedom that
wrist end can manipulate

• Capacity: Load bearing capacity is the maximum weight-carrying capacity of the

robot. Serial robots that carry large weights, but must still be precise, are heavy and
expensive, with poor (low) payload-to-weight ratios.

• Speed: Speed is the amount of distance per unit time at which the robot can move,
usually specified in inches per second or meters per second. The speed is usually
specified at a specific load or assuming that the robot is carrying a fixed weight. Actual
speed may vary depending upon the weight carried by the robot.

• Operating environment: It represents the environment where a robot can work

effectively like Complex & contaminated, Ordinary & worktable, Extremely clean and
dustless and Hot & hazardous

• Work Volume: The term work volume refers to the space within which the robot can
operate. The work volume of an industrial robot is determined by its physical
configuration, size, and the limitations of its arm and joint manipulations.

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Types Drive System

• Basically three types of drive systems are commonly used to actuate robotic joints.
These are electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic drives. Electric motors are the prime
movers in robots.

• Servo-motors or steeper motors are widely used in robotics. Hydraulic and pneumatic
systems such as piston-cylinder systems, rotary vane actuators are used to accomplish
linear motions, and rotary motions of joints respectively.

• Pneumatic drive is regularly used for smaller, simpler robotic applications; whereas
electric and hydraulic drives may be found applications on more sophisticated industrial
robots. Due to the advancement in electric motor technology made in recent years,
electric drives are generally favored in commercial applications. They also have
compatibility to computing systems.

• Hydraulic systems, although not as flexible as electrical drives, are generally used
where larger speeds are required. They are generally employed to carry out heavy duty
operations using robots.

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• The combination of drive system, sensors, and feedback control system determines the
dynamic response characteristics of the manipulator. Speed in robotic terms refers to
the absolute velocity of the manipulator at its end-of-arm. It can be programmed into
the work cycle so that different portions of the cycle are carried out at different
velocities.

Precision of Movement

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Advantages of Robots
1. Robots can work in hazardous environments without the need.
2. Robots does not need environmental comfort.
3. Robots work continuously without experiencing fatigue of problem.
4. Robots have repeatable precision at all times.
5. Robots can be much more accurate than human.
6. Robots can process multiple stimuli or tasks simultaneously.
7. Robots increase productivity, safety, efficiency, quality, and consistency of products.

Disadvantages of Robots
1. Robots lack capability to respond in emergencies.
2. Robots, although superior in certain senses, have limited capabilities in degree of
freedom, Agility, Sensors, Vision system, real time response.
3. Robots are costly, due to Initial cost of equipment, Installation costs, Need for
Peripherals, Need for training, Need for programming.

Robot End-Effectors
• End-effectors are the tools attached to the end of the robot arm that enable it to do useful
work. Most robot manufacturers either do not include end-effectors with their robots or
include a general purpose gripper to allow you to do simple tasks. Typically, the end-
effectors must be purchased or designed separately. Also called end-of-arm-tooling,
end-effectors are usually attached to the robot tool plate (after the last wrist joint) via a
standard mechanical interface. Like robots themselves, end-effectors require a power
source, often electric or pneumatic.

• Grippers: Grippers are the most common end-effectors. They provide the equivalent of
a thumb and an opposing finger, allowing the robot to grasp small parts and manipulate
them.

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End Effectors

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Sensors in Robotics
• There are generally two categories of sensors used in robotics. These are sensors for
internal purposes and for external purposes. Internal sensors are used to monitor and
control the various joints of the robot. They form a feedback control loop with the robot
controller. Examples of internal sensors include potentiometers and optical encoders,
while tachometers of various types are deployed to control the speed of the robot arm.

• External sensors are external to the robot itself, and are used when we wish to control
the operations of the robot. External sensors are simple devices, such as limit switches
that determine whether a part has been positioned properly, or whether a part is ready
to be picked up from an unloading bay.

Robot Control systems

The actuations of the individual joints must be controlled in a coordinated fashion for the
manipulator to perform a desired motion cycle. Microprocessor-based controllers are
commonly used today in robotics as the control system hardware. The controller is organized
in a hierarchical structure as indicated in Figure so that each joint has its own feedback control
system, and a supervisory controller coordinates the combined actuations of the joints
according to the sequence of the robot program. Different types of control are required for
different applications. Robot controllers can be classified into four categories :

(1) limited-sequence control,

(2) playback with point-to-point control,
(3) playback with continuous path control, and
(4) intelligent control.

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Hierarchical control structure of a robot microcomputer controller

Limited-sequence Control. This is the most elementary control type. It can be utilized only
for simple motion cycles, such as pick-and-place operations (i.e., picking an object up at one
location and placing it at another location). It is usually implemented by setting limits or
mechanical stops for each joint and sequencing the actuation of the joints to accomplish the
cycle. Many pneumatically driven robots are limited-sequence robots.

Playback with point-to-point control. Playback robots represent a more sophisticated form
of control than limited-sequence robots. Playback control means that the controller has a
memory to record the sequence of motions in a given work cycle, as well as the locations and
other parameters (such as speed) associated with each motion, and then to subsequently play
back the work cycle during execution of the program. In point-to-point (PTP) control,
individual positions of the robot arm are recorded into memory.

Playback with continuous path control. Continuous path robots have the same playback
capability as the previous type. A playback robot with continuous path control is capable of
one or both of the following:

1. Greater storage capacity. The controller has a far greater storage capacity than its point-to-
point counterpart, so the number of locations that can be recorded into memory is far greater
than for point-to-point. Thus, the points constituting the motion cycle can be spaced very
closely together to permit the robot to accomplish a smooth continuous motion. In PTP, only
the final location of the individual motionelements are controlled, so the path taken by the arm
to reach the final location is not controlled. In a continuous path motion, the movement of the
arm and wrist is controlled during the motion.

2. Interpolation calculations. The controller computes the path between the starting point and
the ending point of each move using interpolation routines similar to those used in NC. These
routines generally include linear and circular interpolation.

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Intelligent Control. Industrial robots are becoming increasingly intelligent. In this context, an
intelligent robot is one that exhibits behavior that makes it seem intelligent. Some of the
characteristics that make a robot appear intelligent include the capacities to interact with its
environment, make decisions when things go wrong during the work cycle, communicate with
humans, make computations during the motion cycle, and respond to advanced sensor inputs
such as machine vision.

Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics”

Once people understand that Machine Ethics has to do with how intelligent machines, rather
than human beings, should behave, they often maintain that Isaac Asimov has already given us
an ideal set of rules for such machines. They have in mind Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics”:

The Three Laws of Robotics or Asimov's Laws are a set of rules devised by the science fiction
author Isaac Asimov

First Law - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being
to come to harm.

Second Law - A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such
orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law - A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict
with the First or Second Laws.

Various Generations of Robots

First-generation

• A first-generation robot is a simple mechanical arm.

• These machines have the ability to make precise motions at high speed, many times, for a
long time.

Second generation

• A second-generation robot has rudimentary machine intelligence.

• Such a robot is equipped with sensors that tell it things about the outside world.

• These devices include pressure sensors, proximity sensors, tactile sensors, radar, sonar, ladar,
and vision systems.

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• A controller processes the data from these sensors and adjusts the operation of the robot
accordingly.

Third generation

• The concept of a third-generation robot encompasses two major avenues of evolving smart
robot technology –

• An autonomous robot can work on its own. It contains a controller, and it can do things largely
without supervision, either by an outside computer or by a human being – Insect robot

• There are some situations in which autonomous robots do not perform efficiently. In these
cases, a fleet of simple insect robots, all under the control of one central computer, can be used.

• These machines work like ants in an anthill, or like bees in a hive.

Fourth generation Cognitive Robotics

• Any robot of a sort yet to be seriously put into operation is a fourth generation robot.

Examples of these might be robots that reproduce and evolve, or that incorporate biological
as well as mechanical components.

Fifth Generation Artificial Intelligence Robotics

• Robot controller will involve complete artificial intelligence (AI), miniature sensors, and
decision-making capabilities.

Degrees of freedom

Industrial robots are designed to perform productive work such as pick and place, welding,
assembly, etc., the work is accomplished by enabling the robot to move its body, arm and wrist
through a series of motion and positions.

The individual joint motions associated with the performance of a task are referred to by the
term Degrees of Freedom (DOF) "Degrees of freedom, in a mechanics context, are specific,
defined modes in which a mechanical device or system can move.

The number of degrees of freedom is equal to the total number of independent displacements
or aspects of motion."

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Degrees of Freedom associated with wrist of robot

• Wrist Roll: Also called as wrist swivel, this involves rotation of the wrist mechanism about
the arm axis • Wrist Pitch: Given that the wrist roll is in the center position, the pitch would
involve the up and down rotation of the wrist. This is also sometimes called as wrist bend •
Wrist Yaw: Given that the wrist roll is the center position, the Yaw would involve the right or
left rotation of the wrist.

Degrees of Freedom Associated with Arm and Body of the Robot

· Vertical Traverse: This is the capability to move the wrist up or down to provide the desired
vertical attitude.

· Radial Traverse: This is the capability to move the wrist front and back which provides the
extension and retraction movement.

· Rotational Traverse: This is the capability to rotate the arm in vertical axis.

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Precision of movement (or) parameters of robot:-

The preceding discussion of response speed and stability is concerned with the dynamic
performance of the robot. Another measure of performance is precision of the robot's
movement. We will define precision as a function of three features:

1.Spatial resolution 2. Accuracy 3. Repeatability

These terms will be defined with the following assumptions.

➢ The definitions will apply at the robot’s wrist end with no hand attached to the wrist.

➢ The terms apply to the worst case conditions, the conditions under which the robot's
precision will be at its wont. This generally means that the robot’s arm is fully extended
in the case of a jointed arm or polar configurable.

➢ Third, our definitions will he developed in the context of a point-to-point robot.

1) Spatial resolution:- The spatial resolution of a robot is the smallest increment of movement
into which the robot can divide its work volume. Spatial resolution depends on two factors: the
system's control resolution and the robot's mechanical inaccuracies. It is easiest to
conceptualize these factors in terms of a robot with 1 degree of freedom.

2) Accuracy:- Accuracy refers to a robot's ability to position its wrist end at a desired target point
within the work volume. The accuracy of a robot can be denned in terms of spatial resolution
because the ability to achieve a given target point depends on how closely the robot can define
the control increments for each of its joint motions.

3) Repeatability:- Repeatability is concerned with the robot's ability to position its wrist or an
end effector attached to its wrist at a point in space is known as repeatability. Repeatability and
accuracy refer to two different aspects of the robot’s precision. Accuracy relates to the robot's
capacity to be programmed to achieve a given target point. The actual programmed point will
probably be different from the target point due to limitations of control resolution Repeatability
refers to the robot’s ability to return to the programmed point when commanded to do so.

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Stability of robots

The stability of robots refers to their ability to maintain balance, function reliably, and resist
tipping or failure during operation. Stability is crucial for robots operating in dynamic
environments, particularly those that interact with uneven surfaces, external forces, or moving
objects.

Types of Stability

1. Static Stability

1. A robot is statically stable if it can maintain balance without needing movement

(e.g., a stationary four-legged robot).

2. Relies on a stable center of gravity (COG) within the support polygon, which is
the area enclosed by the robot’s ground contact points.

3. Common in robots with wide bases or multiple legs.

2. Dynamic Stability

1. A robot achieves balance while in motion, adjusting for forces like momentum
or sudden disturbances.

2. Used by bipedal robots (e.g., humanoids like Boston Dynamics' Atlas) or drones
that rely on rapid computations for continuous adjustments.

Dynamic stabilization of robots

Dynamic stabilization of robots refers to the use of control systems and mechanical design to
maintain a robot's stability while in motion or under changing conditions. Unlike static
stabilization, which relies on the robot maintaining balance by being stationary or using a wide
base, dynamic stabilization allows the robot to stay balanced during tasks such as walking,
running, or navigating uneven terrain.

Dynamic stabilization relies heavily on sensors to continuously monitor the robot's state and
environment:

• Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs): Measure acceleration, angular velocity, and

orientation.

• Force/Torque Sensors: Detect external forces acting on the robot.

• Gyroscopes: Measure rotational stability and tilt.

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• Vision Sensors: Help in recognizing terrain irregularities and obstacles.

Dynamic stabilization represents a critical aspect of modern robotics, enabling greater mobility,
adaptability, and interaction with real-world environments. It continues to evolve with
advances in AI, materials, and control theory.

Factors Influencing Stability

1. Design and Geometry

➢ The width of the base and the height of the center of mass (COM) affect
stability. A lower COM and wider base generally improve static stability.

2. Actuators and Motors

➢ Precise motor control ensures smooth and stable movements, reducing

vibrations and abrupt forces that could destabilize the robot.

3. Sensors

➢ Gyroscopes, accelerometers, and force/torque sensors help robots detect

instability and adjust in real-time.

4. Control Systems

➢ Algorithms like Proportional-Derivative (PD) controllers, Model Predictive

Control (MPC), or Reinforcement Learning (RL) are employed to enhance
balance and motion.

5. Environment

➢ Uneven terrains, slopes, or moving platforms require adaptive stabilization

techniques, like those used in legged or tracked robots.

Stabilization Techniques

1. Feedback Control

➢ Real-time adjustments based on sensor input to maintain balance. For example,

humanoid robots adjust their legs and torso based on feedback from gyroscopes.

2. Mechanical Adjustments

➢ Counterweights, gyroscopic stabilizers, or articulated appendages can shift the

center of gravity to restore balance.

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3. Gait Planning

➢ Optimized step placement and movement timing ensure stability for walking or
running robots.

4. Redundant Support Systems

➢ Using multiple legs, wheels, or tracks increases stability, even if one point of
contact is compromised.

Challenges in Dynamic Stability

Achieving and maintaining dynamic stability presents several challenges for robotic
engineers:
1. Unpredictable Environments
2. Real-Time Control
3. Energy Efficiency

Robot Applications

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