Chapter 3: Introduction to Robotics

Prepared by:
Azri Hamim Ab Adzis

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Chapter 3: Introduction to Robotics

• Introduction to Industrial Robot

• Robot components
• Degree of freedom (DOF)
• Robot Joints
• Robot Coordinates
• Robot Workspace
What is a Robot?
• A robot is a programmable multifunctional manipulator designed to
move materials, parts, tools or specialised devices through variable
programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks.

• An industrial robot is a programmable device to both manipulate

and transport parts, tools or specialised manufacturing implements
through variable programmed motions for the performance of
specific manufacturing tasks.
The development of Robots
• After the development of numerically controlled machines the
concept of imitating a human arm to manipulate parts became a
natural progression.

• Contrary to common belief, robotics was not developed recently. In

fact the first robots were created in the early 1960’s in the USA. Due
to the experimental nature of the work a low profile was kept mainly
to avoid adverse public reaction. While the USA may be credited for
establishing the technology for robotics, countries like Japan utilize it
to a greater extent in industrial applications.
• There are many reasons for the increase in awareness and
use of industrial robots in recent times, including:

• the increasing cost of unskilled labour

• better design and performance
• rapid advances in computer and sensory
technology
• the desire to take employees away from mundane,
repetitive or potentially dangerous work environments.
Work Applications for Robots
Pick and Place Welding and Cutting
– Casting and moulding – Spot welding
– Forging and pressing – Continuous path welding
– Machine loading and unloading – Laser cutting and welding
– Component assembly – Water jet cutting
– Heat treatment – Plasma cutting.
– Inspection
– Sorting
– Palletising.
Work Applications for Robots
Light Machining Paint spraying
– Drilling – Adhesive application
– Tapping – Chopped strand matt spraying.
– De-burring
– Grinding.
Human Versus Robot
Feature Robot Human
Generally fixed in one spot,
except for a small number of Capable of free motion from
Mobility
mobile models or ones on place to place.
rails.

• Three types of joint:

Prismatic and Revolute,
Ball and socket. • Revolute joints only.
• Most have one arm. • A human has two arms.
• Range of motion from • Range of motion
several centimetres to unlimited.
Arm
several metres. • Maximum speed of motion
• Maximum speed of motion about 1.5 metres per
ranges from several second.
centimetres per second to  
several metres per second.
 
Human Versus Robot
Feature Robot Human
End Effector Tool or gripper attached to end of Each arm terminates in a five-
each arm. fingered hand, with each pinger
capable of almost independent
motion.
Floor Space Required Zero space for models suspended About one square metre.
from ceiling. Many square metres
for floor mounted models
Load lifting capacity From 0.1 kilograms for small Up to 30 kilograms.
models to over one tonne for large
models.
Memory • From 100 to 2000 motions. • No evaluation exists.
• Expandable. • Limited by elapsed time, due to
• Absolute, not affected by elapsed forgetfullness.
time. Can be erased on command.
Human Versus Robot
Feature Robot Human
Sensors • Current capability mainly for sight • Five highly developed senses
and touch. capable of transferring immense
• Limited capacity for identification. amounts of information to the
Decoding of sensed information brain. Decoding quite rapid.
quite slow. • Suitable for a wide range of
• Suitable for a limited range of working condition. Ability to see
working conditions. For example, in bright light and semi -
light intensity limits are strictly darkness.
defined for sight sensors. 
Reaction time to external signals Rapid – about ten milliseconds. Slow – about one second.
Intelligence Limited. Cannot overcome unforseen High. Capable of learning from past
situations. Little judgemental ability. experience and applying it to
unforeseen situations.
Learning Tasks are learned once only. No need Memory must be refreshed after
to refresh memory after long periods periods without work. Learning must
without working. Programs can be be individual. No certainty that a
copied instantly from Robot to Robot, human can learn a particular task.
without relearning.  
Certainty that all robots of the same
type can learn the same task.
Human Versus Robot
Feature Robot Human
Consistency Motions are repeated consistently Lack of Consistency in motions. Can
unless machine is malfunctioning. improve with experience, but is
subject to psychological influences
and fatigue.
Effects of environment Little effect. Do not require air to • Subject to temperature, noise,
breathe. poisonous gases, and other
hazardous materials.
• Requires air to breathe.
Fatigue None. Periodic maintenance required. Increases with hours worked,
decreases with rest.

Motivation None required Must be interested in his tasks. Work

quality subject to psychological
influences within and outside the
environment.
Human Versus Robot
Feature Robot Human
Absence from work May be absent due to malfunction. May be absent due to illness, tea and
Repair time depends on skill of coffee breaks, training, personal
maintenance team. business.
Labour costs Labour is free but the capital outlay Receives regular payments for work
for purchase, installation and done.
maintenance costs can be enormous.  
  Costs increases when work is outside
Same irrespective of the duration or normal working hours.
working day.  
  Requires regular salary increases to
Needs no salary increases to be able to cope with living expenses.
survive.
Robots Versus Hard Automation
• Robots cannot compare with dedicated hard automation at this stage
in their development. This is primarily due to the high cost of robots,
but in many cases hard automation performs faster.
• Which situations is the robot ideally suited to? What size production
run makes it viable to use robots?
• Robots are ideally suited to flexible manufacturing situations where
the production run is in the small). The exception is hazardous
environments, where a robot is always preferred
Robot components

• There are five essential features that make up a robot system:

– The manipulator (mechanical)

– The end-effector (mechanical)
– The locomotion device or power supply unit, which may be Electric,
Hydraulic or Pneumatic. (refer chapter 2 slides)
– The control unit, usually electronic or computer
– The sensors
Robot components
• Manipulator: Just like the human arm, the robot consists
of what is called a manipulator having several joints and
links.
• End effector: The base of the manipulator is fixed to base
support and at its other free end, the End effector is
attached. The End effector is expected to perform tasks
normally performed by the palm and finger arrangements
of the human arm.
Robot components
• The Locomotion Device: In the case of Human Beings
the power for the movement of the arm, the palm and
fingers is provided by muscles. For the robot the power for
the movement (locomotion) is provided by the motors. The
motors used for providing locomotion in robots are of three
types depending on the source of energy: Electric,
Hydraulic or Pneumatic.
Robot components
• The Controller: The digital computer (both the hardware
and the software) acts as a controller to the robot. The
controller functions in a manner analogous to the human
brain. With the help of this controller, the robot is able to
carry out the assigned tasks. The controller directs and
controls the movement of the Manipulator and the End
effector. In other words, the controller controls the robot
Robot components
• The Sensors: Without the data supplied by the sense organs, the
brain would be incapable of intelligence. In other words the
controller (the computer) of the robot cannot do any meaningful task,
if the robot is not with a component analogous to the sense organs
of the human body. Thus, the fifth and the most important
component of the robot is the set of sensors. Sensors are nothing
but measuring instruments which measures quantities such as
position, velocity, force, torque, proximity, temperature, etc.
Robot joints
• Revolute joints are simply those that
allow revolute, or rotary motion between
two links.
• Prismatic joints allow linear motion
between the two links
• Ball and socket joints allow three revolute
or rotary motions between the two links.
This type of Joint is not used very much
because the joint is not very strong and
has difficulty in holding its own weight let
alone that of an end effecter.
Degree of Freedom
• A common term used to define the number of joints in a
robot arm is the degrees of freedom an arm has. Each joint
allows relative motion between the two links, giving it one
degree of freedom. when motion is along or around two
joints then there are two degrees of freedom and so on.
• Most robots have between four and six degrees of
freedom.
• As a comparison, the human arm has seven degrees of
freedom from the shoulder to the wrist. The hand itself has
twenty-two degrees of freedom!
Robot joints
• Robots can be classified by their joint type into one of the
following five groups:
• Cartesian
• Cylindrical
• Spherical
• Horizontally articulated (SCARA)
• Vertically articulated.
• To determine which of these classifications a robot arm
belongs in, only the three joints closest to the robot base are
considered. Other joints give the end effectors flexibility of
movement.
Robot joints: Robot Arm Classifications
Cartesian Robot
• The arm of a Cartesian robot has three Prismatic joints.
• High degree of mechanical stability and therefore is capable of great
accuracy in positioning the end effectors.
• The work envelope is the volume in which the end effectors can be
manipulated. In this case the envelope is small when compared to
other designs of similar proportions.
Robot joints: Robot Arm Classifications
Gantry Robot
• A gantry robot is a modified style of Cartesian robot, using two X (or
base) axes rather than the single base axis found in Cartesians.
• The additional X axis (and sometimes additional Y and Z axes)
allows the robot to handle larger loads and forces, making them
ideal for pick and place of heavy payloads or parts loading and
unloading. Each axis is based on a linear actuator,
Robot joints: Robot Arm Classifications
Cylindrical Robot
• A Cylindrical robot has one Revolute and two Prismatic joints. The
work envelope is larger than that of the Cartesian type, but the
mechanical rigidity is slightly less
Robot joints: Robot Arm Classifications
Spherical robots
• Have two Revolute and one Prismatic joint. They have a larger
work envelope than the cylindrical types, but the mechanical rigidity
is less
Robot joints: Robot Arm Classifications
Horizontally articulated robots
• Have two Revolute and one Prismatic joint. The work envelope is
smaller than the spherical type but larger than the Cartesian and
Cylindrical. Due to the vertical motion of the prismatic joint they are
used readily for assembly operations.
Robot joints: Robot Arm Classifications
Vertically articulated robots
• Have three Revolute joints. Their structure is similar to that of the
human arm. The work envelope is larger than any other type of
robot, however the mechanical rigidity is the lowest of all the other
types.
Robot joints
• The wrist of the robot is usually the most appropriate place to add
extra joints, giving the robot the following motions: Pitch, Roll and
Yaw.
– Pitch
• movement of the end effecter up or down
– Roll
• rotation of the end effecter clockwise or anti‑clockwise
– Yaw
• movement of the end effecter to the left or right.
Robot joints
Therefore, if the task requires total flexibility in orientation of the end
effecter, a robot with six degrees of freedom is the minimum
requirement.
Cartesian Coordinate System
• Use by cartesian and gantry robots.
• Basically x-y-z coordinates system
Cylindrical Coordinate System
Cylindrical Coordinate System
Cylindrical Coordinate System
• A cylindrical coordinate system is a three-dimensional
coordinate system that specifies point positions by the
distance from a chosen reference axis, the direction from
the axis relative to a chosen reference direction, and the
distance from a chosen reference plane perpendicular to
the axis. The latter distance is given as a positive or
negative number depending on which side of the reference
plane faces the point.
• The origin of the system is the point where all three
coordinates can be given as zero. This is the intersection
between the reference plane and the axis.
Cylindrical Coordinate System
• The axis is variously called the cylindrical or longitudinal
axis, to differentiate it from the polar axis, which is the ray
that lies in the reference plane, starting at the origin and
pointing in the reference direction.
• The distance from the axis may be called the radial
distance or radius, while the angular coordinate is
sometimes referred to as the angular position or as the
azimuth.
Cylindrical Coordinate System
• The radius and the azimuth are together called the polar
coordinates, as they correspond to a two-dimensional polar
coordinate system in the plane through the point, parallel to
the reference plane.
• The third coordinate may be called the height or altitude (if
the reference plane is considered horizontal), longitudinal
position or axial position.
Cylindrical Coordinate System
• Cylindrical coordinates are useful in connection with
objects and phenomena that have some rotational symmetry
about the longitudinal axis, such as water flow in a straight
pipe with round cross-section, heat distribution in a metal
cylinder, electromagnetic fields produced by an electric
current in a long, straight wire, and so on.
• It is sometimes called “cylindrical polar coordinate” and
“polar cylindrical coordinate”, and is sometimes used to
specify the position of stars in a galaxy (“galactocentric
cylindrical polar coordinate”).
Spherical Coordinate System
• In mathematics, a spherical coordinate system is a
coordinate system for three-dimensional space where the
position of a point is specified by three numbers: the radial
distance of that point from a fixed origin, its polar angle
measured from a fixed zenith direction, and the azimuth
angle of its orthogonal projection on a reference plane that
passes through the origin and is orthogonal to the zenith,
measured from a fixed reference direction on that plane.
• The radial distance is also called the radius or radial
coordinate. The polar angle may be called colatitude, zenith
angle, normal angle, or inclination angle.
Spherical Coordinate System
Robot Coordinates System
• For an industrial robot, its internal coordinate systems include the
base coordinates, the world coordinates, the user coordinates, the
work-piece coordinates, and the tool coordinates. All these
coordinate systems follow the right-hand law, as shown in the next
figure
Robot Coordinates System
Robot Coordinates System
• The base coordinates are defined on the main robot
mounting-flange. Its origin O is the projection of the axis of
rotation of the first axis onto the plane of the robot base,
which defined as XOYXOY.
• For process-users, the coordinates of the worktable are
used as a reference for programming. The coordinates of
the worktable are named as the user coordinates. When
the table is displaced or rotated, a corresponding change
of the user coordinates would be sufficient, instead of
reprogramming. This is the benefit of using the user
coordinates.
Robot Coordinates System
• If there are several work-pieces on the worktable in-process,
individual coordinates for each work-piece maybe defined.
• The benefit for using individual coordinate system is that the
controlling program could be modified easily if any work-piece needs
to be relocated.
• The separate coordinates for each work-piece are named as work-
piece coordinates.
Robot Coordinates System
• When the machining tool is mounted onto the end-flange of the
robot, it is necessary to define its own coordinate system.
• Its origin coincides with the center of the tool [tool centre point
(TCP)].
• TCP describes the relationship of displacement and rotation
between the machining point of the tool and the center position of
the robot end-flange. When a new tool is installed, a revised tool
coordinate-system is needed, instead of reprogramming
Robot Coordinates System
Robot workspace/ work-envelope

• The workspace or work envelope of robot manipulator is

defined as the set of points that can be reached by its end‐
effector. Put in other words, the workspace of a robot is
the space in which the mechanism is working.
Robot workspace/ work-envelope-Cartesian

• The working envelope of the Cartesian configuration is

a rectangular prism. There are no dead zones within
the working envelope and the Robot can manipulate its
maximum payload throughout the working volume
Robot workspace/ work-envelope-Cylindrical

• The working envelope of this configuration is as its name

suggests a cylinder. The cylinder is hollow, since there is a
limit to how far the arm can retract, this creates a cylindrical
dead zone around the Robot structure.
Robot workspace/ work-envelope-Spherical

• The working envelope of this configuration sweeps out a volume

between two partial spheres. There are physical limits imposed
by the design on the amount of angular movement in both the
vertical and horizontal planes. These restrictions create conical
dead zones both above and below the Robot structure.
Robot workspace/ work-envelope-Revolute

• This configuration has a large working envelope relative to the floor

space it occupies. The shape of the working envelope depends on
the individual design. The two most common designs are shown
below. The design in b) allows almost a true sphere to be reached,
whilst the design in a) has a complex cusp shaped envelope.
Robot workspace/ work-envelope-SCARA

• The SCARA configuration has a working envelope that can be

loosely described as a heart or kidney shaped prism, having a
circular hole passing through the middle. This allow a large area
coverage in the horizontal plane but relatively little in the vertical
plane
Robot workspace/ work-envelope-

• The SCARA configuration has a working envelope that can be

loosely described as a heart or kidney shaped prism, having a
circular hole passing through the middle. This allow a large area
coverage in the horizontal plane but relatively little in the vertical
plane
• End