Introduction to Robotics

Engr. Roselito E. Tolentino

 Robot
• A Robot is a mechatronic device which also
includes resourcefulness or autonomy.
• A device that does its thing "on its own"
without a human directly guiding it moment-
by-moment.
 Robotics
• Robotics is the science and technology of
robots, their design, manufacture, and
application.
• Robotics requires a working knowledge of
electronics, mechanics, and software, and
is usually accompanied by a large working
knowledge of many subjects.
• A person working in the field is called
Roboticist
 Robot or Not?
• If it has autonomy it's a robot
• If it's remote controlled, it isn't.

• But in terms of classification

– Autonomous Robot
– Semi-autonomous Robot
 Why Robots?
1. Dangerous
2. Dirty
3. Dull
4. Difficult
 Robot as a System
• System – An organized group of interacting
components, device equipment etc (usually
pertaining as subsystem), that perform a
certain process or procedure.
– It consist of inputs and the corresponding outputs
performed by a process

Intelligence / Actuators/
Sensors
Input Process Output
Control Mechanism
 Robot as a System
• Sensors, which detect the state of the
environment
• Actuators, which modify the state of the
environment
• Control System, which controls the actuators
based on the environment as depicted by the
sensors
Some Input and Output Devices
Quantity being Input Device Output Device
Measured (Sensor) (Actuator)
Potentiometer Motor
Proximity and
LVDT Solenoid and Cylinders
Position
Encoders Panel Meters
Movement Resolver
Speed/ Tachometer AC and DC Motors
Acceleration Gyroscope Stepper Motor
Doppler Effect Sensors Brake
Light Dependant Resistor (LDR) Lights & Lamps
Solar Cell LED's & Displays
Light Level
Photo-transistor Fibre Optics
Photodiode
Thermocouple Heater
Thermistor Fan
Temperature
Thermostat
Resistive temperature detectors (RTD)
Strain Gauge Lifts & Jacks
Pressure Switch Electromagnet
Force/Pressure
Load Cells
Vibration
Carbon Microphone Bell
Sound Piezo-electric Crystal Buzzer
Loudspeaker
 Early Works on Robotics
• Around 400 BC, Archytas of Tarentum is
reputed to have built a mechanical pigeon,
possibly powered by steam, capable of flying.
 Early Works on Robotics
• Automaton: independent and complex
machine: a machine that contains its own
power source and can perform a complicated
series of actions, including responses to
external stimuli, without human intervention

Examples of sources
that were used in
the early days
are:
1. Water
2. Wind
3. Steam Mechanical bodies Turbines Levers
4. Sand
 Early Works on Robotics
• Mechanical toys such as the Japanese Karakuri
ningyo toys of the 1700s
 Early Works on Robotics
• Leonardo Da Vinci designs a mechanical
device that looks like an armored knight. The
mechanisms inside "Leonardo's robot" are
designed to make the knight move as if there
was a real person inside.
 Early Works on Robotics
• Automata of the 1800s
 Early Works on Robotics
• Nikola Tesla builds and demonstrates a remote
controlled robot boat at Madison Square
Garden in 1898.
 The First Concept of Robot
• Czech writer Karel Capek (1921) introduced
the word "Robot" in his play "R.U.R"
(Rossuum's Universal Robots).
• "Robot" in Czech comes from the word
"robota", meaning "compulsory labor"
 The First Concept of Robot
• Fritz Lang's movie "Metropolis“ (1926) is
released. "Maria" the female robot in the film
is the first robot to be projected on the silver
screen.
 The First Concept of Robot
• Isaac Asimov produces a series of
short stories about robots starting
with "A Strange Playfellow" (later
renamed "Robbie") for Super
Science Stories magazine. 1940
• Over the next 10 years he produces
more stories about robots that are
eventually recompiled into the
volume "I, Robot" in 1950.
 The First Concept of Robot
• Asimov is generally credited with the
popularization of the term "Robotics" which
was first mentioned in his story "Runaround"
in 1942.
• But probably Isaac Asimov's most important
contribution to the history of the robot is the
creation of his Three Laws of Robotics:
 Three Laws of Robotics
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or,
through inaction, allow a human being to
come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by
human beings except where such orders
would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as
long as such protection does not conflict with
the First or Second Law.
 Three Laws of Robotics
• Asimov later adds a "zeroth law" to the list:
• Zeroth law: A robot may not injure humanity,
or, through inaction, allow humanity to come
to harm.
 Robot Generation
• A Japanese engineer Eiji Nakano was the first
to make formal mention of robot generation.
 Robot Generation
• First Generation Robots
– A simple mechanical arm. Has the ability
to make precise motions with high speeds.
Can work in groups if their actions are
synchronized.
• Second Generation Robots
– Has some level of AI. Equipped with
various sensors.
Can stay synchronized with each other
without having to be overseen constantly.
 Robot Generation
• Third Generation Robots
– The two major avenues of developing for
advanced robot technology.
Autonomous Robots and Insect Robots
• Fourth Generation Robots
– Robots that are yet to be deployed.
An example is a fleet or population of
Robots that can reproduce themselves.