ROBOTICSROBOTICS

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Basilio Bona Basilio Bona –– DAUIN Politecnico di TorinoDAUIN Politecnico di Torino

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An IntroductionAn Introduction

What is a robot

� According to the Robot Institute of America (1979) a robot is:

A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to

move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through

various programmed motions for the performance of a

variety of tasks

� According to Webster Dictionary a robot is:

An automatic device that performs functions normally

ascribed to humans or a machine in the form of a human

� Robots (seen as artificial beings) appeared in books and

movies long before real applications

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What is a robot and what is not

� If a machine appears to be able to control its arms or limbs,

and if it appears anthropomorphic or zoomorphic it would

be called a robot. However, simply being anthropomorphic

is not sufficient to be called a robot. A robot must do

something; an inanimate object shaped like ASIMO would

not be considered a robot. Having eyes can also make a

difference in whether a machine is called a robot, since difference in whether a machine is called a robot, since

humans instinctively connect eyes with sentience.

� A player piano is rarely considered as a robot.

� A zoomorphic mechanical toy is usually characterized as a

robot.

� A factory automation arm is almost always called an

industrial robot.

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What is a robot and what is not

� An autonomous wheeled or tracked device, such as a self-

guided rover or self-guided vehicle, is almost always

characterized as a mobile robot or service robot.

� A mechanical humanoid, like ASIMO, is almost always

characterized as a robot, usually as a service robot.

� A CNC milling machine is very occasionally considered as a

robot.robot.

� Even for a 3-axis CNC milling machine using the same

control system as a robot arm, it is the arm which is almost

always called a robot, while the CNC machine is usually just

a machine.

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What is a robot?

� Robots are artificial beings with autonomy. Two types of

artificial beings exist:

� Those that include biological material or parts capable of auto-

organization

� Those that do not contain any biological parts

� Robots discussed in this course belong to the second type;

they do not contain biological parts, but they may be able to

� Act or move autonomously in a (partially) known environment

� Interact with humans

� Cooperate with other robots to execute specific tasks

� Learn from a teacher or from their experience

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What is a robot?

� A mechanical structure, including

� Manipulation structures (e.g., mechanical arms, artificial

hands, grippers, etc.)

� Locomotion equipment (e.g., wheels, tracks, propellers, etc.)

� An actuating system, for the movement of the mechanical

structure (motors of different types)structure (motors of different types)

� A sensing systems, including

� Proprioceptive sensors, to collect internal state information

(e.g., position, speed, battery charge, memory usage)

� Exteroceptive sensors to collect data from the environment

(e.g., video cameras, laser scanners, force/torque sensors)

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What is a robot?

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What is a robot?

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What is Robotics?

� Robotics is the science that studies robots and the

technology embedded into them.

� Robotics started to develop during WWII, within the

Manhattan project, with the task of manipulating

radioactive materials.

� Today the number of robotic applications is huge, but they

belong to three generic areas

� Industrial robotics

� Service robotics

� Space/exploration robotics

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What is Robotics?

� The term roboticsrobotics was introduced by Isaac Asimov in one

of his short stories as the science devoted to the study of

robots, based on the three fundamental laws:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction,

allow a human being to come to harmallow a human being to come to harm

2. A robot must obey the orders given by human beings, except

when 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 the second law

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Industrial Robotics

� Objectives: to achieve high-quality and cost-effective

flexible manufacturing and logistics in all major industrial

branches

Gradually, these future robots will become the workers’

assistants serving them at the workplace.

They will carry out the repetitive and strenuous parts of a

worker’s task and will increasingly safeguard workers from

accidents and other relevant health care problems, thus

alleviating the concerns of rising health care costs,

particularly for small manufacturers.

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Examples

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Service Robotics

� Objectives: service robots will probably be found in all

domains of our future world. They represent not only a

hope for a more convenient life, but also a massive new

market for high technology industries.

� Service robotics offers significant opportunities for � Service robotics offers significant opportunities for

European industry. It can be conveniently divided into

market segments, that handle very different situations.

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Market segments

� Cleaning &

Housekeeping

� Edutainment

� Humanoids

� Humanitarian Demining

� Rehabilitation

� Lawn Mowers

� Surveillance

� Medical Applications

� Mining Applications

� Construction

� Rehabilitation

� Inspection

� Agriculture & Harvesting

� Industry

� Search & Rescue

� Automatic Refilling

� Guides & Office

� Fire Fighters

� Picking & Palletising

Food

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Examples

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Space Robotics

� The application of robotics in space is unique in that it forces the

robot to operate without direct human assistance and acts as a

platform for the projection of human capabilities to remote and

hostile environments. Robotic applications in space fall into two

categories: assembly/repair in space and planetary exploration:

�� Assembly & Repair in Space Assembly & Repair in Space

� Space-based robotic manipulators provide the basis for on-orbit servicing � Space-based robotic manipulators provide the basis for on-orbit servicing

of satellites, through the replacement of equipment modules.

�� Planetary ExplorationPlanetary Exploration

� Robots will become the personal assistants of astronauts. They will

operate on distant planets, using high level directives, responding to and

interacting with humans. They will be our agents of planetary surface

and deep space exploration, handling the repetitive and time-consuming

tasks of data collection and data reduction. Teams of robots will survey

vast regions, and will classify geological features and formations and

search for evidence of life.

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Examples

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Conclusions ...

� Robotics is a multidisciplinary field, encompassing

� mechanics (structures, etc.)

� electronics (sensors, actuators, control boards, etc.)

� electrical engineering (motors, drives, power sources, etc.)

� information technologies (algorithms, OS, AI, etc.)

� advanced control & communication� advanced control & communication

� but also …

� material sciences and nanotechnology

� cognitive sciences, neurosciences

� human-machine interfaces

� ergonomy, safety

� biomimesis, ethology

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