Robot

Introduction to Robot

Industrial robots can nowadays be referred to as an important and reliable technology in factory automation. To be able to use the robot in an effective way as possible, a good knowledge about the characteristics and possibilities of the robot is needed.

Robots are used in a number of different tasks and processes. It is then important that the processes are well known so that process variables and breakdowns can be predicted. This demand is increasing in the future because of the steps towards smaller batches, flexible manufacturing systems and computer integrated manufacturing. With these factors in mind it is probably expected that there will be an increasing need of sensors and sensor systems in factory automation. Through this the possibilities towards integrated production with mixed production and shorter set-up times will increase. In this development the use of robots in factory automation will take an exceptional position due to its programmable and flexible mechanical structure.

Knowledge about robots and the possibilities of robot technology is therefore essential for the development of flexible and effective manufacturing systems.

History

The term "robot" was originally used to refer to an automated humanoid machine, although in the world of science and technology the word has had a much wider application. In industry the term is applied to automated systems ranging from the simple to the very complex. The word "robot" has its origin from the German word "robat". This word survived in the Polish and Czeckish languages as "robota" and means compulsory labour. It appears that the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov was the first to use the word "robotics" to describe robot technology. Joseph Engelberger, is entitled to be the father of robotics, together with George Deroe developed the first commercial robot, Unimate, in 1961. It was placed on Ford and was there used for a press-loading operation.

The first robots were principally intended to replacing humans in monotonous, heavy and hazardous processes. A distinctive feature of the use of the newly developed robots were in handling of materials and workpieces without direct control or participation in the manufacturing process. Robots did not become a major force in industry generally until they had been used extensively in the Japanese automobile industry.

Definition of an industrial robot

The term industrial robot or robot is sometimes used in a routine way by laymen and experts. They sometimes use this term for a machine that performs a specific task in an automated way. ISO, the International Standard Organization, have formulated the following definition with respect to robots and manipulators. "Manipulating industrial robot is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multi-purpose, manipulative machine with several degrees of freedom, which
may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications."

"Manipulator is a machine, the mechanism of which usually consists of a series of segments jointed or sliding relative to one another, for the purpose of grasping and/or moving objects (pieces or tools) usually in several degrees of freedom ... "

"Degrees of freedom is one of the variables (maximum number of six) required to define the motion of a body in space."

The interpretation of the definition would then be that a robot should:

• be reprogrammable in an easy way, without having to change the machine physically.

• have a memory and logic to be able to work independently and automatically.

• have a physical structure in a fashion that allows the use for several tasks without major reconstruction.

A common feature in the definition of the term "industrial robot" is adaptability and versatility. Both terms referring to the robots flexibility, meaning short set-up time and a large area of use. Adaptability means adjustment to the task being carried out. Meaning that a robot should be able to carry out its process no matter what interferences might occur in the workplace. This demands sensor systems that would provide the robot controller with relevant information about the specified task.

Versatility means that the robot should have such a mechanical structure that it can carry out different tasks or perhaps the same task in different ways. This means that an installed robot should be able to be used when the production is changing, i.e. if the production is changing through the changes of the original product or the product is being exchanged.

By the way of contrast the Japan Industrial Robot Association. (JIRA) provides descriptions to six categories of robots:

1. MANUAL MANIPULATOR - a manipulator worked by an operator.

2. FIXED SEQUENCE ROBOT - a manipulator that repetitively performs successive steps of a given operation according to a predetermined sequence. condition. and position The set information cannot be changed easily.

3. VARIABLE SEQUENCE ROBOT - a manipulator similar to that in category 2 but whose set information can be changed easily

4. PLAYBACK ROBOT - a manipulator which can produce from memory. operations originally executed under human control

5. NC ROBOT -- an manipulator that can perform a given task according to the sequence. conditions. and positions commanded via numerical data. using punched tapes cards or digital switches

6. INTELLIGENT ROBOT - a manipulator incorporating sensory perception (visual and/or tactile) to detect changes in the work environment and. using decision-making capability. proceed accordingly

The differences in these definition are believed to be responsible for the larger number of robots reported to be in use in Japan. U.S. numbers are reduced significantly as a result of not including fixed sequence machines.

U.S. consider types 4, 5 and 6 as robots while Japan includes types 1 2 and 3 in their classification.

Talking robot in space

Kirobo is derived from the Japanese words for "hope" and "robot".

FIRST it was Man, followed by a monkey - and now, a robot. Watch a Reuters video and view pictures of Kirobo, a small talking robot that was launched into space on 4 August 2013. Meant as a companion for one of the country's astronauts, the robot, alone with supplies for the crew of the International Space Station, was transported via a rocket from Japan.

Society of Robots - Roboticist John Palmisano's site has materials for beginners through much more advanced robot designers : http://www.societyofrobots.com

Mircosoft Robotics - A portal site for Mircosoft's Robotics Developer Studio : it includes case studies, tutorials, and links to robotics sources : http://www.microsoft.com/robotics

This Flying Insect Brings Robotics to the Next Level : http://www.dividendsandincomedaily.com/2013/08/05/insect-robotics

Anal robots

For those Internet Marketers outside, I believe your already know that article marketing is one of the best ways to generate targeted traffic and backlinks to your website.  But there is another powerful tool that can be used to generate even more traffic.

It’s called Video Marketing.

For The First Time In History, You Can Turn Your Articles
To LIVE And TALKING Videos In Less Than 3 Minutes! This groundbreaking technology is called the Article Video Robot
 and you can check it out here: http://www.articlevideorobot.com

Swarm Robots Cooperate With AR Drone - Our True Robotic Future Is Here : http://funsterz.com/2012/10/26/swarm-robots-cooperate-with-ar-drone-our-true-robotic-future-is-here

iRobot

A new generation of robots is being researched and developed for industry adoption to improve productivity. Let looks at how they can help the shipping industry

Robots can be used to improve productivity. Their main robotics use would be carry out jobs that are dangerous, dirty, demanding and demeaning. The shipping industry is a place where robots can be put to good use.

The robot can be programmed to create textured finishes for surfaces

PRECISE FORCE AND MOTION CONTROLS

Standard robots can be fitted with additional force-controlled module units to control the force they should apply onto surfaces. Industrial applications include smoothing the surface of ship propellers that have just been casted.

WALK-THROUGH TEACHING

This robotic system comes with a novel teaching technique called walk-through teaching. The operator will be able to move the robot arm and teach it the movements it must carry out. Panel welding can be carried out by robots to save on manpower.

AUGMENTED REALITY

This robot can learn surface topology with its laser range finder and camera. The operator can draw out the path to be taken by the robot arm, and it can be used for spray painting a specific location or beveling off edges.

Next-gen bots put on a human face

Advances in technology making possible robots that look and work like people

Baxter is a two-armed robot that changes facial expressions and looks friendly.

NEW YORK - Recently, Mr Natanel Dukan walked into the Paris offices of French robot-maker Aldebaran and noticed one of the company's humanoid Nao robots sitting on a chair.

   Mr Dukan, an electrical engineer, could not resist kissing the robot on the cheek. In response, the Nao tilted its head, touched his cheek and let out an audible smack.

   It is certainly a very French application for a robot, but the intimate gesture by the US$16,000 61cm robot, now being used in academic research labs and robotic soccer leagues, reflects a significant shift.

   Until recently, most robots were carefully separated from humans. They have largely been used in factories to perform repetitive tasks requiring speed, precision and force. That generation of robots is dangerous, and they have been caged and fenced for the protection of workers.

   But the industral era of robotics is over. And robots are beginning to move around in the world.

   More and more, they are beginning to imitate - and look like - humans. And perform tasks as humans do, too.

   Many of the new generation of robots are tele-operated from a distance, but are increasingly doing tasks independent of direct human control.

   For instance, Romeo, a 152cm humanoid robot, will soon be introduced by Aldebaran as a "big brother" to the pipsqueak, kissing Nao robot. Created with the aid of US$13.8 million from the French government, the costly robot is being programmed to care for older people and assist in the home.

   To provide useful assistance, it will have to do more than the repetitive work being performed by commercial robots in factories, hospitals and other settings. Moreover, the new robots are designed not just to replace but to collaborate with humans.

   The idea that robots will be partners of humans, rather than stand-ins or servants, is now driving research at universities and laboratories.

   This year, new US industry standards for robotic manufacturing systems were published, underscoring the emergence of the field. The standards specify performance requirements that will permit humans to collaborate with robots directly, reversing earlier manufacturing guidelines that prohibited "continuous attended operations" requiring humans to be in close contact with robots deemed unsafe by the industry.

   Today's designers believe their robots will become therapists, caregivers, guides and security guards, and will ultimately do virtually any form of human labour. (Robots that can think on their own - that is, perform with high levels of artificial intelligence - have yet to arrive.)

   The key to this advance is the new robot's form. Their human-like appearance does more than satisfy science fiction fantasies.

   Roboticists say they are choosing the human form for social and technical reasons. Robots operating indoors, in particular, must be able to navigate a world full of handles, switches, levers and doors designed for humans.

    Roboticists point out that humans have no affinity for their own shape, making collaboration more natural. Creating robots in humanoid form simplifies training and partnerships in the workplace, and increases their potential in new applications like caregiving. It is still unclear how well these new faux-people will be accepted by society.

   But rapid improvements in computer vision, processing power and storage, low-cost sensors, as well as new algorithms that allow robots to plan and move in clutered environments, are making these new uses possible and in the process changing the nature of robotics.

   Biomedical engineering associate professor Charlie Kemp of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta said: "Things are not the same when you're interacting with people. That's where we want robots to be; it's where we see there are huge opportunities for robots, and there are very distinct requirements from what led to the classic industrial robot."

   And so on factory floors world-wide, a new breed of robot is being manufactured by companies like Rethink Robotics of Boston, which has a humanoid robot for simple factory automation tasks.

   "This is a way that robots can be used for fun, interactive exercise in rehabilitation," Professor Kemp said. "We can also use it as a tool to understand whole body physical interaction between people and robots."

NEW YORKS TIMES

Robots designed to help humans

• Romeo, a 1.5m-tall humanoid robot, created with a US$13.8 million grant from the French government, is being programmed to care for older people and assist in the home.

• Boston's Rethink Robotics recently released a video of its robot, Baxter, making a cup of coffee with a coffee machine. The company said the humanoid robot, with tong-like hands and a computer-screen face, was trained to carry out a variety of pre-prgrammmed coffee-making tasks in just several hours.

• In Kemp's Healthcare Robotics lab at Georgia Tech, a 1.5m-tall robot named Cody, which is able to sense forces on its arms and move gracefully, is being used as a dance partner for both experienced human dancers and patients in physical therapy.

• At Carnegie Mellon University, Ms Manuela M. veloso, a professor of computer science, has developed a series of mobile robots called CoBots to perform tasks such as delivering mail, guiding visitors to appointments and fetching coffee.

NEW YORK TIMES

if a lion could speak, we would not understand him

Ever Wanted To Be An Anti-Robot? Well, Now You Can : http://www.classybro.com/2013/11/ever-wanted-anti-robot-well-now-can