CEIN01C Current Trends and Issues in Computing

2nd Semester / AY 2018-2019

Robotics

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Define the term robotics
2. Identify the history of robotics
3. Identify advantages and disadvantages of robotics.
4. Discuss the concept of robot, its components and different uses.
5. Identify the latest trends and development in robotics.

Robotics

Robotics is a branch of engineering that involves the conception, design, manufacture, and operation of robots.
This field overlaps with electronics, computer science, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, nanotechnology and
bioengineering.

The field of robotics has greatly advanced with several new general technological achievements. One is the rise
of big data, which offers more opportunity to build programming capability into robotic systems. Another is the use
of new kinds of sensors and connected devices to monitor environmental aspects like temperature, air pressure,
light, motion and more. All of this serves robotics and the generation of more complex and sophisticated robots for
many uses, including manufacturing, health and safety, and human assistance.

It also intersects with issues around artificial intelligence. Since robots are physically discrete units, they are
perceived to have their own intelligence, albeit one limited by their programming and capabilities. This idea has
generated new debates over traditional science fiction theories, such as Asimov's three laws of robotics, which
address the interaction of humans with robots in some mechanized future

What is a Robot?

A robot is a programmable mechanical device that can perform tasks and interact with its environment, without
the aid of human interaction. Robot was coined by the Czech playwright Karel Capek in 1921.

Basic Components of a Robot

Body/frame - can be of any shape and size. Essentially, the body/frame provides the structure of the robot.

Control System - control system of a robot is equivalent to the central nervous system of a human. It
coordinates and controls all aspects of the robot.

Manipulators - to fulfill their purposes, many robots are required to interact with their environment, and the world
around them. Sometimes they are required to move or reorient objects from their environments without direct
contact by human operators.

Drivetrain - Although some robots are able to perform their tasks from one location, it is often a requirement of
robots that they are able to move from location to location. For this task, they require a drivetrain. Drivetrains
consist of a powered method of mobility.
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2nd Semester / AY 2018-2019
Uses and Examples of Robots

Robots have a variety of modern day uses. These uses can be broken down into three major categories:

● Industrial Robots - Robots used in factories, offices, and manufacturing. Cnc plasma cutter are an
example.

● Robots in Research - Robots like the Boston Dynamic's BigDog and Atlas, were used to further improve
the field of robotics.

● Robots in Education - Robots used for the educational purposes.

Asimov’s 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 any orders given to 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.

A Brief history of Robotics

● 320 BC - earliest known suggestion of an intelligent tool capable of human labor came from Aristotle. He
made this famous quote: If every tool, when ordered, or even of its own accord, could do the work that befits it...
then there would be no need either of apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords.

● 1495 - Leonardo da Vinci sketched plans for a humanoid robot.

● 1700 – 1900 - several life-sized automations were created including a famous mechanical duck made by
Jacques de Vaucanson that could crane its neck, flap its wings and even swallow food.

● 1913 - Henry Ford installs the world’s first moving conveyor belt-based assembly line in his car factory. A
Model T can be assembled in 93 minutes.

● 1920 - Karel Capek coins the word “robot” to describe machines that resemble humans in his play called
Rossums Universal Robots. The play was about a society that became enslaved by the robots that once served
them.

● 1932 - The first true robot toy was produced in Japan. The “Lilliput” was a wind-up toy which walked. It
was made from tinplate and stood just 15cm tall.

● 1937 - Alan Turing releases his paper “On Computable Numbers” which begins the computer revolution.

● 1941 - Legendary science fiction writer Isaac Asimov writes the short story “Liar!” in which he describes
the Three Laws of Robotics. His stories were recompiled into the volume “I, Robot” in 1950, later reproduced as a
movie starring Will Smith.

● 1950 - Alan Turing proposes a test to determine if a machine truly has the power to think for itself. To
pass the test a machine must be indistinguishable from a human during conversation. It has become known as
the “Turing Test”.
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2nd Semester / AY 2018-2019
● 1954 - George Devol and Joe Engleberger design the first programmable robot “arm”. This later became
the first industrial robot, completing dangerous and repetitive tasks on an assembly line at General Motors (1962).

● 1957 - The Soviet Union launches “Sputnik”, the first artificial orbiting satellite. This marks the beginning
of the space race

● 1964 - The IBM 360 becomes the first computer to be mass-produced.

● 1968 - Stanley Kubrick makes Arthur C. Clark's, 2001: A Space Odyssey into a movie. It features HAL, an
onboard computer that develops a mind of its own.

● 1969 - The U.S. successfully use the latest in computing, robotic and space technology to land Neil
Armstrong on the moon.

● 1977 - The first Star Wars movie is released. George Lucas’s movie inspires a new generation of
researchers through his image of a human future shared with robots such as the now famous R2-D2 and C-3PO.

● 1986 - The first LEGO based educational products are put on the market and Honda launches a project to
build a walking humanoid robot.

● 1994 - Carnegie Universities eight-legged walking robot, Dante ll, successfully descends into Mt Spur to
collect volcanic gas samples.

● 1997 - On May 11, a computer built by IBM known as Deep Blue beat world chess champion Garry
Kasparov. The first Robocup tournament is held in Japan. The goal of Robocup is to have a fully automated team
of robots beat the worlds best soccer team by the year 2050.

● 1998 - LEGO launches its first Robotics Inventions System.

● 1999 - Sony releases the first version of AIBO, a robotic dog with the ability to learn, entertain and
communicate with its owner. More advanced versions have followed.

● 2000 - Honda debuts ASIMO, the next generation in its series of humanoid robots.

● 2004 - Epsom release the smallest known robot, standing 7cm high and weighing just 10 grams. The
robot helicopter is intended to be used as a flying camera during natural disasters.

● 2005 - Researchers at Cornell University build the first self-replicating robot. Each “robot” is made up of a
small tower of computerized cubes which link together through the use of magnets.

● 2008 - After being first introduced in 2002, the popular Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner has sold over 2.5
million units, proving that there is a strong demand for this type of domestic robotic technology.
CEIN01C Current Trends and Issues in Computing
2nd Semester / AY 2018-2019

9 Main Topics under Robotics

1. Automation

Basically the technology by which a process or procedure is performed with minimal human assistance.
Automatic control is the use of various control systems for operating equipment such as machinery, processes in
factories, boilers and heat treating ovens, switching on telephone networks, steering and stabilization of ships,
aircraft and other applications and vehicles with minimal or reduced human intervention.

2. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a general term that implies the use of a computer to model and/or replicate
intelligent behavior. Research in AI focuses on the development and analysis of algorithms that learn and/or
perform intelligent behavior with minimal human intervention. These techniques have been and continue to be
applied to a broad range of problems that arise in robotics, e-commerce, medical diagnosis, gaming,
mathematics, and military planning and logistics, to name a few. Several research groups fall under the general
umbrella of AI in the department, but are disciplines in their own right, including: robotics, natural language
processing (NLP), computer vision, computational biology, and e-commerce. Specifically, research is being
conducted in estimation theory, mobility mechanisms, multi-agent negotiation, natural language interfaces,
machine learning, active computer vision, probabilistic language models for use in spoken language interfaces,
and the modeling and integration of visual, haptic, auditory and motor information.

3. Human Interaction and experience

Socially interactive robots are expected to have an increasing importance in human society. For social
robots to provide long-term added value to people's lives, it is of major importance to stress the need for positive
user experience (UX) of such robots. The human-centered view emphasizes various aspects that emerge in the
interaction between humans and robots. However, a positive UX does not appear by itself but has to be designed
for and evaluated systematically. In this paper, the focus is on the role and relevance of UX in human-robot
interaction (HRI) and four trends concerning the role and relevance of UX related to socially interactive robots are
identified, and three challenges related to its evaluation are also presented. It is argued that current research
efforts and directions are not sufficient in HRI research, and that future research needs to further address
interdisciplinary research in order to achieve long-term success of socially interactive robots.

4. Simulation

Has been recognized as an important research tool since the beginning of the 20th century. However, the
“good times” for simulation started with the development of computers and now the simulation is a powerful
visualization, planning, and strategic tool in different areas of research and development. The simulation has also
a very important role in robotics. Different tools are used for the analysis of kinematics and dynamics of robotic
manipulators, for off-line programming, to design different control algorithms, to design mechanical structure of
robots, to design robotic cells and production lines, etc.

In the paper an overview of the simulation in robotics is given and some topics like: how simulation makes things
easier, advantages and back draws of the simulation in robotics, virtual and real world, are pointed out. The scope
of the lecture is the role of the simulation, simulation in different fields of robotics, integrated environment for
dynamic simulation of robot manipulators, the simulation of robot manipulators in MATLAB/Simulink (a case
study), and simulation and visualization of robot systems using general dynamic engines and graphic languages.
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5. Sensors

In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, or subsystem whose purpose is to detect events
or changes in its environment and send the information to other electronics, frequently a computer processor. A
sensor is always used with other electronics.

Sensors measure a physical quantity, and convert it into a useable signal for your robot. When designing
your robot it is important to choose the correct sensors to enable it to be aware of its environment and perform the
tasks required. Consider what it is about your environment you need your robot to know, and your needs in terms
of the precision and accuracy required, this will dictate the type of sensors you will need.

6. Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology, the manipulation and assembly of tiny devices often not much larger than a group of
molecules, is a perfect application for industrial robotics. Due to the fact the objects being handled are so small, a
few billionths of a meter, it is impossible for a human to see or successfully fabricate anything from them, robotics
are the primary means of working with them.

Robotics for nanotechnology enables production in several types of items and operations. Some of these
are recited by Craig Rubenstein, Sales Manager for Lifesciences at Motoman Inc., West Carrollton, Ohio. ‘‘Nano-
positioning robotics are used in a variety of processes, including fiber optic component assembly,’‘Rubenstein
says. ‘‘Semiconductor assembly, testing and inspection use robots for nanotechnology production. Also
nanotechnology robots are used in high-density pharmaceutical assay processes.’’

In the next five years, as the volume of nanotechnology robotics increases, the cost will come down. Like
any precision manufacturing process, there has been major investment. Until there is sufficient volume to
amortize that investment there is not yet the cost-benefit, ’says Charles Duncheon, of Artificial Muscle. ‘‘In the
next few years, the volumes will become sufficient and the investment to make these products will be spread over
very large numbers of items and therefore will become cost-effective.’‘

7. Mechanical Theory

Mechanics of a material deals with the behavior of a solid body subjected to various types of loading.
Mechanics is the study of motion of matter and the forces that cause such motion. It is applied to the analysis of
any dynamical system ranging from atoms to solar systems. The analysis of stress, deformation and stability of
thin-walled tubes is a classical subject of physics and engineering.

8. Vendor Implemented Security

Many companies are adopting a preference toward buying vendor software versus building software in-
house to meet business needs. Some of the drivers for this preference are integration, scalability, outsourcing,
support, speed-to market, process savings, and reducing the cost of information technology (IT).

Includes:

 Organization of Information Security

 Secure Baseline Standards
 Physical and Environmental Security
 Access Control
 Identification and Authentication
 System Security
 Data Protection, Sanitization, and Destruction
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9. Manufacturing

Today most robots are used in manufacturing operations; the applications can be divided into three categories:
(1) material handling, (2) processing operations, and (3) assembly and inspection.

Material-handling applications include material transfer and machine loading and unloading. Material-
transfer applications require the robot to move materials or work parts from one location to another.

Processing operations the robot manipulates a tool to perform a process on the work part. Examples of
such applications include spot welding, continuous arc welding, and spray painting.

Assembly and inspection the use of robots in assembly is expected to increase because of the high
cost of manual labor common in these operations. Since robots are programmable, one strategy in assembly
work is to produce multiple product styles in batches, reprogramming the robots between batches.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages.

Decreased Production Costs: A quick return on investment (ROI) outweighs the initial setup costs. With robots,
throughput speeds increase, which directly impacts production.

Shorter Cycle Times: A lean manufacturing line is crucial for increasing efficiency. An automated robot has the
ability to work at a constant speed without pausing for breaks, sleep, or vacations, and ultimately has the potential
to produce more in a shorter time than a human worker.

Improved Quality and Reliability: Applications are performed with precision and high repeatability every time. It
ensures the product is manufactured with the same specifications and process every time. Repairs are few and
far between.

Better Floor Space Utilization: By decreasing a footprint of a work area by automating parts of your production
line, you can utilize the floor space for other operations and make the process flow more efficient.

Reduced Waste: Robots are so accurate that the amount of raw material used can be reduced, decreasing costs
on waste.

Attract More Customers: Reduction in schedule and cost attracts customers. Automation helps provide the
highest throughput with least amount of spending.

Increased Safety: Robots increase workplace safety. Workers are moved to supervisory roles where they no
longer have to perform dangerous applications in hazardous settings. Light screens or barriers are available to
keep the operator out of harms way.

More Savings: RobotWorx has a ROI calculator to help you find out how much money can you save with a robot.
In addition, improved worker safety leads to financial savings with fewer healthcare and insurance concerns for
employers. Also consider quality and customer satisfaction, which means returning customers and more
business.
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Expert at Multiple Applications: Automation in the manufacturing industry is the process of integrating industrial
machinery to automatically perform a variety of applications such as welding, material handling, packing,
palletizing, dispensing, cutting, etc.

DISADVANTAGES

Potential Job Losses One of the biggest concerns surrounding the introduction of robotic automation is the
impact of jobs for workers. If a robot can perform at a faster, more consistent rate, then the fear is that humans
may not be needed at all. While these worries are understandable, they are not really accurate

The same was said during the early years of the industrial revolution, and as history has showed us, humans
continued to play an essential role. Amazon are a great example of this. The employment rate has grown rapidly
during a period where they have gone from using around 1,000 robots to over 45,000.

Initial Investment Costs: This is typically the biggest obstacle that will decide whether or not a company will
invest in robotic automation, or wait until a later stage. A comprehensive business case must be built when
considering the implementation of this technology. The returns can be substantial and quite often occur within a
short space of time. However, the cash flow must be sustainable in the meantime and the stability of the company
is by no means worth the risk if the returns are only marginal. Yet, in most instances there will be a repayment
schedule available, which makes it a lot easier to afford and control finances.

Increased throughput and reduction in defects both need to be considered along with the capital expenditure
when deciding whether or not there is a business case for investment.

Hiring Skilled Staff: Over the past decade manufacturers have found it harder to source skilled staff members to
fill the specialised roles in their factories. The introduction of automation adds another layer to that conundrum as
the robots require programming and a knowledge of how to operate them. In reality, this opens up further
opportunities for existing employees to be trained and expand their own skill set. An automation company can
assist with the initial installation and set-up process, and with the right expertise staff can learn and adapt to
manage the robots in the long-term
CEIN01C Current Trends and Issues in Computing
2nd Semester / AY 2018-2019
Featured Article:
Key Robotics Trends and Predictions for 2019

So here’s my rundown of some of the top predictions of where automation and robotics are set to make waves in 2019.

Robots becoming increasingly commonplace in our homes

Besides robotic vacuum cleaners, the idea of home assistance robots has been slow to take off so far. Could that change in
2019? Indeed a whole breed of startups and established companies are betting that it will. From robotic companions for the
elderly to robots designed to feed, play with and care for pets while their owners are out, the apparent applications are
plentiful.

The breakthrough will come when companies have gathered and analyzed real-world data on what people do, and don’t, want
from robots. Robotic vacuum cleaners took off because they filled a real need, and were able to affordably carry out the duty
they were designed for. Other robotic assistants – such as mobile virtual assistants – have not been so warmly received.

While robotic workers are now commonplace in sectors such as automobile and electronics manufacturing, 2019
should see increasingly widespread adoption across food production, retail, healthcare, and distribution
operations.

Delivery robots become a reality

Robotic delivery devices are hotly tipped to solve the “last mile” problem inherent to delivery operations – the
most expensive stage of the delivery process where many small, individually packaged products must be
precisely targeted to reach their final destinations on time and intact.

Some of these robots are designed to work in large indoor environments – such as Segway’s Loomo robot, which
carries out the delivery of internal mail in workplace settings such as office blocks and shop floors.
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More of us will work alongside robots

Collaborative robots – or cobots – are the friendly face of workplace automation – not here to steal away our jobs,
but to work alongside us, providing timely advice or simply mechanical muscle at times we need it.

As robotic technology becomes more widespread and deployment costs fall, businesses will realize that they can
drive efficiency by deploying robots in environments which are unsafe or inhospitable to humans. Amazon’s
warehouse robots are a good example – as they bring items to human workers for packaging, only comparatively
small areas of their vast real estate portfolios need to be heated and made comfortable for the humans who work
alongside the machines. Collaborative robots may also provide an avenue for companies to avoid the wrathful
eye of the regulators, as they look to impose punitive measures on businesses which replace humans with
automation. Politicians have already proposed “robot taxes” to cover these eventualities – fostering harmonious
working relationships between humans and machines could be a trend which will set people’s minds at ease in
2019.

Robots on the Edge

Robots made ideal platforms for edge computing – building sensors into the extremities of automated systems,
where machines meet the real-world environments they are built to influence.

During 2019 we can expect to see advances in smart sensors – sensors with inbuilt artificial intelligence –
reducing the need for information to be sent to the cloud or centralized servers for processing, before it can be
acted on.

Those leading the charge include Baidu – which has just unveiled China’s first open source edge computing
platform, OpenEdge, which will allow developers of robots to empower their creations with AI, reducing CPU and
bandwidth overheads used by cloud infrastructure. This should enable smarter, more autonomous robots to begin
to appear in homes and industrial settings throughout 2019.

The Emergence of Open Standards for Robotics

Speaking of open source – 2019 should see a consolidation of the standardization needed for AI enabled robots
to achieve mass market penetration. Regulators will have a part to play here, as frameworks are put in place to
govern the ways that personal data can be collected and used by autonomous machines, including self-driving
cars but also autonomous home and industrial assistants.

With the legal framework offering reassurance and trust, real innovation is likely to emerge from the open source
community itself – already a hotbed of robotic development and activity. Amazon recently announced the launch
of its AWS RoboMaker platform, built on the open source Robotic Operating System (ROS) standards. This
lowering of the entry barrier towards involvement in the development and deployment of robots should mean
more organizations of all shapes and sizes stand to benefit from the robot revolution over the coming 12 months.
CEIN01C Current Trends and Issues in Computing
2nd Semester / AY 2018-2019

Online References:



a. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/32836/robotics
b. https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/robotics
c. http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/technology/historyofrobotics.html
d. https://www.cs.umn.edu/research/research_areas/robotics-and-artificial-intelligence
e. https://curriculum.vexrobotics.com/curriculum/intro-to-robotics/what-is-robotics.html
f. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/03/08/5-major-robotics-trends-to-
watch-for-in-2019/amp/
g. https://www.granta-automation.co.uk/news/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-robotic-automation/
h. https://www.robots.com/blogs/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-automating-with-industrial-robots
i. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation#Open-loop_and_closed-loop_(feedback)_control
j. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314280609_User_Experience_in_Social_Human-
Robot_Interaction
k. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378475408001183
l. https://www.active-robots.com/sensors.html
m. https://www.robotics.org/content-detail.cfm/Industrial-Robotics-Industry-
Insights/Nanotechnology-Robotics/content_id/1043
n. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4471-3742-9_3
o. https://www.britannica.com/technology/automation/Robots-in-manufacturing
CEIN01C Current Trends and Issues in Computing
2nd Semester / AY 2018-2019