Introduction to Robotics

y of the design,
• Robotics is the study g ,
construction and use of robots.

• Artificial intelligence is the branch of

computer science that deals with writing
comp ter programs that can sol
computer solve
e problems
creatively; "workers in AI hope to imitate or
duplicate intelligence in computers and robots”
robots
` The term robot derives from the Czech word
robota, meaning forced work or compulsory
service.
` First used to describe fabricated workers in a
fictional 1920s play called Rossum’s
Universal Robots by Czech author Karel
Capek.
 Terms and definitions

Definition: “What is a robot?”
• a flexible handling device (with a gripper, sensors)
a flexible handling device (with a gripper sensors)
• a reprogrammable, multifunctional handling tool for  
manipulating objects along any  paths for a number of     
tasks.
• a machine that can move itself and / or objects in space
The Robotics Institute of America [RIA]
"A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to 
move material, parts,  tools, or specialized devices through 
various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of 
p g p y
tasks”

Th B i i h R b A
The British Robot Association [BRA]
i i [BRA]
"A reprogrammable device with a minimum of
four
ou degree
deg ee oof freedom
eedo des
designed
g ed to bot
both
manipulate and transport parts. Tools or
specialized manufacturing implements through
i bl programmed
variable d motions
ti ffor performance
f off
the specific manufacturing task.”
Computer Aided Manufacturers International [CAM‐I]
“A device that performs as functions ordinary ascribed to 
human being or operates with what appear to be almost 
human intelligence.”

[DIN]
Industrial robots are universal, automatic motion devices with 
several axes whose motions are freely programmable in terms 
l h ti f l bl i t
of sequence of motions, paths and angles, and which may be 
sensor‐controlled.
They may be equipped with grippers, tools, or other 
production devices (generally referred to as effectors)
and are capable of performing handling and / or production
and are capable of performing handling and / or production 
tasks.
` Law Zero -A robot may not injure humanity, or,
through inaction,
inaction allow humanity to come to
harm.
` First Law- A robot may not injure a human being,
or, through inaction, allow a human being to
come to harm.
` Second Law- A robot must obey orders given it
by human beings, except where such orders
would conflict with the First Law.
` Third Law- A robot must protect its own
existence as long as such protection does not
conflict with the First or Second Law.
• The
Th development
d l t off the
th currentt industrial
i d t i l robots
b t did nott start
t t before
b f the
th mid-
id
20th century.
• In 1946, the American G. C. Devol developed a controlling device that was
capable
p of recording g electrical signals
g on magnetic
g media. These could be
played back in order to control a mechanical device.
• The development of remote-controlled devices (manipulators) for handling
radioactive materials started in 1951.
• A prototype of a numerically controlled machine tool was devised at the MIT in
1952. The related programming language, APT, was published in 1961.
• In 1954, C. W. Kenward from the U.K. filed a patent application for a robot
development. At the same time, the American George C. Devol was working on
the “programmed article transfer”.It was rewarded with a US patent in 1961.
• The first commercial robot was presented by Planet Corp. in 1959. It was
controlled mechanically by cam
disks and limit switches
switches.
• The first industrial robot (“Unimate”) was introduced in 1960. It was based on
Devol’s research work. This robot had a hydraulic drive. It was controlled by a
computer that used the principles of numerically-controlled machine tools.
• In 1961, a robot off the Unimation type was installed in the Ford Motor
Company.
• A mobile robot (“Shakey”) was developed at the Stanford Research Institute
(SRI) in 1968. It was equipped with a number of sensors, such as a camera, touch
sensors, etc.
• The first robot programming language (WAVE) was developed at the SRI in
1973. It was succeeded by the AL language in 1974. Some elements of this
language were used later on in Unimation’s
Unimation s VAL programming language. Around
the same time, the first robots with fully electric drives emerged.
• The PUMA robot (programmable universal machine for assembly) was
introduced by Unimation in 1978. It had an electric drive and was based on drafts
f
from General
G l Motors.
M t
• The SCARA type of robot (Selective Compliance Arm for Robotic Assembly) was
invented on 1979 at yamanashi University in Japan for assembly.
• In 1981, A “direct-drive robot developed
p at Carnegie-Mellon
g University.
y It used
electric motors
• In 1982, IBM introduces the RS-1 robot assembly.
• In 1984, several offline systems developed at the robots 8 show.
¾ Robots can be programmed to perform a particular task .

¾ Robots is not limited to one set of motions i.e it is reprogrammable, this

means when
h a specificifi operation
i iis no llonger needed,
d d the
h robot
b can b be
moved to a different operation and programmed for it.

¾ Robot is multifunctional , i.e different tasks can be carried out.

Eg. The robot might move workpiece to a m/c and load in into the machine,
then insert a cutting tool and control the cutting of the workpiece. Finally unload
the piece and store it in an appropriate area.

¾ Robot providing increasing productivity, and they take over the hazardous,
tedious tasks that people have had to perform.
 Human
The human will remain superiors
in arts, music, medicine and
other
th endeavors
d that
th t cannott be
b t k th
expressed in purely
mathematical terms.
The human highly developed
senses of sight, smell, hearing
and touch.
The combination of these senses
gives human capability of
processing large amount of
information simultaneously.
Human brain is able to make
decisions on experiences and
stored information.
Robot
Robots are well suited to a
variety of tasks, particular those
tasks thatt are repetitive.
titi
Robots are have difficulty with
tasks that are artistic or creative
Sensory capacities of robots
continue to improve as
technology improves.
Although robot computer can
store quanties of information, it
can can’t make decisions based
on past experiences nor can it
make intuitive judgments based
on stored information and past
experiences
Robots are used for the following reasons:
Repetitive tasks that robots can do 24/7.

Robots never get sick or need time off.

Robots can do tasks considered too dangerous for humans.

Robots can operate equipment to much  precision than humans.

May be able to perform tasks that are impossible for  humans

Robots are also used for the following tasks:
Dirty Tasks

Repetitive tasks

Impossible tasks
Impossible tasks
™ Flexibility

™ High productivity

™ Better quality and products

™ Improved quality of human life by performing the undesirable jobs.

¾In an environment
en ironment that is hazardous
ha ardo s for humans
h mans to operate
in or in a environments where human being are hazardous
to the product( clean rooms)
¾Industrial robots for tasks that are repetitive(assembly of
automobiles, electronic goods)
¾In manufacture of consumer products in small and varying
batch sizes
¾Oth applications
¾Other li ti suchh as entertainment,
t t i t toys
t (d Aibo
(dog Aib
from sony), Humanoid robot P3 and Asimo from Honda for
advertising, Da Vinci for brain and heart surgeries
¾For every day home applications
¾ Loading and unloading
¾ Spot welding
¾ Spray painting
¾ Assembly
¾ Arc welding
¾ Inspection
¾ Die casting and forging operations.
¾ Machining (Lathe,
( milling , drilling etc))

Non- Industrial applications

‰ Shearing wool from sheep

‰ Medicine
‰ Education
‰E t t i t
Entertainment
‰ Research
‰ Etc.
1st Generation: (programmable manipulators, 1960 - 1975)
Small computing power, only fixed halts (point-to-point programming with Teach-
Box), hardly any sensor support (therefore only pick-and-place activities)

2nd Generation: (adaptive robots, 1976-1982)

More sensors (e.g. cameras), more ”disorder” allowed in work environments,
own programming languages (e.g. VAL), implicit programming (the robot was
the object to be programmed, not the task), low robot intelligence (adaptive
performance of tasks)

3rd Generation: (autonomous robots, after 1983)

High computing power (multi-processor systems), task-oriented programming,
call for (machine) autonomy
Types
Fixed robots ‐ Industrial robots used for tending a machine or 
other operations
Mobile robots ‐ Wheeled, Legged, Tracked, Flying, Hybrid, etc
Classification
• Structure & Workspace ‐
p Cartesian, Cylindrical, Polar  (Spherical), 
, y , ( p ),
Articulated, SCARA, Humanoids, Parallel platforms, etc
• Kinematic chain‐ Open and Closed
• Arrangement of drives ‐ Serial and Parallel
• Control system –
C l V l i F
Velocity, Force, Hybrid
H b id
• Trajectory Control ‐ Point To Point & Continuous Path
• Operation – Tele‐operated, Autonomous
Application Industrial, Defense, Space, Entertainment, Sports, 
• Application ‐ Industrial Defense Space Entertainment Sports
Medicine, Marine, Personal, Land and Surface, Submersible, 
Educational, Research, etc
Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
py g ( )
‰ Fixed robots (Manipulators)
‰ Mobile robots

Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Structured environments can be identified and modeled easily It is 
easy to work in Structured environments
t k i St t d i t
An advanced material‐handling or conveying system that involves 
d d l h dl h l
a driverless vehicle which follows a guide path and is controlled by 
an off‐board computer or microprocessor

• Guided by an 
electrical wire 
installed in the floor 
• It can also leave the 
wire to avoid 
obstacles 
obstacles

Volvo plants use over 4000 AGVs to transport motor assemblies

Volvo plants use over 4000 AGVs to transport motor assemblies
 BR 700
http://www.kaercher.de

Its navigation system comprises of a sophisticated sonar system and a gyro
• Used for underwater archaeology in deep‐sea research
• UAV provides autonomous hovering capabilities for the human
UAV provides autonomous hovering capabilities for the human 
operator
p
• Teleoperated
` gripper or on board camera SRI
` sophisticated navigation http://www. activmedia.com/robots
library
Used to explore the 
Sarcophagus at Chernobyl
Sarcophagus at Chernobyl
 http://diwww.epfl.ch/lami/robots/K‐family/
p p y

• Small mobile robot ‐ 60 mm dia
• Modules with grippers, cameras, etc
• First industrial walking robot
Fi i d i l lki b
• Designed for moving wood
• Automated leg coordination
Automated leg coordination
• Navigation controlled by a human 
operator

http://www.plustech.fi/
 Inspection
p and repair
p of sewage
g
tube
Ventilation inspection
Fully teleoperated

Air duct inspection robot 
A pan‐tilt camera with zoom and sensors for 
automatic inclination control, 
wall following, and intersection detection

(http://asl.epfl.ch). © Sedirep / EPFL.
 • Used
Used during the pathfinder 
during the pathfinder
mission to explore the 
Mars in 1997
• Teleoperated from earth
• Obstacle detection assisted 
by on board sensors
http://ranier
http://ranier.oact.hq. nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/telerobotics.shtm
oact hq nasa gov/telerobotics page/telerobotics shtm
http://www.engin.umich.edu/research/mrl/
 NOMAD - Carnegie Mellon / NASA
http://img.arc.nasa.gov/Nomad

Also used in Volcanic eruptions
p
• Size: 25 cm length 
• Sensors  
Color camera
Stereo microphone

Aibo from Sony
Cye

Dyson
Two‐wheeled differential drive robot
Controlled by a remote PC 
Used as vacuum cleaner or trailer
Used as vacuum cleaner or trailer
interact and present exhibitions

EPFL @ expo.02
 P2 from Honda, Japan

Max Speed: 2 km/h
Autonomy : 15 min
Autonomy  : 15 min
Weight       : 210 kg
Height        : 1.82 m
Leg DOF    : 2*6
Arm DOF    : 2*7

P2 from Honda, Japan
AMI & AMIET
Communication modes                         ‐
facial, oral, gesture, emotional
TV Programs

KBS ‐ Quiz 
Daehannminguk, 
2003
 A robot is used in
industrial production
processes. For this
reason, it is referred to
as an ”industrial robot”.
Industrial robots are
designed for high
performance and great
flexibility.

An industrial robot is not a human being but rather a machine. It does not
think, it just acts. Only its mechanics resemble that of a human arm.
Industrial robots work together with machine tools, automatic
manufacturing machines and flexible manufacturing
systems. For this purpose, they need devices that supply
and identify the workpieces - and
remove and d store
t them
th after
ft processing,
i etc.
t Furthermore,
F th
machining tools and grippers on the robots have to be
exchanged. These devices tailor-made for industrial robots
are called peripherals. The peripherals are
extremely important for the performance, cost and
complexity of a robot solution
solution. Together with the peripherals
peripherals,
an industrial robot becomes a ”robot station” for practical
use.
` The Manipulator or the arm (The
“mechanical unit”))

` One or more sensors

` A controller (the “brain”)

` A power supply
 Elements
• M
Manipulator-
i l t moving
i mechanical
h i l structure
t t
• Drives – actuates the joints of manipulator
• Computer – Controller and storer of task
programs
• End effectors – Gripper, Tool, Camera, etc

Bosch Rexroth Manual

”Industrial robots are universal, automatic motion devices with several
axes whose motions are freely programmable in terms of sequence of
motions, paths and angles, and which may be sensor-controlled. They
may be equipped with grippers
grippers, tools
tools, or other production devices and are
capable of performing handling and / or production tasks”.

In practice, industrial robots are made of mechanical, electronic, as well

as open- and d closed-loop
l dl controll elements.
l IIndustrial
d i l robots
b h
have
emerged from numerically controlled machine tools. Their different type of
construction mainly serves for free motion in space. The motion
sequences have been programmed and are performed automatically, i.e.
in the fields of:
• handling of tools,
e.g. spot welding, painting, burr removal, grinding
h dli
•handling off workpieces,
k i
e.g. loading and unloading of machine tools, assembly, palletizing, and
packaging

Bosch Rexroth Manual

Mechanics
The mechanical construction of an industrial robot has been derived from
a human arm with hands and fingers. Therefore, it is referred to as a
”robot arm”. The imitated hands and fingers are called the ”gripper”. A
tool (e.g. paint sprayer, welding gun, etc.) may be fitted instead of the
gripper.

Bosch Rexroth Manual

9 The industrial Robot is a programmable Mechanical manipulator capable
off moving
i along
l severall di ti
directions i d att itits end
equipped d with
ith a work
kd i
device
called the end effector (or tool) and capable of performing factory work
ordinarily done by human being.

Bosch Rexroth Manual

ƒ Many similarities between a robotic system and a human
manipulator system have both advantages and
di d
disadvantages.
ƒ Robot anatomy concerned with the physical construction of
the bodyy , arm and wrist.
ƒ Most robots used in the plants are mounted on a base
which is fastened to the floor, assembly is attached to the
body and of the arm is wrist.
wrist Wrist consists of a number of
components to allow variety of positions.
ƒ The body, arm and wrist assembly is known as Manipulator.
ƒ Th
The endd effectors
ff t iis nott considered
id d as partt off robot
b t
anatomy. The arm and body joints of the manipulator are
position the end effector.
used to p
Manipulator

Mechanical skeleton serves as a rigid structural

framework to support the arm.

Th
The arm move ttools
l th
throughh various
i ti
motions so
that perform the operations required.
Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Actuators
™Like human body requires muscles, the robot arm requires actuators to move
the manipulator.
p

™The actuator are the devices that exerts force to drive the manipulator into a
predetermined position or series of position and hold the joints rigidly once the
position is reached
reached.

™There are two types of actuators 1) Angular 2) linear.

™The actuators use i) Electric power ii) Hydraulic power iii) Pneumatic power
 Dc motor

Hydraulic motor

Pneumatic cylinder

Bosch Rexroth Manual

Grippers and Other End effector

•Gripper is similar to the human hand, i.e hand

grasps the tool/workpiece to perform the task
task.

•The shape of the gripper is determined by the

task it has to perform
perform.

•Two pronged gripper are used to pick-up

objects.
j

•Three pronged gripper are used to on

spherical objects

•Specialized grippers can be designed for

unique tasks.

Copyright © 2007 David Vernon (www.vernon.eu)
Control Unit

The control unit is like human brain which coordinates the muscles of the body.

It track of time , the position of the joints and movements of the manipulator.

It does this in accordance with a list of instructions. The instructions are stored
in a part of control unit called memory
memory.

Unlike the human being, the CU is incapable of the creative thinking required
for adaptive behavior.

Bosch Rexroth Manual

Power Supply

As the digestive system converts food into usable energy, the robot power supply
provides the actuators and the control unit with the energy that they need to
function.
Eg – if the actuators are hydraulic and work place uses electric power available,
then power supply must convert electric energy into hydraulic energy ie driving
hydraulic pump with an electric motor.

Data Distibution System

In the human body, the neurons receives message from the brain and pass
these message on to the muscles.
In the same way, the data distribution system receives message from CU and
passes them to the actuators
actuators.
This process takes through I/O ports or interfaces. These interfaces are
needed because the CU runs on with very low voltage and current. The
actuators current and voltage that would not destroy the CU.
Bosch Rexroth Manual
D t A
Data Acquisition
i iti System
S t Sensory neurons in the human body
receive message from the environment
and pass those message to the brain.

In similar, the robotic data acquisition

system receives message from the
environment and passes to the control
unit

Eg. if a human being walked into reach

of the robot manipulator, then robot
must sense his presence and cease
functioning, so as not to hurt the
individual .

inductive proximity switch

Bosch Rexroth Manual
P l d
Payload

The Maximum load that the manipulator can handle effectively is the payload.

The payload depends on strength of the arm. Eg for high-weight payload, the
actuators and mechanical structures must be stronger.

The factors affecting the payload is speed at which the load must be moved and
the rate of acceleration and deceleration required.
Speed

The speed is the rate the gripper moves, this is measured in mm/sec.

Heavy payloads must be moved at lower speeds and lighter payloads may be
moved at higher speed.
R
Repeatability
t bilit and
d Accuracy
A

The ability of the robot to return its manipulator to a particular specified point is
repeatability
p y or accuracy.y

This is measurement is determined while the robot is repeating a cycle.

Repeatability or accuracy specified in mm

mm.

Teach Pendent

Before teach pendent,

pendent the programmer programs the robot by determining the
angles of the axes and paths of motion of the gripper for each process.
While doing so, use of elaborate mathematical formulae.

By using teach pendent, it is a remote control box that allows the operator to
manually move the end effector or gripper. The control unit is in passive
monitoring mode is stores those movements in the memory of CU.
 Robot Configurations

Robots possess following configurations.

9 Cartesian coordinate configuration
g ((Three liner axes))
9 Polar coordinate configuration (Two linear and one rotary axis)
9 Cylindrical/spherical coordinate configuration (Two linear and one rotary
axis)
9 Jointed arm configuration (Three rotary axes)

Bosch Rexroth Manual

Bosch Rexroth Manual
Polar

cylindrical
Robot Motions

Industrial Robot are designed to perform productive work. The work is

accomplished
p by
y enabling
g the robot to move its body,
y, arm,, and wrist through
g a
series of motions and positions.

The movements can be divided into 1) Body motions 2) Wrist motions

The joints used in the design of industrial robot involve a relative motion of
the adjoining links that is either linear or rotational.
The degree of freedom associated with the arm and body of the robot as
shown in fig

The wrist movement are shown in fig

 The space within which the robot can manipulate its wrist end
end. OR The space
within which the robot operates.
The work volume is determined by the physical characteristics of the robot
1)) Robot’s physical
p y configuration
g
2) Size of the body, arm and wrist component
3) The limits of the robot’s joint movements
Like a human arm, which is limited in reach, the range of a robot arm is limited to
it so-called
its ll d ””work
k envelope”.
l ” This
Thi area isi determined
d t i d byb the
th mechanical
h i l
construction of the industrial robot and its kinematics.

Bosch Rexroth Manual

Drive
D i system
t is
i used
d to
t power the
th robot.
b t The
Th drive
d i system
t determines
d t i the
th
speed of the arm movements, the strength of the robot and its dynamic
performance.

Types of Drive Systems

ƒ Electric drive

ƒ Hydraulic drive

ƒ Pneumatic drive
Electric
El t i Drive
D i System
S t
¾Used medium robotic applications, provides higher speed or power as
hydraulics systems.

¾Precise, accuracy and repeatability is better.

¾Less floor space

¾Electric drive robots are actuated by dc stepping motors or dc servomotors.

¾C t off electric
¾Cost l t i motor
t isi lless compared
d tto h
hydraulic
d li d drive.
i

Dc motor
 Electric Drive System

Benefits
• It is the precondition for the operation of hydraulic and pneumatic drives.
• Very clean form of energy (except its generation)
• Largely maintenance-free drive
• High efficiency
• Good positioning g accuracy, y low slip
• Lower energy costs than for hydraulic and pneumatic systems
• Relatively high safety if all standards are complied with and equipment is properly
protected
• Easy to control
Disadvantages
9Very difficult to store, and only in small quantities (rechargeable/simple battery)
9Lower energy density compared to mass
9Speed regulators and controllers are expensive
9Very high energy loss if transmitted across long distances
9Fire hazard due to spark formation
9Extra cooling necessary
Electric Drive System

Fields of application
ƒ drives for vehicles (AC current locomotives, ship propulsion,
multisystem locomotives, etc.)
ƒ drives in the textile industry
ƒ drives in power plants (including nuclear power plants)
ƒ drives for
f mechanisms and transfer f devices
ƒ loading and unloading machine drives
ƒ pump drives, hoist drives
ƒ rolling mill drives
ƒ machine tool drives (reversing drives)
ƒ drives for toys
ƒ robot technology (servo motors)
 Hydraulic
y Drive System
y

Hydraulic drives are used for larger robots, it provides greater speed and
strength.
Benefits
9 Possibility of transmitting high forces and powers
9 Sensitive, continuous adjustment of speed (rpm) and feed rate
9 Speed control possible under load
9 High transmission ratio
9 Easy reversal of the direction of rotation/motion
9 quick reversal of direction of motion
9 high operating accuracy and uniform movements
9Jerk- and chatter-free motion and protected against overload
9 Power transmission possible over long distances (up to 100m)
9 Easy to control (program sequence)
9 Easy monitoring and testing
9 Long life and low maintenance requirements
Hydraulic
y Drive System
y

Disadvantages
ƒ Oil is sensitive to temperatures and oil can be compressed
ƒ Viscosity changes of oil and power loss through fluid friction
ƒ Leakage problems and high manufacturing accuracy
ƒ Vibration and danger that connections may get loose
ƒ Inaccurate operation due to heat accumulation
ƒ Tendency to oscillate, generation of noise and technology for
g
generating g
hydraulic energy is expensive
Fields of application
ƒ Machine tool construction (metal, plastic and wood processing tools)
ƒ Automobile construction and transport machinery
ƒ Hydraulic steering mechanisms and vehicle and ship hydraulics
ƒ Control engineering
g g
 Pneumatics Drive System
y
Pneumatic drives are used for smaller robots, limited to pick and place
Pneumatics (Greek ”pneuma”: breath) refers to all applications of pneumatic
systems.
Pneumatic systems are machines and devices working with compressed or
aspirated air. The combination of pneumatic devices and electric devices
(solenoids, etc.) is referred to as electropneumatics

Bosch Rexroth Manual

 Pneumatics Drive System
y
Benefits
ƒ quantity: air is available practically anywhere in unlimited quantities

ƒ Transport:
T t air
i can be
b transported
t t d without
ith t losses
l in
i pipelines
i li over llong di
distances
t

ƒ storage: can be stored in and tapped from a pressure vessel (including gas cylinder)

ƒ Temperature:
T t almost
l t insensitive
i iti tto temperature
t t variations,
i ti guaranteed
t d operation
ti under
d
extreme conditions

ƒ safety: no risk with respect to fire or explosion hazards

ƒ Clean medium: unless mixed with oil, compressed air does not cause environmental pollution

ƒ Construction: working elements are easy in construction and thus available at low cost

ƒ Speed: quick working medium, high piston speeds and short operating response times can
be achieved

ƒ Overload
O l d protection:
t ti elements
l t can b
be operated
t d until
til standstill
t d till and
d are th
therefore
f safe
f against
i t
overloads
 Pneumatics Drive System
y
Disadvantages
o conditioning: very expensive, otherwise wear of pneumatic components by dirt particles and
condensed water

o compression: it is not possible to achieve uniform, constant piston speeds using

compressed air

o force: economic efficiency limited to a certain force requirement between 6

6-7
7 bar
bar, limit
between 20 to 30 kN

o exhaust air: high noise development, silencers and sound-absorbing materials required

Fields of application
™ Clamping, feeding, assembly processes

™ Metal working, cutting and non-cutting forming processes and woodworking

™ Plastic materials working and measuring and testing

™ Construction industry and transport industry

Control Systems and Dynamic Performance

Industrial robots can be classified in accordance to their control

systems are;
1) Limited sequence robots
2) Playback robots with point –to-point control
3) Playback robots with continuous path control
4) Intelligent robots

Limited
Li it d sequence robots
b t
Limited sequence robots, controlled by setting limit switches or mechanical
stops to establish the end points of travel for each of their joint.
g Simple
Eg. p motions such as p pick-and-place
p
Playback robots
Playback robots, which a series of positions or motions are “taught” to the
robot
robot, recorded into memory

Playback robots classified as 1) point –to-point (PTP) 2) continuous path (CP)

 Playback robots with point –to-point control
PTP robots do not control the path taken by the robot to get from one point to
the next.

Eg. Spot welding, drilling, pick-and-place

Playback robots with continuous control

CP robots are capable of performing motion cycles

in which the path followed by the robot is
controlled.

This is achieved by providing a series of closely

spaced points which describe the desired path

Eg. Arc welding, spray painting

Bosch Rexroth Manual

Intelligent Robots

Intelligent robots
robots, perform playback a programmed motion cycle and also
interact with its environment.

Intelligent robots, can alter their programmed cycle in response to conditions

that occur in the workplace.

They can make logical decision based on sensor data received from the
operation.

Intelligent robots, communicate during the work cycle with humans or

computer based systems.
Dynamic Performance
Dynamic performance measured from speed of response and stability.

The speed of response is capability of the robot to move to the next position in
a short amount of time. The response time is related to robots motion speed.

The stability measured of the oscillations which occur in the arm during
movement from one position to the next.

A robot with good stability will exhibit little or no oscillations.

A robot should have good stability and a fast response time.

The stability can be controlled by incorporating damping elements in the

design. The problem with high damping reduces the speed of response.
Precision of Movement

9 Resolution
9 Accuracy
9 Repeatability

Resolution
The smallest step the robot can take.

It is depend on the systems control resolution and mechanical

inaccuracies.

The controller ability to divide the total range of movements into individual
increments that can be addressed in the controller
controller. These address are
stored in the control memory.

Eg. One DOF robot with motion range of 1.0m and robot control memory
h
has 12 bit storage,
12-bit t d t i control
determine t l resolution
l ti
No of increments = 2n = 212 = 4096
Control Resolution = 1.0/4096 = 0.00024m or 0.244mm
9 The control resolution are depends on mechanical inaccuracies like
deflection(bending) in the structural member, gear backlash, stretching of
the pulley cords, leakage of hydraulic oil and other imperfections.

9 Resolution can be improved by increasing the bit capacity of the control

memory and mechanical inaccuracies of the system.
Accuracy

Accuracy of the robot is ability to position its wrist at a desired

position within the work volume..
The difference between the actual position of the robot and the
programmed(target) position, it is depends on control resolution.
Repeatability

Will the robot always return to the same point under the
same control conditions
End Effector

End Effector is the hand or tool that is attached to the wrist

End effector can be 1) Gripper 2) Tools

Gripper are used to grasp the objects, the gripping method may be
Mechanical type
type, suction cups
cups, magnets
magnets, hooks
hooks, scoops etc
Robotic Sensors
Sensors are detectors
detectors. They detect physical quantities
quantities, such as the
position, velocity, acceleration, pressure, etc.
The value measured is transmitted in the form of electric signals
to the controller.

The sensors are similar to the human sensing organs.

Robotic Sensors

Error
Frequently measured Input
values are: data
Ouput
` Temperature Process
data
` Pressure/Force
` Flow
` Humidity Actuator Sensor
` ph-value
p
` Revolutions per
Actual value
minute (speed)
` Position P
Process
computer Control
input
Robotic Sensors cont’d

The sensors used in robotics are

1) Tactile (touch) sensors – These sensors with respond to contact
forces with another object.
object
Eg. Limit switches, pressure switches etc, these sensors used to
measuring the level of force and position.

2) Proximity and range sensors

Proximity sensors
indicates when an object is
indicates,
close to another but before
contact has been made.

When the distance between

the objects can be sensed ,
tthe
e de
device
ce is
s known
o as
range sensors.
Robotic Sensors cont’d

3) Miscellaneous Sensors – Measurement of Temperature, pressure and

other variable

4)) Machine Vision

A Machine vision system is

capable
bl off viewing
i i th the work
k
space and interpreting what
it observes, these systems
are used in robotics to
perform inspection, part
reorganization etc.
Robot Programming
The robotic programming can be divided as

1) Lead through programming

2) Textual programming

g programming
Lead through p g g

Lead through programming consists of forcing the robot arm to move through

the required motion sequence and recording into the control memory

Lead through methods are used to program playback robots

Textual programming
Use English like language to establish the logic and the
sequence of the work cycle.
Eg SPEED 35 IPS Velocity at wrist in/sec
MOVE P1 Move gripper to P1
CLOSE 40MM Close opening of 40mm
WAIT 1SEC Wait for 1 sec
DEPART 60MM Departing from P1 by distance of 60mm
above the point
Advantageg of this method is p
programming
g g without
taking the robot out of production.

Mechanical programming
p g g
Robots are programmed by setting limit switches, mechanical stops etc.
End of chapter 1