Difference between revisions of "Robot" - New World Encyclopedia
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Revision as of 21:34, 3 October 2005
In practical usage, a robot is an autonomous or semi-autonomous device which performs its tasks either by direct human control, partial control with human supervision, or completely autonomously. Robots are typically used to do tasks that are too dull, dirty, or dangerous for humans. Industrial robots used in manufacturing lines used to be the most common form of robots, but that has recently been replaced by consumer robots cleaning floors and mowing lawns. Other applications include toxic waste cleanup, underwater and space exploration, surgery, mining, search and rescue, and mine finding. Robots are also finding their way into entertainment and home health care.
Overview
A robot includes a feedback-driven connection between sense and action. The action may take the form of motors or actuators (also called effectors) that move an arm, open and close gripperss, or propel the robot. The step by step control and feedback is provided by a computer program run on either an external or embedded computer or a microcontroller. By this definition, a robot may include nearly all automated devices.
Two basic ways of using effectors are to move the robot around (locomotion) or to move other objects around (manipulation). This distinction divides robotics into two mostly separate categories: mobile robotics (moving) and manipulator robotics (grabbing).
Joints connect parts of manipulators. The most common joint types are:
- rotary (rotation around a fixed axis)
- prismatic (linear movement)
A parallel robot is one whose arms (primary axes) have three concurrent prismatic joints or both prismatic and rotary joints. Degrees of freedom (DOF) means axes of movement. The human arm has seven Degrees of Freedom. A "6 DOF" arm is highly flexible.
History
Czech writer Karel Čapek introduced the word "Robot" in his play "R.U.R" (Rossuum's Universal Robots) in 1921. "Robot" in Czech comes from the word "robota", meaning "labor". The earliest ideas that could be related to the robotics of today was in 350 B.C.E. by the Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum. He created a mechanical bird he called “The Pigeon.” The bird was propelled by steam.
The first recorded design of a humanoid robot was made by Leonardo da Vinci around 1495. Da Vinci's notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings for a mechanical knight that was apparently able to sit up, wave its arms, and move its head and jaw. It is not known whether or not he attempted to build the robot.
The first known functioning robot was created in 1738 by Jacques de Vaucanson, who made an android that played the flute.
Many consider the first robot in the modern sense to be a teleoperated boat, similar to a modern ROV, devised by Nikola Tesla and demonstrated at an 1898 exhibition in Madison Square Garden. Based on his patent 613,809 for "teleautomation", Tesla hoped to develop the "wireless torpedo" into an automated weapon system for the United States Navy.
In the 1930s, Westinghouse Electric Corporation made a humanoid robot known as Elektro. It was exhibited at the 1939 and 1940 World's Fairs.
The first electronic autonomous robots were created by Grey Walter at Bristol University, England in 1948.
Robotics
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, robotics is the science or study of the technology associated with the design, fabrication, theory, and application of robots.
Robotics requires a working knowledge of electronics, and depending on the size of the project, pneumatics, hydraulics, and microcontrollers / programmable logic controllers. A standard process while creating a robot will begin with evaluating the best method of creating motion, usually being electric actuators (like motors and solenoids), or to a lesser extent, pneumatics or hydraulics.
After the basic construction has been completed, sensors and other inputs and outputs throughout the robot are connected to a decision-making device, usually an electronic circuit consisting of a microcontroller or similar device. This circuit evaluates the input signals, calculates what the appropriate response is, and sends appropriate signals out to the actuators to cause a reaction. The end result should be the ability to control the robot with the push of a button.
Contemporary uses of robots
Robots are used to do tasks that are too dull, dirty, or dangerous for humans. Industrial robots used in manufacturing lines used to be the most common form of robots, but that has recently been replaced by consumer robots cleaning floors, vacuuming, and mowing lawns. Other applications include toxic waste cleanup, underwater and space exploration, surgery, mining, search and rescue, and mine finding. Robots are also finding their way into entertainment and home health care.
Industrial manipulators have similar capabilities to the human arm and are the most widely used in industry. Applications include welding, cooking, farming, painting, and machine loading. The automotive industry has taken full advantage of this technology where robots have been programmed to replace human labor in many repetitive or dangerous tasks. Another form of industrial robots is AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles). AGVs are used in warehouses, hospitals, laboratories and other applications where risk, reliability, and security are important concerns. Likewise, autonomously patrolling safety and security robots are appearing as part of the growing move toward automated buildings.
In the early 21st century domestic robots entered the mainstream culture, with the success of Sony's Aibo and several manufacturers releasing robot vacuum cleaners, such as iRobot, Electrolux, and Karcher. Over 1,000,000 vacuum cleaners units were sold worldwide by the end of 2004. iRobot recently announced a new line of home robots, the Scooba, a floor mopping robot. Japanese corporations have been successful in developing prototypes of humanoid robots and plan to use the technology not only in their manufacturing plants, but also in Japanese homes. There is much hope in Japan that home care for an aging (and long-lived) population can be better achieved through robotics.
Current developments
When roboticists first attempted to mimic human and animal movements, they discovered that it was incredibly difficult; requiring more computational power than what was available at the time. So, emphasis was shifted to other areas of research. Simple wheeled robots were used to conduct experiments in behavior, navigation, and path planning. These navigation techniques have now developed into commercially available autonomous robot control systems.
When engineers were ready to attempt walking robots again, they started small with hexapods and other multi-legged platforms. These robots mimicked insects and arthropods in both form and function. The trend towards these body types offer immense flexibility and proven adaptability to any environment, but the cost of the added mechanical complexity has prevented adoption by consumers. With more than four legs, these robots are statically stable which makes them easier to work with. Even though significant progress towards bipedal locomotion in robots has been made only recently, in just 4 years after the introduction of Asimo bipedal robots such as KHR-1 that cost only $1300 became available.
Recently, tremendous progress has been made in medical robotics, with two companies in particular, Computer Motion and Intuitive Surgical, receiving regulatory approval in North America, Europe and Asia for their robots to be used in minimal invasive surgical procedures. Laboratory automation is also a growing area. Here, benchtop robots are used to transport biological or chemical samples between instruments such as incubators, liquid handlers and readers. Other places where robots are likely to replace human labor are in deep-sea exploration and space exploration.
Future prospects
Robotics will probably continue its spread in offices and homes, replacing older appliances with newer robotic equivalents. Domestic robots capable of performing many household tasks, described in science fiction stories and coveted by the public in the 1960s, are likely to be eventually perfected.
There is likely to be some degree of convergence between humans and robots. Some humans already have artificial body parts and even parts of the nervous system replaced by artificial analogues, such as Pacemakers. In many cases the same technology might be used both in robotics and in medicine.
cs:Robot da:Robot de:Roboter es:Robot eo:Roboto fa:ربات fr:Robot ko:로봇 hr:Robot id:Robot it:Robot he:רובוט nl:Robot ja:ロボット no:Robot pl:Robot pt:Robot ru:Робот sk:Robot fi:Robotti sv:Robot zh:机器人
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