22-11-2012, 12:05 PM
PRESENTATION ON ROBOTICS
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ABSTARCT:
A Robot is an electro-mechanical or bio-mechanical device or group of devices that can perform autonomous or preprogrammed tasks. A telerobot may act under the direct control of a human, such as the robotic arm on a space shuttle, or autonomously under the control of a programmed computer. Robots may be used to perform tasks that are too dangerous or difficult for humans, such as radioactive waste clean-up, or may be used to automate mindless repetitive tasks that should be performed with more precision by a robot than by a human, such as automobile production.
In this paper we will be briefing about the applications of robots. Why robots are used ? What are the advantages? What may be the limitations? Answers to all such questions will be presented through this paper. Finally the recent developments in robotics and automation, design issues, critical factors are also touched upon.
INTRODUCTION:
Just as computers revolutionized the latter half of the 20th century, the field of robotics has the potential to equally alter how we live in the 21st century. Robots have changed the manufacturing of cars and other consumer goods by streamlining and speeding up the assembly line. We even have robotic lawn mowers and robotic pets. And robots have enabled us to see places that humans are not yet able to visit, such as other planets and the depths of the ocean. In the coming decades, we will see robots that have artificial intelligence, coming to resemble the humans that create them. They will eventually become self-aware and conscious, and be able to do anything that a human can. Robots are growing in complexity and their use in industry is becoming more widespread. The main use of robots has so far been in the automation of mass production industries, where the same, definable tasks must be performed repeatedly in exactly the same fashion. Car production is the primary example of the employment of large and complex robots for producing goods. Robots are used in the process of painting, welding and assembling of cars. Robots are good for such tasks because the tasks can be accurately defined and must be performed the same every time, with little need for feedback to control the exact process being performed. Industrial robots can be manufactured in a wide range of sizes and so can handle more tasks requiring heavy lifting than a human could.
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION:
Robotics is the study of design, construction and use of robots.
The definition of robot is given as: “Re-programmable, multi functional manipulator designed to move material parts, tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks”.
Sir Isaac Asimov dealing on the subject of robotics framed three basic laws which the robot cists still obey with respect.
•First law (Human safety):
– –A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
•Second law (Robots are slaves):
– –A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
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•Third law (Robot survival):
– –A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Automation, roboticization or industrial automation or numerical control is the use of control systems such as computers to control industrial machinery and processes, replacing human operators. In the scope of industrialization, it is a step beyond mechanization. Whereas mechanization provided human operators with machinery to assist them with the physical requirements of work, automation greatly reduces the need for human sensory and mental requirements as well.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF ROBOTS:
Mobile Robots:Robotic arms are relatively easy to build and program because they only operate within a confined area. Things get a bit trickier when you send a robot out into the world. The first obstacle is to give the robot a working locomotion system. If the robot will only need to move over smooth ground, wheels or tracks are the best option. Wheels and tracks can also work on rougher terrain if they are big enough. But robot designers often look to legs instead, because they are more adaptable. Building legged robots also helps researchers understand natural locomotion -- it's a useful exercise in biological research. Typically, hydraulic or pneumatic pistons move robot legs back and forth. Many mobile robots have a built-in balance system (a collection of gyroscopes, for example) that tells the computer when it needs to correct its movements.
Autonomous robots:
These robots can act on their own, independent of any controller. The basic idea is to program the robot to respond a certain way to outside stimuli. The very simple bump-and-go robot is a good illustration of how this works. This sort of robot has a bumper sensor to detect obstacles.
Roboticists create new programs and sensor systems to make robots smarter and more perceptive. Today, robots can effectively navigate a variety of environments. Simpler mobile robots use infrared or ultrasound sensors to see obstacles. These sensors work the same way as animal echolocation: The robot sends out a sound signal or a beam of infrared light and detects the signal's reflection. The robot locates the distance to obstacles based on how long it takes the signal to bounce back. More advanced robots use stereo vision to see the world around them. Two cameras give these robots depth perception, and image-recognition software gives them the ability to locate and classify various objects. Robots might also use microphones and smell sensors to analyze the world around them. Some autonomous robots can only work in a familiar, constrained environment.
The Future Enhancements:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is arguably the most exciting field in robotics. It's certainly the most controversial: Everybody agrees that a robot can work in an assembly line, but there's no consensus on whether a robot can ever be intelligent.
Like the term "robot" itself, artificial intelligence is hard to define. Ultimate AI would be a recreation of the human thought process -- a man-made machine with our intellectual abilities. This would include the ability to learn just about anything, the ability to reason, the ability to use language and the ability to formulate original ideas. Robot cists are nowhere near achieving this level of artificial intelligence, but they have had made a lot of progress with more limited AI. Today's AI machines can replicate some specific elements of intellectual ability.
CONCLUSION:
In any case, robots will certainly play a larger role in our daily lives in the future. In the coming decades, robots will gradually move out of the industrial and scientific worlds and into daily life, in the same way that computers spread to the home in the 1980s.