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Robots

Definition of Robots​

  • Robots are the artificial agents acting in real world environment
  • Robots are aimed at manipulating hte objects by perceiving, picking, moving, modifying the physical properties of object, destroying it, or to have an effect thereby freeing manpower from doing repetitive functions without getting bored, distracted, or exhausted

Robotics​

  • Robotics is a branch of AI, which is composed of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science for designing, construction and applications of robots
  • The robots have mechanical construction, form or shape designed to accomplish a particular task
  • They have electrical components which power and control the machinery
  • They contain some level of computer program that determines what, when and how a robot does something

AI in Robots​

  • AI gives robots a computer vision to navigate, sense and calculate their reaction accordingly
  • Robots learn to perform their tasks from humans through machine learning which again is a part of computer programming & AI
  • AI has the power to give life to robots and empower them to take their decisions on their own
  • Depending on the use and the tasks that the robot has to perform different types of AI are used

Weak AI​

  • Used to create a simulation of human thought and interaction. THe robots have predefined commands & responses
  • The robots do not understand the commands they don only the work of retrieving the appropriate response when the suitable command is given
  • The example of this is Siri & Alexa. The AI in these devices only executes the tasks as demanded by the owner

Strong AI​

  • Used in robots that perform their tasks on their own. They don't need any kind of supervision once they are programmed to do the tasks correctly
  • Widely used in automated things
  • Examples: self-driving cars & internet cars
  • Also used in humanoid robots which can sense their environments quite well & interact with their surroundings
  • Also robotic surgeons that don't require any human intervention at all are becoming popular day by day

Specialized AI​

  • Restricted to only limited tasks
  • Used when the robot needs to perform only specified special tasks
  • Includes mainly industrial robots which perform specified & repetitive tasks like painting, tightening, etc.

AI Programs vs Robots​

S.No.AI ProgramsRobots
1.They usually operate in computer-stimulated worldsThey operate in real physical world
2.The input to an AI program is in symbols and rulesInput to robots is analog signal in the form of speech waveform or images
3.They need general purpose computers to operate onThey need special hardware with sensors and effectors

Components of a Robot​

1. Power Supply: Robots are powered by batteries, solar power, hydraulic, or pneumatic power sources 2. Actuators: Convert enery into movement 3. Electric motors(AC/DC): Required for rotational movement 4. Pneumatic Air Muscles: Contract almost 40% when air is sucked in them 5. Muscle Wires: Contract by 5% when electric current is passed through them 6. Piezo Motors & Ultrasonic Motors: Best for industrial robots 7. Sensors: They provide knowledge of real time information on the task environment. Robots are equipped with vision sensors to compute the depth in the environment. A tactile sensor imitates the mechanical properties of touch receptors of human fingertips

Robot Locomotion​

Locomotion is the mechanism that makes a robot capable of moving in its environment

Types of Locomotion​

Legged Locomotion​

  • Consumes more power while demonstrating walk, jump, trot, hop, climb up or down, etc.
  • Requires more number of motors to accomplish a movement
  • Suited for rough as well as smooth terrain where irregular or too smooth surface makes it consume more power for a wheeled locomotion
  • Little difficult to implement because of stability issues
  • Comes with variety of one, two, four, and six legs
  • If robot has multiple legs then leg coordination is necessary for locomotion

Wheeled Locomotion​

  • It requires fewer numbers of motors to accomplish a movement
  • It is little easy to implement as there are less stability issues in case of more number of wheels
  • It is power efficient as compared to legged locomotion
    • Standard Wheel: Rotates around the wheel axle and around the contact
    • Castor Wheel: Rotates around the wheel axle & the offset steering joint
    • Swedish 45º and Swedish 90º Wheels: Omni-wheel, rotates around the contact point, around the wheel axle, and around the rollers
    • Ball or Spherical Wheel: Omnidirectional wheel, technically difficult to implement

Slip/Skid Locomotion​

  • Vehicles use tracks as in a tank
  • Robot is steered by moving the tracks with different speeds in the smae or opposite direction
  • Offers stability because of large contact area of track and ground

Mobile Robot​

A mobile robot is the combination of various hardware and computational components.

Hardware​

In terms of hardware components, it is a collection of subsystems like:

  • Motion: How the robot changes his position w.r.t. an object over time in its environment
  • Sensing: How the robot measures properties of itself as well as detects its environment
  • Reasoning: How the robot maps these measurements into actions
  • Communication: How the robot communicates information with an outside operator

Four Categories of Motion​

Terrestrial​

  • They move on the ground
  • Also known as ground-contact robots
  • Structured to take benefit of a solid support surface & gravity
  • Wheeled robots are most common in this category. They can walk, climb, roll, use tracks, or slither to move.

Airborne​

  • Often mimic exisiting aircrafts or birds
  • They share many issues with aquatic robots
  • Robotic helicopters, fixed-wing aricraft, robotically controlled parachutes, and dirigibles have been developed

Aquatic​

  • Operate in water, either at the surface or underwater
  • Not only used in water jets but also in propellers to provide locomotion
  • Potentially important application domain since not only is most of Earth's surface covered with water, but much of the ocean is not readily accessible to humans

Space​

  • There are two main classes of robot those that move by climbing (over a large vehicle) & those that are independently propelled (known as free flyers)
  • Some robots are designed to operate in the microgravity of outer space, typically for space station maintenance
  • Various locomotive devices enable these robots to move about their environment