MODULE 1

Outline
◻ Understand the term Automation
◻ Types of Automation
◻ What is Robot?
◻ What is Robotics?
◻ 3 laws of Robotics
◻ 3 H’s in Robotics
◻ History of Robotics
◻ Advantages and disadvantages of Robots
Outline
◻ Robot Applications
◻ Classification of Robots
Drive Technology
Work envelope geometry
Types of motion control

◻ Components of Robot
◻ Robot characteristics/specifications
Automation
What is Automation?
◻ The dictionary defines automation as “the
technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a
system operate automatically.”
◻ According to ISA- International Society for
Automation “Automation is the creation and
application of technology to monitor and control
the production and delivery of products and
services.”
Why Automation?
◻ In today’s dynamic and competitive market, in
order for a business to be successful modern
manufacturing process requires:
◻ to produce good at low cost;

◻ productivity has to be high;

◻ quality of the product has to be good

The solution to meet this conflicting requirements is

Automation
Types of Automation
◻ Fixed (Hard) Automation
◻ Programmable Automation
◻ Flexible (Soft) Automation
Fixed automation
◻ Fixed (Hard) automation refers to an automated
production facility in which the sequence of processing
operations is fixed by the equipment configuration.
◻ Characteristics:
high initial investment
high production rates, suitable for products that are made in
large volumes.
❑ Examples of fixed automation include machining transfer
lines found in the automotive industry, automatic assembly
machines, and certain chemical processes.
Programmable automation
◻ Programmable automation is a form of automation for
producing products in batches.
◻ The products are made in batch quantities ranging from
several dozen to several thousand units at a time.
◻ For each new batch, the production equipment must be
reprogrammed and changed over to accommodate the
new product style.
◻ This reprogramming and changeover take time to
accomplish, and there is a period of nonproductive time
followed by a production run for each new batch.
Programmable automation
◻ Characteristics: lower Production rates than in
fixed automation
◻ Example: A numerical-control machine tool is a
good example of programmable automation. The
program is coded in computer memory for each
different product style, and the machine tool is
controlled by the computer program. Industrial
robots are another example.
Flexible automation
◻ Flexible (soft) automation is an extension of
programmable automation.
◻ In flexible automation, the variety of products is
sufficiently limited so that the changeover of the
equipment can be done very quickly and automatically.
◻ The reprogramming of the equipment in flexible
automation is done off-line; that is, the programming is
accomplished at a computer terminal without using the
production equipment itself.
Types of Automation-Examples
◻ One product- Fixed
◻ Identical products into batches - Programmable
◻ Mixture of different products can be produced one
right after another- Flexible
Examples

Fixed Automated assembly lines,

machining transfer lines found in
the automotive industry, some
chemical processes
Programmable Numerical control machine tools,
industrial robots, Programmable logic
controller
Flexible Flexible manufacturing systems
What is a Robot?
◻ The term: robot has come from the Czech word:
robota, which means the forced or the slave
laborer.
◻ The term robot was introduced in the year 1921 by
Karel Capek in his drama Rossum’s Universal
Robot (R.U.R)
◻ He described robot is as follows: the robot was
look-wise similar to a human being
Definition
◻ According to the Oxford English Dictionary, robot is
a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of
actions automatically, especially one programmable by
a computer
◻ According to ISO(International Organization for
Standardization), the robot has been defined as
follows: the robot is an automatically controlled,
reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator,
programmable in three or more axes, which can be
either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial
automation applications.
Definition
◻ RIA(Robot Institute of America) defined robot as
follows: it is a reprogrammable multi-functional
manipulator designed to move materials, parts,
tools or specialized devices through variable
programmed motions for the performance of a
variety of tasks.
What is Robotics?
◻ Robotics is a science, which deals with the issues
related to design, development, applications of
robots to perform a variety of tasks.
◻ Isaac Asimov used this term in the year 1942 in his
story Runaround.
◻ Robotics, we use the fundamentals of different
subjects, for example, physics, mathematics,
mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics
engineering, computer science
3 Laws of Robotics
3 Laws of Robotics
◻ Issac Asimov-father of Robotics
◻ 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 the 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 Laws
3 H’s in Robotics
◻ Hand
◻ Head
◻ Heart (through AI)
History of Robotics
Advantages
◻ Increase in productivity, safety, efficiency, quality
and consistency of products
◻ Can work in hazardous environment
◻ Require no environmental comfort
◻ Can work tirelessly without boredom or fatigue
◻ Repeatable precision at all times
Disadvantages
◻ Replace human workers hence cause economic
hardship
◻ Lack capability to respond in emergency unless
programmed to do so
◻ Lack of decision making
◻ Have limited capability in creativity and
understanding, sensors, vision system, real time
response
◻ Robots are costly due to cost of equipment,
installation, peripherals, training and programming
Application
◻ Machine loading : supply parts or remove processed parts
◻ Pick and place operation : placing a part for processing and
then removing the processed part
Application
◻ Welding: automobile industry
Application
◻ Painting: automobile industry
Application
◻ Inspection: circuit boards, detecting cracks
◻ sampling and sorting: agriculture
Applications
◻ Assembly tasks
Applications
◻ Manufacturing: to perform tasks such as drilling,
cutting, insertion
◻ Medical applications: surgery
Applications
◻ Assembly tasks
◻ Manufacturing: to perform tasks such as drilling,
cutting, insertion
◻ Medical applications: surgery
◻ Assisting disabled individuals: communication
◻ Hazardous environment
◻ Underwater, space and inaccessible locations
Applications
◻ Assisting disabled individuals: communication
◻ Hazardous environment
◻ Rescue operations
Applications
◻ Underwater, space and inaccessible locations
Classification of Robots
Drive Technology
Work envelope geometry

Types of motion control

Drive technology
◻ Power source used to drive robot
◻ Pneumatic drive
Piston & cylinder
used for smaller, simpler robotic applications
◻ Electric drives
DC servo motors or DC stepper motors
manipulators
◻ Hydraulic drives
Manipulation of substantial load
Molten steel handling, auto body part handling
Lack of cleanliness due to oil leakage
Work envelope geometry
◻ The gross work envelope of a robot is defined as
the locus of points in three dimensional space that
can be reached by the wrist
◻ Major axis( axis of first three joints) determine the
position of the wrist
◻ Minor axes( axis of remaining joints) determine the
orientation of the tool
◻ Work envelope geometry is determined by
sequence of joints for the major axis
Types of joints
◻ Revolute
◻ Prismatic
◻ Twist
◻ Cylindrical
◻ Hooke or Universal
◻ Ball and Socket or Spherical
In physics, the degrees of freedom (DOF) of a
mechanical system is the number of independent
parameters that define its configuration or state.
Degrees of Freedom of a System
◻ It is defined as the minimum number of independent
parameters / variables / coordinates needed to describe a
system completely

❖ A point in 1-D : 1dof; 2-D: 2 dof; in 3-D space: 3 dof

A rigid body in 3-D: 6 dof
Planar Manipulator: 3 dof
Spatial Manipulator: 6 dof
Revolute Joint (R) 1-dof
 Prismatic
Joint (P) 1-dof
42
 Cylindrical Joint (C) 2-dof
43
 Hooke Joint or Universal Joint (U)
2-dof
44
Twist joint 1-dof
◻ The output link rotates in relation to the input link.
◻ The axis of rotation is along the input and output
link
 Ball and Socket or Spherical joint
46
3-dof
Ball and socket type joint in human
shoulder
Types of joints
◻ What type of joint does a human elbow resemble?
◻ head movement?
◻ Shoulder?
◻ Knee?
 Cartesian Coordinate Robots
49

◻ Linear movement along

three different axes
◻ The configuration is
PPP
◻ Rigid and accurate
◻ Suitable for pick and
place type of operations
◻ Examples: IBM’s RS-1,
Sigma robot
 Cylindrical Coordinate Robots
50

◻ Two linear and one

rotary movements
◻ Represented as TPP
◻ Used to handle parts/
objects in manufacturing
◻ Cannot reach the objects
lying on the floor
◻ Poor dynamic
performance
◻ Examples: Versatran
600
 Spherical Coordinate or Polar
51
Coordinate Robots
◻ One linear and two
rotary movement
◻ Represented as TRP
◻ Suitable for handling
parts/objects in
manufacturing
◻ Can pick up objects
lying on the floor
◻ Poor dynamic
performance
◻ Examples: Unimate
2000B
 Revolute Coordinate or Articulated
52
Coordinate Robots
◻ Rotary movement about
three independent axes
◻ Represented as TRR
◻ Suitable for handling
parts/components in
manufacturing system
◻ Rigidity and accuracy
may not be good enough
◻ Examples: T3, PUMA
 SCARA-Selective Compliance
Assembly Robot Arm
◻ Two Rotary and one
linear movement
◻ Represented as RRP
◻ two-link arm layout
similar to our human
arms, hence the
often-used term,
Articulated.
◻ advantageous for many
assembly operations
◻ Examples:
Mecademic's DexTAR
educational robot
Robot work envelope based on major
axes

Robot Axis 1 Axis 2 Axis 3

Cartesian P P P
Cylindrical T P P
Spherical T R P
SCARA R R P
Articulated T R R
 Workspace of Cartesian Coordinate
55
Robot
 Workspace of Cylindrical Coordinate
56
Robot
 Workspace of Spherical Coordinate
57
Robot
 Workspace of Revolute Coordinate
58
Robot
Workspace of Cartesian robot
Workspace of Cylindrical robot
Workspace of Spherical robot
Workspace of SCARA (Selective
Compliant Articulated Robot Arm)
Workspace of Articulated robot
Type of Motion Control
◻ Point to Point - Spot welding, Pick and Place,
Loading and unloading,
◻ Continuous path- Spray painting, Arc welding,
gluing
 A Robotic System
65

Various Components
◻ Base

◻ Links and Joints

◻ End-effector / gripper

◻ Wrist

◻ Drive / Actuator

◻ Controller

◻ Sensors
Components of a Robot
Components of a Robot
◻ Manipulator- main body of the robots consists of
links, joints and other structural elements
◻ End effector- connected to the last joint of the
manipulator
It handles objects, makes connections to other
machines, performs required tasks
◻ Actuator-muscles of the manipulator
Servo motors, stepper motor, pneumatic, hydraulic
actuator
Components of a Robot
◻ Sensor- required to collect information about the
internal state of the robot or to communicate with
the outside environment
◻ Controller- controls the motion of the actuators,
and coordinates the motion with the sensory
feedback information
◻ Processor- brain of the robot
Calculates the motion of the robot’s joints and
supervises the coordinated actions of controller and the
sensors
Components of a Robot
◻ Software – three groups of program are used in
robots
Operating system- operates the processor
Robotics software- calculates the necessary motions of
each joint based on kinematic equations of the robot
Application oriented routines and programs developed
to use the robot peripherals for specific task such as
assemble, machine loading, material handling, etc.
Robot specification/characteristics
◻ These are additional characteristics that allow the
user to specify robotic manipulator
Number of axes
Load carrying capacity
Maximum speed, cycle time
Reach and stroke
Tool orientation
Repeatability
Precision and accuracy
Operating environment
Number of axes

◻ Each robotic manipulator has a number of axes

about which the links rotate or translate

Axes Type Function

1- 3 Major Position the wrist
4-6 Minor Orient the tool
7-n Redundant Avoid obstacles
Minor Axes
Minor Axes
Minor Axes
Load carrying capacity
◻ Load carrying capacity is determined by factors
such as robot’s size, configuration, drive system
and application
◻ Varies from few grams to thousands of kilograms
◻ The weight that the robot can carry and still remain
within its other specification is termed as Payload
Maximum speed of motion
◻ The maximum tool speed of the robots is from few
mm/sec to several meters/sec
◻ The speed of the robot is measured at the wrist
◻ Highest speed can be achieved with maximum
horizontal extension of the arm away from the base
of the robot
◻ Type of the drive system affect the joint speed.
◻ Robots with hydraulic drive system have faster
joint motion than those with electric drives
Cycle time
◻ Cycle time is another measure for robot speed
◻ It is the time required to perform periodic motion of
robot
◻ In any production operation it is desired to have
minimum cycle time of task. So most robots have
provision to regulate or adjust the speed
◻ Horizontal reach is defined as the maximum radial
distance the wrist mounting flange can be
positioned from the vertical axis about which the
robot rotates
◻ The horizontal stroke represents the total radial
distance the wrist can travel
◻ horizontal reach - horizontal stroke = total radial
distance the wrist can be positioned from the base
axis
◻ Stroke ≤ reach
Reach and stroke
◻ Vertical reach is defined as the maximum elevation
above the work surface that the wrist mounting the
flange can reach
◻ The vertical stroke is the total vertical distance the
wrist can travel
Wrist joint, flange, gripper
Horizontal and vertical reach of
Cartesian robot

Stroke = reach or stroke < reach

?
Tool orientation
◻ The three major axes of robot determine the
workspace and three minor axes determine the
orientation of the tool
◻ The three minor axes, any arbitrary orientations in a
three dimensional space can be obtained
◻ The three minor axes associated with the wrist are
yaw, pitch and roll
Tool orientation
Repeatability
◻ Repeatability is the measure of ability of the robot
to position the tool tip in the same place repeatedly
◻ It occurs because of backlash in gears and
flexibility in the links
Backlash in gears
Precision and accuracy
◻ Precision of a robotic manipulator is a measure of
spatial resolution with which the tool can be
positioned within the work envelope
◻ The accuracy of a robotic manipulator is a measure
of the ability of the robot to place the tool tip at an
arbitrarily prescribed location in the work envelope
Target
accuracy position

A B

precisio
n
Precision and accuracy

P&A P & NA NP & NP &

A NA
Operating environment
◻ Operating environment depends on the nature of
the tasks performed by the robot
◻ Harsh, hazardous, unhealthy environment :
transport of radioactive materials, spray painting,
welding, loading and unloading of furnaces
◻ Clean room robots: in semiconductor industry for
handling of silicon wafers and photomasks.
Environment with controlled temperature,
humidity, air flow
Robot reference frames
◻ World reference frame
◻ Joint reference frame
◻ Tool reference frame
World reference frame
◻ It is a universal coordinate frame as defined by x, y,
z axes
◻ In this case, the joints of the robot move
simultaneously in a coordinated manner to create
motions along the three major axes
◻ It is reference to define the motion of robot relative
to the other objects, define other parts and
machines with which the robot communicates and
define motion trajectories
Joint reference frame:
◻ It is used to specify movements of individual joints
of the robot
◻ In this case, each joint is accessed and moved
individually, therefore only one joint moves at a
time
Tool reference frame
◻ It specifies movements of the robot’s hand relative
to a frame attached to the hand
◻ Unlike World reference frame, this frames moves
with the robot
◻ The consequent motions relative to it are also
different depending on where the arm is and what
direction the tool frame has.
Programming Modes
◻ Physical set-up
◻ Lead through or Teach Mode
◻ Continuous Walk-Through Mode
◻ Software Mode
Physical set-up mode
◻ In this mode, an operator sets up switches and hard
stops that control the motion of the robot
◻ This motion is usually used with other devices such
as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)
Lead through or Teach Mode
◻ In this mode the, the robot’s joints are moved with
a teach pendant
◻ When the desired location is achieved, the location
is entered(taught) into the controller
◻ During playback, the controller moves the joints to
same locations and orientations
Lead through or Teach Mode
Continuous Walk-Through Mode
◻ In this mode, all robot joints are moved
simultaneously, while the motion is continuously
sampled and recorded
◻ During playback, the exact motion that was
recorded is executed
◻ These motions are taught by an operator either
through a model or, by physically moving the end
effector
Software Mode
◻ In this mode, a program is written online or offline
and is executed by the controller to control the
motions
◻ This programming mode can include sensory
information, conditional statements and branching
Programming Modes