ROBOTICS

BY
VIJAYA
MCA IV SEM
NO-37
 CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. RELATED TECHNOLOGIES

3. TECHNOLOGY AT HOME

4. DESIGN PROCESS

5. POSSIBLE DANGERS

6. OUR ROBOTS

7. CONCLUSION

8. REFERENCES
 ROBOTICS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 But what exactly is a robot?

As strange as it might seem, there really is no standard definition for a robot. However,
there are some essential characteristics that a robot must have and this might help you to decide
what is and what not a robot is. It will also help you to decide what features you will need to
build into a machine before it can count as a robot.

A robot has these essential characteristics:

• Sensing First of all robot would have to be able to sense its surroundings. It would do this
in ways that are similar to the way that you sense your surroundings. Giving your robot
sensors: light sensors (eyes), touch and pressure sensors (hands), chemical sensors (nose),
hearing and sonar sensors (ears), and taste sensors (tongue) will give your robot
awareness of its environment.

• Movement A robot needs to be able to move around its environment. Whether rolling on
wheels, walking on legs or propelling by thrusters a robot needs to be able to move. To
count as a robot either the whole robot moves, like the Sojourner or just parts of the robot
moves, like the Canada Arm.

• Energy A robot needs to be able to power itself. A robot might be solar powered,
electrically powered, battery powered. The way your robot gets its energy will depend on
what your robot needs to do.

• Intelligence A robot needs some kind of "smarts." This is where programming enters the
pictures. A programmer is the person who gives the robot its 'smarts.' The robot will have
to have some way to receive the program so that it knows what it is to do.

1.2 So what is a robot?

Well it is a system that contains sensors, control systems, manipulators, power supplies
and software all working together to perform a task. Designing, building, programming and
testing robots is a combination of physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering,
structural engineering, mathematics and computing. In some cases biology, medicine, chemistry
might also be involved. A study of robotics means that students are actively engaged with all of
these disciplines in a deeply problem-posing problem-solving environment.

Robots have the potential to change our economy, our health, our standard of living, our
knowledge and the world in which we live. As the technology progresses, we are finding new
ways to use robots. Each new use brings new hope and possibilities, but also potential dangers
and risks.

Robotics is the field of knowledge and techniques that permit the construction of robots.
Designed to carry out various tasks in place of humans – for example, on a factory assembly line,
or on a mission to Mars or other dangerous place – robots are more than simple computers: they
must be able to sense and react to changes in their environment.

2. RELATED TECHNOLOGIES
It was the Czech novelist, Capek, who in 1920 coined the term “robot” to designate artificial
beings that can replace man in the workplace. Today, we have many different conceptions of
robots: “utilitarian” robots for work in extreme environments (like Eve, the robot explorer of
Mars), companion robots (like PaPeRo from Nec), and others. Robotics touches a number of
research domains; these include artificial life , which attempts to make robots more autonomous
and capable of evolving without human intervention (like Aibo, Sony’s robot dog), collective
intelligence that would empower robots to act in cooperation (as in 1998 when there was a
football World Cup…played by robots!), and nanotechnology , which envisions, among other
uses, micro-robots that can work inside the human body.

2.1 ARTIFICIAL LIFE

Area of research that studies the processes of life (how life is created, becomes extinct,
evolves, reproduces, etc.) and simulates them in computers to better understand them. Artificial
life touches as much on computer science as biology.

What is life? Vast question that computer scientists have taken their turn trying to answer
by grabbing onto two key concepts: 1) life reproduces itself, and 2) life evolves. In the 1970s, an
artificial life computer program traveled around the world: the ‘game of life.’ In it, ‘cells’
(actually, black dots on the computer screen) appear, move, and die according to a set of simple
rules. From an initial population distributed on the screen at random, stable structures emerge,
some moving, some immobile, that resemble, in circumstance, what might have been the first
living organisms. Today, artificial life calls on increasingly complex ideas, such as emergence,
and touches more and more the fields of robotics and bionics.

2.2 BIONICS:

Emulation of structures and functions of living beings by materials, machines or robots.

A contraction of the words, “biology” and “electronics,” bionics is the science of how the living
emit, receive, and treat various signals so that life processes can be mimicked in machines and
robots. For example, sonar illustrates a technology based on the navigation system of the bat. In
general, “bionic’ refers to the imitation of the living (for example, Velcro® imitates the burdock
fruit).

Today we often hear talk of the bionic man or woman, a person “blended,” not only
containing familiar biological parts, but also mechanical or electronic elements that science and
technology put in place to repair damaged function or to propel humans beyond their physical
and mental limits: electronic implants, prostheses made of biomaterials, computers controlled by
the eye - and, soon, by thought - virtual reality technology, and so forth. Until now, a caricature
found only in science fiction, the bionic human, at one with her or his mix of flesh, blood, and
machine, is little by little becoming a reality.

2.3 BIOMATERIALS

Materials compatible with an organism that can be used to make implants, prostheses,
and surgical instruments. Biomaterials are materials used to manufacture prostheses, implants,
and surgical instruments. Designed not to provoke rejection by our bodies (skin, blood, bone,
etc.), they can be natural (collagen, cellulose, etc.) or synthetic (metallic, alloy, ceramic, plastic,
and others). Dental crowns and contact lenses use biomaterials.

The word "robot" originates from the Czech word for forced labor, or serf. It was
introduced by playwright Karel Capek, whose fictional robotic inventions were much like Dr.
Frankenstein's monster -- creatures created by chemical and biological, rather than mechanical,
methods. But the current mechanical robots of popular culture are not much different from these
fictional biological creations. Basically a robot consists of:

• A mechanical device, such as a wheeled platform, arm, or other construction, capable of

interacting with its environment

• Sensors on or around the device that are able to sense the environment and give useful
feedback to the device

• Systems that process sensory input in the context of the device's current situation and
instruct the device to perform actions in response to the situation

Robot, defined
 "A re-programmable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts,
tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of
a variety of tasks."

 From the Robot Institute of America, 1979.

Most of Artificial Intelligence will eventually lead to robotics. Most neural networking,
natural language processing, image recognition, speech recognition/synthesis research aims at
eventually incorporating their technology into the epitome of robotics - the creation of a fully
humanoid robot.

The field of robotics has been around nearly as long as Artificial Intelligence - but the
field has made little progress. This is only natural, since the field not only attempts to conquer
intelligence, but also the body that embodies it - a formidable task indeed! Robotics, though, is
not just about humanoid robots; but also about their commercial applications in manufacturing,
safety and hundreds of other fields. Let us back-track though, and look at what could constitute a
robot?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a robot is an "apparently human automaton,

intelligent and obedient but impersonal machine". Indeed, the word robot comes from robot,
Czech for 'forced labor'. Yet, as robotics advances this definition is rapidly becoming old.
Basically, a robot is a machine designed to do a human job (excluding research robots) that is
tedious, slow or hazardous. It is only relatively recently that robots have started to employ a
degree of Artificial Intelligence in their work - many robots required human operators, or precise
guidance throughout their missions. Slowly, robots are becoming more and more autonomous.

The difference between robots and machinery is the presence of autonomy, flexibility and
precision. Indeed, many few robots are mere extensions of machinery - but as the field advances
more and more, the current 'fine line' will widen more and more.

3. TECHNOLOGY AT HOME
 Robotics is slowly making its way into the home - either through leisure, or actual
commercial home-based bots. Recently, Probotics released the world's first true personal robot -
Cye. Cye allows its human operator to create a map of the environment (using a Windows
interface) and download it via an IR link to the robot. The robot will then be able to navigate the
area doing various tasks - including vacuuming! Consumer robots, though, have not yet made a
big impact. So-called leisure-robots are.

3.3 SONY ERS-111 AIBO ENTERTAINMENT ROBOT

We got a Sony AIBO. For those who have lived in secluded caves for the last 2 years, the
Sony AIBO is the world's first commercial entertainment robot. In the shape of a robotic
dog, the AIBO has 4 distinct growth phases, and each one will develop a personality of its own
(through its on-board memory stick). When they were released (originally as the ERS-110) they
were sold within days. Sony then announced they would manufacturer 10,000 of a slightly
upgraded version (the ERS-111) - these were sold within 20 minutes of the phone lines opening.
Why so quickly? Are they cheap? Hell no. Generation5 forked out $3,400 for ours, although the
original retail value was $2,500. So why then? These things are incredible - a 150,000 pixel CCD
camera, stereo microphone, IR distance sensor, 18 motors and a cute look, AIBO is currently the
epitome of commericial Artificial Intelligence.

3.1 FEATURES

The AIBO has four main stages of development:

1. NEWBORN
2. PUPPY
3. CHILD
4. ADULT.

The stages progress according to the amount of "quality time" you spend with your dog.
For your dog to reach mature adult age, you are going to have to spend over 100 hours with him!
This makes AIBO more of a pet than a toy.
To make the robot more pet-like, each AIBO has a personality of its own. You can reinforce and
scold the dog according to its actions, and help it develop its own personality. If you want a lazy
dog, hit is every time it tries to play - and slowly it will learn not to play. If you want your dog to
stay away from something (like my guitars!), hit it when it wanders near them. On the bright side
(no more hitting the dog, I promise), if you want the dog to like the pink ball its supplied with,

stroke it and pat it when it starts to play with it.

AIBO's actions are potentially unlimited (if you have the Performer Kit), but even
without the performer kit, AIBO comes with a huge array of actions. Most of them you won't see
while the dog is in newborn or baby phase. All the dog really does is sit around and move its
head and back legs around. Slowly, it'll start to sit up more, then take a few attempts at standing
up. It will progress from there, and learn more and more actions. It will communicate with you to
help you understand what it is feeling - for example, it will wave its paw and shake its head if it
doesn't like what you're doing.

AIBO also has two sets of "eyes" - a green pair and a red pair. The green will light up
when the AIBO is happy, and the red when it is angry. They both light up if the AIBO gets
surprised. With the combination of the body language, vocal noises and eye signals, the AIBO
gives you a great sense of how it feels.

Of the neatest things about AIBO is the tracking algorithm. The AIBO can look at the
object and track it - much like MIT's Cog can. The AIBO has successfully tracked the pink ball,
hand, a box, spoon and a few other objects. When the AIBO is a puppy, it really enjoys messing
around by tracking things (much like human babies).
3.2 MODES

The AIBO has three different modes: autonomous, performance and game mode.
Autonomous is the mode you'll normally have it in - the dog will grow and learn and generally
be a pet. Performance mode is a neat little feature that allows you to ask the AIBO to do little
preset performances. These are just playful sets of actions that can show off the AIBO. Check
out some of the screen shots below to see:

The game mode allows you to control the movement of the AIBO specifically using the
remote control (on a side point, this remote control uses musical note sequences to control the
AIBO). You can make the dog move forward, back, left, right, kick the ball with either of its
front legs, and do a winning performance, losing performance and toggle ball tracking.
Mentioned before, the ball tracking is really neat - the dog wills saccade to the ball quite nicely,
even while it (either the AIBO or the ball) is moving.

3.3 CONCLUSION

There is little to fault the AIBO with - the emotions are rather undefined while the dog is
a puppy, but this probably applies in real life too, so its not really a fault! The battery life is quite
short, only about 1.5 hours on autonomous mode - mind you, if you find yourself playing with
the AIBO for more than 1.5 hours at a time. AIBO came with two batteries, and the charging
station can charge two batteries simultaneously - one in the AIBO itself, and another in the 'Sub'
slot below. This means that you'll always have a fully recharged battery to shove into the AIBO
if you need some extra juice.
 The AIBO is nicely made, and while it is probably not the most robust of things it will
withstand small knocks and falls (it can even right itself if it falls on its side!). As the dog grows,
you learn the personality and help shape its personality. This really gives a friendly appeal to
Artificial Intelligence and robotics, something the field could use with the increasing anti-
publicity it is getting.

In short, if you have the money to buy an AIBO and can get your hands on one (eBay is
always a good place to check) - buy it! The AIBO will give your hundreds of hours of fun
(indeed you'll need over a hundred to get the maximum from it!), and is currently the best
example of commercial Artificial Intelligence available.

4. DESIGN PROCESS

Defining Building Programming and

Researching Creating a Evaluating
the your Testing your
and Designing Prototype your Robot
Problem Robot Robot

• identifying the purpose of a construction

• identifying specific requirements

You are confronted with a situation. Here are two examples:

A community wants to construct a robot zoo in which the "animals" move their heads open their
mouths and make appropriate sounds when they sense that someone is coming towards them.
Design and build a prototype device which could satisfy this need.

A local pet shop wishes to sell a range of devices which automatically feed small cage pets (such
as rabbits, gerbils, mice etc.) when their owners are away for the weekend. Design and build a
prototype device which could satisfy this need.

You need to determine what problem you are trying to solve before you attempt to design and
build a robot to solve a problem. Take the time to study a number of different situations and once
you have decided what the situation is and you understand exactly what the problem is then write
a design brief in a log book (this will be your working document as you work on your robot. This
log book can be a paper notebook or an electronic document.) This is a short statement which
explains the problem that is to be solved.

4.2 RESEARCHING AND DESIGNING

• gathering information

• identifying specific details of the design which must be satisfied

• identifying possible and alternative design solutions

• planning and designing a appropriate structure which includes drawings

Having written a brief, you are now ready to gather information which will help you to
produce a successful design. First you will need to decide what information you require. This
will be different from project to project and will also depend on the amount of information and
knowledge you already have. A useful step will be to use the following chart. Ask the five
questions, and then read the column headed Gathering Information. This will help you plan the
type of information you will need to gather.

1. What is the practical function of the design? (What must my robot do?)

A design's practical functions can include:

MOVEMENT How will the robot move within its environment? If it were put in a different
environment, would it still be able to move within this new space?

MANIPULATION How will the robot move or manipulate other objects within its
environment? Can a single robot move or manipulate more than one kind of object?

ENERGY How is the robot powered? Can it have more than one energy source?

INTELLIGENCE How does the robot "think?" What does it mean to say that a robot
"thinks?"

SENSING How will my robot "know" or figure out what's in its environment? If it were put
in a different environment, would it be able to figure out this new environment

2. What part does appearance (shape and form, surface texture, color, etc.) play in the
design's function? What does the robot look like? Is there a reason for it to look as it does?
Shape and form are important to a design's aesthetic qualities, ergonomics, strength, stability,
rigidity, safety

Surface texture, finish and color can be appropriate to a design’s: aesthetic qualities, mechanical,
optical and thermal properties, durability, etc.

3. What materials are suitable for the design?

The properties of a material will determine its suitability for a design. For our work with
robotics we have chosen to work with LegoT™. However, there are many different types of
materials that can be and are used in the construction of robots.

• strength, hardness, toughness, density

• durability

• and the aesthetic qualities determined by color, surface texture, pattern, etc.

The materials cost and availability is also important factors.

What construction methods are appropriate to the design?

Construction techniques fall into the categories of:

• cutting and shaping

• fabrication - the assembly of the parts using screws, bolts, glues, solder, etc

• molding - by the application of a force on the material

• casting - using a mould to form the shape of a solidifying material

A particular material can only be worked in a limited number of ways. The method of
construction therefore will be determined by the chosen material, the availability of
manufacturing facilities, the skills of the work force and the production costs.

5. What are the likely social and environmental effects of the design?

The manufacture, use and disposal of any product will have both beneficial and
detrimental effects upon people, wildlife and the environment. The designer therefore, has an
enormous responsibility to consider very carefully the potential effects of any new design. This
will include: health and safety factors, noise, smell, pollution, etc.

Gathering information can involve reading, listening, conducting interviews and

observing. A specification is a detailed description of the problem to be solved. It should 'spell
out' exactly what the design must achieve

4.3 CREATING A PROTOTYPE

• testing the design

• troubleshooting the design

You should ideally think of at least three different ways to solve the problem before you
concentrate on any one in particular. Sketches and notes are required at this stage. You can also
create prototypes using Lego for this step. Once you have created a Lego prototype, take a digital
picture of it. Print out the picture and jot your notes below the picture in your log book. Once
you have settled on one solution, go back over the list of specifications you have made. Make
sure that each specification is satisfied.

Now it the time to produce some working drawings. These are the drawings that will
assist you as you begin constructing the prototype of your structure. (Here again, lego and a
digital camera might be your best friend.) You may choose to do your drawings by hand or you
might want to use a draw program on the computer to assist you.

Determine a working schedule for yourself. Draw up a timetable showing how much time
you expect to spend on each part of the design process. Your planning should also ensure that
you have all the necessary materials and equipment that you need to complete your project.

4.4 PROGRAMMING AND TESTING YOUR ROBOT

Now it is time to program your robot. This can be achieved in many different ways. Use
can achieve rudimentary intelligence in your robot by using only relays, potentiometers, bump
switches and some discrete components. You can increase complexity in intelligence in your
robot by adding more sensors and continuing in the same vein of using hardwired logic. By
introducing a more sophisticated control element, the microprocessor, you introduce a significant
new tool in solving the robot control problem. For our robots we used the RCX Brick that was
first developed by Fred Martin at MIT as the Programmable Brick. See the following two
programming examples: Mindstorms™

Robolab™ has two levels for programming. Once you have written your program and
downloaded into the RCX brick using the Infrared Sender, it is time to test your robot to see
if it truly does what you want it to do.
4.5EVALUA
TI NG YOUR
ROBOT

• evalu
ate
the

design

• evaluate the planning process

 As building and programming work progresses, and the design begins to take shape, you will
automatically carry out tests on the design. You will also need to complete systems tests at
various stages of the construction. If any of the tests show that you have failure in a joint, or that
part of your structure is not meeting specifications, then you will have to make modifications in
your plan.

When building and programming is complete, the entire project must be tested to see if it
does the job for which it was designed. An evaluation needs to then be written. This should be a
statement outlining the strengths and weaknesses in your design. It should describe where you
have succeeded and where you have failed to achieve the aims set out in the specifications.

Here is a list of questions which will help you to prepare this statement.

• How well does the design function?

• Does the design look good?

• Is the product safe to use?

• Did I plan my work adequately?

• Did I find the construction straightforward or difficult?

• Were the most suitable materials used?

• Did it cost more or less than expected?

• How could I have improved my design?

We have classified our robots alphabetically according to the name that the students have
given their robot. Robots are often classified according to their generation, level of intelligence,
level of control and level of programming language.

5 POSSIBLE DANGERS:

The concern that robots might displace or compete with humans is common. In his I,
Robot series, Isaac Asimov created the Three Laws of Robotics in a literary attempt to
control the competition of robots with humans:
1. A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come
to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by the human beings, except where such orders
would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with
the First or Second Law.

Unfortunately the issue may be not so simple to resolve. Asimov himself based the plots
of quite a few robots novels on probing into the applicability and sufficiency of the Three
Laws. The laws or rules that could or must apply to robots or other "autonomous capital"
in cooperation or competition with humans have spurred investigation of macro-economics
of this competition, notably by Alessandro Acquits building on much older work by John
von Neumann.

Even without overt malicious programming, robots and humans simply do not have the
same body tolerances or aware nesses, leading to accidents: In Jackson, Michigan on July
21, 1984, a factory robot crushed a worker against a safety bar in apparently the first robot-
related death in the United States.

6 OUR ROBOTS 6.1 CAR

We built a car with two different sensors, a touch sensor and a light sensor. The light sensor
would work at the front of the car and the touch sensor at the back of the car. When the car
approaches an object and gets too close, it will turn to avoid the object. When the car backs into
an object it will stop and move forward. Dr. Friesen added an additional challenge to us. We
needed to create our robot using only one motor so that we would learn how to use gears and
pulleys to transfer energy

We wanted to build a car with two different sensors, a touch sensor and a light sensor. The
light sensor would work at the front of the car and the touch sensor at the back of the car.
We started to put our car to the test. We ran into a number of problems because we couldn't get
the light sensor to work properly for us. Some of the members of our group thought that
our car needed to play a tune as it went along. This didn't solve our problem, but it did
make our car's journey much more interesting

6.2 GIRAFFE ROBOT

Animal robots are fun to make. They help you to understand how an animal moves. It
was a real challenge to make the head of our giraffe goes up and down while it was moving
forwards and backwards. Dr. Friesen added
an additional challenge to us. We needed to
create our robot using only one motor so that we
would learn how to use gears and pulleys to
transfer energy

We wanted to build a giraffe and we wanted the head to move up and down

It was a real challenge to get the head working properly. We tried to use gears, but we
couldn't get them to work. So we used a pulley system

7. CONCLUSION:
 Robotics is an absolutely fascinating field that interests most people - AI buff or not. As
research from more serious robotics projects such as Cog and Kismet filter down into the
commerical arena we should look forward to some very interesting (and cheap) virtual pets like
Aibo and the furbies. Hopefully, commericial home-based robots will also be avaible for a price
not more than an expensive vacuum cleaner. With computers becoming more and more
powerful, interfacing home robots with your computer will become a reality, and house work
will (hopefully!) disappear.

The field of robotics has created a large class of robots with basic physical and
navigational competencies. At the same time, society has begun to move towards incorporating
robots into everyday life, from entertainment to health care. Moreover, robots could free a large
number of people from hazardous situations, essentially allowing them to be used as
replacements for human beings. Many of the applications being pursued by AI robotics
researchers are already fulfilling that potential. In addition, robots can be used for more
commonplace tasks such as janitorial work. Whereas robots were initially developed for dirty,
dull, and dangerous applications, they are now being considered as personal assistants.
Regardless of application, robots will require more rather than less intelligence, and will thereby
have a significant impact on our society in the future as technology expands to new horizons.
8 REFERENCES:
http://www. generation5 .org
http://www.www.kipr.org.com
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Robotics