1. CHAPTER 2- ROBOT TECHNOLOGY
By Norhafiza bt Samion
DAE 32503
CHAPTER 2- ROBOT TECHNOLOGY

2. So, what is an industrial robot?
Industrial robot is designed to be a perfect and tireless worker, to help human workers but not to replace them.
It is always to be mixed-up the term automation, remote-controlled, and numerical control.
So, what is an industrial robot?

3. 2.1 Industrial Robot
This term has several definitions. For the Japanese, industrial robot is defined as an all- purpose machine equipped with a memory device and a terminal and capable of rotation and of replacing human labour by automatic performance of movement. This definition could include some labour hard-wired automation devices but it does exclude human beings.

4. 2.1 Industrial Robot
The RIA (Robotic Industries Association) defines a robot as reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, and tools or specialized devices through variable programmed motions, for the performance of variety of tasks. This definition does not exclude human being.

5. 2.1 Industrial Robot
Another definition of industrial robot as defined by ISO 8373: 2012 is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation
The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) using this ISO definition when referring to the industrial robotics and “robot” term.

6. 2.2 Non-Industrial Robot There are other types of robots:
Military robots
Medical robots
Domestic or personal robots
Educational robots
Show or promotional robots
Hobbyist robots

7. 2.2 Non-Industrial Robot Military Robots
Consider any machine that can operated without a person. These encompasses most remote-controlled devices.
Example: remote-control tanks, radio-controlled airplanes, sensor-guided missiles using Global Position System, spy satellites.
Although many of these robots are semiautonomous, the trend is toward complete autonomy.

8. 2.2 Non-Industrial Robot Medical Robots
Include all robotlike devices that either give medical aid or substitute for or restore functions that a disabled person lacks.
Industrial robots are used as lab assistants to handle dangerous fluids, material handling operations in drug tests and drug-discovery research.
Bionic arms, hands, legs are just now reaching the useful stage. Artificial hearing and vision are under development.

9. …continue
Telerobots for surgical tasks are now beginning to used in joint replacement and the micro realm, in which precision manipulation with micron resolution is enhanced.
Emerging technologies will enable the development of very tiny robots the size of beetles or even ants that can be fit into blood stream as for monitoring devices.

10. 2.2 Non-Industrial Robot Domestic or personal robot
Personal robot applications enable people to make themselves more productive at home and at work.
Many domestic robot available in markets are focusing in task of household chores.
Examples: Robot Vacuums, Robot Floor Cleaners, Robot Window Cleaners, Robotic Lawn Mowers, Robot Pet Care and also Companion Robots.

11. 2.2 Non-Industrial Robot Educational Robots
Devices that can be used to teach the principles of robotics. They have the ability to simulate learned behavior.
According to The NextGen Education Robotics Summit powered by Robotics Trends, forecasts show that robotics education will soon become commonplace in pre-college and college classrooms throughout the industrialized world.
Example: SCORBOT-ER generation – come with manipulator, controller and power supply.

12. 2.2 Non-Industrial Robot Show or Promotion Robots
Their tasks as company’s ambassadors – move about in the aisles, mingle with many visitors, and appear to converse with them.
Using a discreet radio control system these performers can move the robot around an audience, interacting with everyone on a personal basis.
The appearance of these robot will;
creatively communicate your message
be a magnet at your event
showcase your product in an unforgettable way

13. 2.2 Non-Industrial Robot Hobbyist Robots
Will contribute significantly to the field of robotics.

14. 2.3 Basic component
There are five major component of industrial robot;
manipulator
end effectors - gripper
actuators – power source
sensors
controller - teach pendant

15. 2.3 Basic component: - Manipulator
Manipulator is a main body for the robot and consists of the joints, links and other structural elements of the robot.
It is a collection of mechanical linkages (or link) connected by joints and included are gears, coupling devices, and so on.
Generally, joints of a manipulator fall into two classes:
revolute (rotary)
prismatic (linear).
Each of the joints of a robot defines a joint axis along which the particular link either rotates or slides (translates).
Every joint axis identifies a degree of freedom (DOF).
► No. of DOFs = No. of Joints.

16. 2.3 Basic component: - Manipulator
Prismatic (linear).
Revolute (rotary)

17. 2.3 Basic component: - Manipulator
Regardless of its mechanical configuration, the manipulator defined by the joint-link structure generally contains three main structural elements as human parts:
the arm
the wrist
the end effector.
Most robots are mounted on stationary base on the floor and its connection to the first joint as called link 0. The output link of joint 1 is link 1, and so on.

18. 2.3 Basic component: - Manipulator

19. 2.3 Basic component: - Manipulator
Besides the mechanical components, most manipulators also contain the devices for producing the movement of the various mechanical members.
These devices are referred to as actuators and may be pneumatic, hydraulic, or electrical in nature.
They are either directly or indirectly, coupled to the various mechanical links or joints (axes) of the arm.
In the latter case, gears, belts, chains, harmonic drives, or lead screws can be used.
The interface between the last link and the end effector is called the tool mounting plate or tool flange.

20. 2.3 Basic component: - End Effector
End effector is the part that is connected to the last joint (hand) of a manipulator, which generally handles objects, makes connection to other machines, or performs the required tasks.
Robot manufacturers generally do not design or sell end effectors; just supply a simple gripper.
This is the job of a company's engineers or outside consultants to design and install the end effector on the robot and to make it work for the given situation/task.

21. 2.3 Basic component: - End Effector
The end effectors can include a sensor to determine if a part is present.
The addition of a simple sensor can make a gripper a relatively intelligent device.
For example
A simple gripper that has a sensor in it which tells if there is something between its jaws
This could be as simple as a light and phototransistor
If the robot is commanded to go and get a part, the manipulator will position the tool to the correct location and then check the gripper’s sensor before closing the gripper.

22. 2.3 Basic component: - End Effector
The following are characteristics of end-effector used in a robot work cell;
The tooling must be capable of gripping, lifting, and releasing the part of family of part required by the manufacturing process.
The tooling must sense the presence of a part in gripper, using sensors located either on the tooling or at a fixed position in the work cell.
Tooling weight must be kept to a minimum because it is added to part weight to determine maximum payload.

23. 2.3 Basic component: - End Effector
Containment of the part in the gripper must be ensured under conditions of maximum acceleration at the tool plate and loss of gripper power.
The simplest gripper that meets the first four criteria should be the one implemented.

24. 2.3 Basic component: - End-Effector
The end-effector used on the robot can be classified in the following table:
Compliance means initiated or allowed part movement for the purpose of alignment between mating part.
Category
Gripping mechanism
1) according to the method used to hold the part in the gripper
Standard mechanical pressure gripper
Tooling using vacuum for holding and lifting
Magnetic devices
2) by the special-purpose process tools incorporated in the final gripper design
Drill
Welding gun and torches
Paint sprayers
Grinders
3) by the multiple-function capability of the gripper
Special-purpose grippers
Compliance devices currently in use

25. 2.3 Basic component: - Actuator
Actuators are used to move elements of the manipulators.
It must have enough power to accelerate and decelerate the links and to carry the loads, yet be light, economical, accurate, responsive, reliable, and easy to maintain.
Each actuator is driven by a controller.
Common types of actuators are electric motors (servomotors and stepper motors), pneumatic cylinders, and hydraulic cylinders.
Electric motor especially servomotors are the most commonly used.
Hydraulic systems were very popular for large robots in the past and still around in many places, but are not used in new robots as often any more.
Pneumatic cylinders are used in robots that have on-off type joints, as well as for insertion purposes.

26. 2.3 Basic component: - Actuator- Electric Motor
Advantage
Disadvantage
Good for all sizes of robots
Better control, good for high precision robots
Higher compliance than hydraulics
Reduction gears used to reduce inertia on the motor
Does not leak, good for clean room
Reliable, low maintenance
Can be spark free, good for explosive environments
Low stiffness
Needs reduction gears, increased backlash, cost and weight
Motor needs braking device when not powered. Otherwise, the arm will fall.

27. 2.3 Basic component: - Actuator- Pneumatic
Advantage
Disadvantage
Many components are usually off-the-shelf.
Reliable components.
No leaks or sparks.
Inexpensive and simple.
Low pressure compared to hydraulics.
Good for on-off applications and for pick and place.
Compliant systems.
Noisy systems.
Require air pressure, filter, etc.
Difficult to control their linear position.
Deform under load constantly.
Very low stiffness and inaccuracy response.
Lowest power to weight ratio.

28. 2.3 Basic component: - Actuator- Hydraulic
Advantage
Disadvantage
Good for large robots and heavy payload.
Highest power/weight ratio.
Stiff system, high accuracy, better response.
No reduction gear needed.
Can work in wide range of speeds without difficulty.
Can be left in position without any damage.
May leak and not fit for clean room applications.
Requires pump, reservoir, motor, hoses, etc.
Can be expensive, noisy and requires maintenance.
Viscosity of oil changes with temperature.
Very susceptible to dirt and other foreign material in oil.
Low compliance.
High torque, high pressure, large inertia on the actuator.

29. 2.3 Basic component: - Sensors
Adding sensors to an industrial robot can increase the range of tasks the robot can perform. Consider it as the robot’s eyes.
It also decreases the mechanical tolerances required of both the robot and the robot’s environment.
Sensors give the robot information about the work cell. So, its used to;
protect worker and robot from harm
monitor the production system and work-cell operation
analyze product quality
provide part identification and orientation

30. 2.3 Basic component: - Sensors
All sensors are grouped into either a contact or non- contact category.
Eg. of contact sensors: Limit switch and artificial skin
Eg. of non-contact sensors: Proximity sensors and photoelectric devices.
Each type can have either a digital or an analog output signal.
In most applications the sensors have analog output signals to provide the exact value of the measured parameter. While the controller uses digital signals; therefore analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converter circuits may be required.

31. 2.3 Basic component: - Controller
The robot controller drives the motors attached to each robot axis and coordinates the motion of each axis to control the tool centre point (TCP) at the end of robot arm.
It can control input and output (I/O) signals (digital or analog) to control external devices such as a gripper, based on a sequence synchronized with robot motion.
The controller will communicates with other controller, PCs or a host computer and uses sensors to obtain information on the robot environment.
It executes the robot program by reading the instructions from the section of the information to the motion control section.

32. 2.3 Basic component: - Controller
The robot controller executes the robot program by reading the instructions from the section of the information to the motion control section.

33. 2.3 Basic component: - Controller-Teach pendant
Teach pendant provides interface between the robot and the operator (human).
To teach the positions where the robot axes should move along a desired path.
The motion instructions in the program can be modifies to specify the speed of the robot motion or the connection type between the path segment.

34. 2.4 Robot Programming
Languages for robot programming were designed using two techniques:
Developing a language that satisfied the control needs of the robot arm.
Language structures; conditional branching and input/ output interfacing.
Many languages used by robot manufactures is classify according to the level at which the programmer must interact with the system during the programming process.
r/english/RCX-PRO_E_V3.13.pdf

35. 2.4 Robot Programming
Programming Language Levels

36. 2.4 Robot Programming Level 1 - Joint-Control Languages
Concentrate on the physical control of robot motion in terms of joint or axes.
This level is used on most stop-to-stop pneumatic robots controlled with PLC.

37. 2.4 Robot Programming Level 2 - Primitive Motion Languages
Point-to-point languages
Permit simple parallel using two or more arms in the same work space
Some languages have limited coordinate-transformation capabilities.
Advantage: Proven performance on the the manufacturing floor
Disadvantages: The emphasis in programming is still on robot motion rather than on the production problem. This level does not support off-line programming.

38. 2.4 Robot Programming Level 3 - Structured Programming Languages
Improvement over the primitive motion level.
The characteristics;
A structured control format
Extensive use of coordinate transformations and reference frames is permitted
Support complex data structures
Improved sensor command
System variables are permitted
The format encourages extensive use of branching and subroutines defines by the user
Communication capability with LAN is improved
Off-line programming is supported.

39. 2.4 Robot Programming Level 4 – Task- Oriented Languages
The primary function is to conceal from the user the command and program structure that normally written by the programmer.
The user must be concerned only with solving the manufacturing problem.
This languages significantly use in industrial research laboratories and university.

40. 2.5 Vision System
Vision systems are being used with robot automation to perform the following tasks:
Part identification
Part location
Part orientation
Part inspection
Range finding
Robot vision can be interpreted as that part of computer vision that is ultimately intended to be used to guide the actions of robots.
The quality of a robot vision system is judged in terms of it providing timely, reliable, and accurate information
Consider in vision system of robotics are includes image measurement, image analysis and image recognition.

41. 2.5 Vision System Figure shows the hand / eye/ touch coordinate cycle:
The robot/camera “hand–eye” coordination task in which a robotic manipulator is used to pick up identified objects from a pile and sort them into groups of like objects

42. 2.5 Vision System
Figure shows sensory data driven mobile robot navigation:
This concerns on an autonomous mobile robot equipped with beacon localization and range sensors

43. 2.6 Robot Intelligent
Intelligent robot is define as one that responds to changes to its environment through sensors connected to its controller.**
Much of the research in the robotics has been concerned with vision and tactile.

44. 2.6 Robot Intelligent
In designing intelligent robot controllers, these should take into account;
provide the robot with a means of responding to problems on the temporal context (time) and
responding to problems on spatial (space).
Researchers goals is to design a neutral learning controller to utilize the available data from the repetition in the robot operation.