CHAPTER - 1

INTRODUCTION TO ROBOTICS

1.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND :

Robots have their historical past though they came into

existence only in 1961 when Unimation Inc., USA introduced

the first servo-controlled Industrial Robot. The background,

however, can be broadly divided into three stages [1,2,3].

i) Ancient and past historic stage

ii) Post Industrial renaissance stage

iii) Micro-electronics and Microprocessor stage.

The first stage i.e. ancient and past historic stage

dealt with invention of tools. This was followed by an

industrial renaissance with the advent of utilization of

steam power and IC engines. Large machining and process

complexes paved the way for semi-automatic and fully

automatic stages relieving man from working in hazardous

environment. The third stage of technological development led

to the necessity for having machinery and components with

existing tolerances and specification on material, shape and

size. Due to stringent demands, machines became more and more

dependable. Numerically Controlled (NC) machines and Computer

Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines edged out many

predecessors on the arrival of microprocessors. It provided

the greatest technological boost to industry backed up by the

latest development in Microelectronics, advances in computer

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technology and the availability of reliable electromechanical

and hydromechanical servo mechanisms. This stage led to the

concept of ROBOTICS.

1.2 DEFINITION OF ROBOT :

The term Robot is derived from the Czech word "robota"

which means forced labour or slave. A question of perpetual

interest is to define a robot. The Electric Machinery Law of

Japan defines an industrial robot as an all-purpose machine

equipped with a memory device and a terminal device for

holding things, capable of rotation and or replacing human

labour by automatic performance of movements. However, the

definition that has been accepted as reasonable in the

present state-of-the-art is given by Robotics Industries

Association in November 1979. An industrial robot has been

defined as "a reprogrammable multifunctional manipulator

designed to move materials, parts, tools or specialised

devices through various programmed motions for the

performance of a variety of tasks" [4, 5].

1.3 CLASSIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS :

Classification of robots are merely broad statements

describing certain important features possessed by a robot.

Some common means of robot classification are :

i) Configuration and Degree of Freedom

ii) End Effector

iii)Mobility

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 iv) Pay Load Capacity

v) Power Drive

vi) Control System

vii) Programming System

viii) Generation

1.3.1 Configuration and Degree of Freedom :

Industrial robots may be grouped according to their

physical design or geometrical structure, known as their

configuration. Industrial robots use seven basic

configurations namely, [2, 6]

a) Cartesian or Rectangular

b) Cylindrical

c) Articulated or Revolute

d) Polar or Spherical

e) SCARA

f) Spine

g) Pendulum

The term degree of freedom relates to the locating or

positioning of a body in space. Any body in space has six

degree of freedom. It can have linear movement along three

mutually perpendicular axes and rotational movement about the

same three axes. The three linear movements allow the body to

be moved to a desired position in space and the three

rotational movements allow the body to be oriented about that

position.

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1.3.2 End Effector :

A robotic end-effector which is attached to the wrist

of the robot arm is a device that enables the general-purpose

robot to grip materials, parts and tools to perform a

specific task. The end-effectors are also called the

grippers. There are various types of end-effectors to perform

the different work functions [5] . The various types of

grippers can be divided into the following major categories -

a) Mechanical Grippers

b) Magnetic Grippers

c) Vacuum Grippers

d) Hooks and Scoops

e) Active and Passive Grippers.

1.3.3 Mobility :

The mobility of a robot is its.ability to execute

motion. Mobility divides robots into two groups; Stationary-

base Robots capable of orienting and transportation motions,

and Moving-base (Mobile) Robots which can execute global

motions along with the above motions.

1.3.4 Pay Load Capacity :

Pay load capacity of a robot is total load handling

capacity of its arm or arms. The load carrying capacity of a

robot arm is the highest mass of an object, including the

gripper mass, the arm can handle under the given conditions

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at a maximum or minimum velocity, in a fully extended arm

position. For a model with a few arms, the load capacity of

each arm should be specified along with the total load

capacity [7].

1.3.5 Power Drives :

The motive power of robots is in the drives. Various

transmitting elements are employed to drive the mechanical

links to the desired position and orientation in the envelope

of the robot-manipulator. At present, direct drives to the

arms of robot are preferred though power is transmitted or

applied to various joints of the robot through gears, belts,

cable, chains and many other means. There are three basic

types of drives :

a) Hydraulic

b) Pneumatic

c) Electric

The drive systems are chosen on the basis of power

consumption, positional accuracy, repeatability, speed of

operation,stability, reliability, cost and many other related

factors. The drive methods are selected also on the basis of

using open loop or closed loop controls [8, 9].

1.3.5.a Hydraulic Drive :

Hydraulic axis drive systems operate by forcing

pressurized hydraulic fluid (usually a mineral-based oil with

chemical additives) around a closed circuit [4, 6] . The

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pressure generated can then be used to cause hydraulic motors

to rotate or pistons to extend and retract.

The advantages of hydraulic systems include,

i) High efficiency and good power-to-weight ratio.

ii) Suitability for high power applications,

iii) Complete and accurate control over speed, position and

direction of actuators.

iv) Accuracy maintained under extreme load conditions,

since hydraulic oil is virtually incompressible (0.5%

at 7000 kN/m2).

v) Minimum number of mechanical linkages required,

vi) Precise, smooth and shockless movement.

vii) Flameproof and ideally suited to explosive or volatile

environments.

viii) Self-lubricating and non-corrosive.

Hydraulic drives present drawbacks in that they may

progressively develop leaks and need power fluid cooling

setups.

l.3.5.b Pneumatic Drive :

Pneumatic fluid power systems have compressed air as the

transmission medium. Many of the principles involved„in

hydraulic system operation also apply to pneumatic system

operation. Advantages of pneumatic systems include [ 1, 9] the

following:

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 i) Air is plentiful and compressed .air is readily

available in most factories.

ii) Compressed air can be stored and conveyed easily over

long distances.
iii) Compressed air need not be returned to a sump tank; it
can be vented to atmosphere after it has performed its
useful work.
iv} Compressed air is clean, explosion-proof and
insensitive to temperature fluctuations,

v) Operation can be fast and speeds and forces can be

infinitesimally adjusted between their operational

limits.
vi) Digital and logic switching can be performed by
pneumatic fluid logic elements,
vii) Pneumatic elements are simple and reliable in

construction and operation and are relatively cheap,

viii) Pneumatic cylinders, comprising proximity sensors to

sense the position of the piston, allow easy

integration of pneumatic systems with computer sensing
and control.

The disadvantages are a low specific power due to

reduced working pressure (not higher than 0.6 MPa) and
inadequate stiffness on account of air compressibility. The

low stiffness of the drive along with the open loop control
system presents difficulties in setting-up and programming.

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1.3.5.C Electric Drive :

There are many types of electric motors, but not all of

them are suitable for use as actuators in robots. The

performance factors like power, torque and speed of motor

influence it's suitability as robot actuator. Advantages for

electric drive system include [2, 9]

i) Electric motor, is usually lighter than that for

hydraulic power.

ii) The accuracy and repeatability of .electric drive

robots is normally better than fluid power robots in

relation to cost.

iii) They are very acceptable environmentally, being

relatively quiet and clean.

iv) They are easily maintained and repaired,

v) Structural components can be lightweight.

vi) The drive system is well suited to electronic control,

vii) New motor designs and materials are constantly

improving power to weight and power to size ratios.

Industrial robots generally use one of the three types

of electric motors -

i) Stepper motor

ii) D.C servomotors

iii) A.C servomotor

iv) Brushless type of servomotor

v) P.M. DC Motors

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1.3.5.c.i Stepper Motor :

Advantages of employing stepper motor drives may be

summarised as follows : [6, 10]
i) The total drive system is considerably simplified
since positional and velocity feedback do not have to
be provided.
ii) When power is removed, the motor rotor is magnetically

detented in its last position.

iii) Multiple stepper motors drive from the same pulse

source maintain perfect synchronisation,
iv) Control is very easy, since stepper motors are digital

devices and compatible with the output from the

computerized robot control unit.

Stepper motors do have certain limitations that restrict

their usage in industrial robot application. These

limitations may be summarised as follows:

i) Power output of stepper motors is relatively low, and

this restricts their use to lighter duty applications,

ii) If the axis movement is stalled, the pulses continue to

'count' and loss of position will occur,

iii) Accelerate and decelerate during each step, so the

operation is jerky.

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 1.3.5.e.ii D.C. Servomotor :

D.C. Servomotors offer high power output relative to

their physical size. They combine high torque capability,
high acceleration and low inertia for optimum system

response [7,8].

In the permanent magnet D.C. Servomotor, the field flux

being constant, the torque of these motors is directly

proportional to the armature current. The permanent magnet
segments are given the flux orientation towards centre. The
disk type D.C. servomotor has a large diameter, short length
armature of nonmagnetic material. Pulse width modulation

technique is used to control the speed of the motor.

Certain DC servomotors require regular maintenance,

notably to brushes and commutators, and they are more likely
to cause radio interference and be more of a hazard in
volatile or explosive environments. DC servomotors for
robotic applications normally come in a complete compact

unit comprising the motor, encoder/tachogenerator and fail­

safe braking device [9, 11] .

1.3.5.c.iii AC Servomotor :

AC sercomotors have not been widely applied in robotic

applications because of problems of speed control. In

principle, the higher the frequency of the alternating
current applied to the motor, the faster it will rotate.

Providing varying frequency supplies to a number of axis

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drives simultaneously has been, until recently, largely

impractical [2, 12] .

1.3.5.c.iv Brushless Motors :

Brushless motors are now beginning to become very

popular. Brushless AC servos and brushless DC servos are in

fact very similar to each other [13].

a) Brushless AC Servos Three phase brushless synchronous

motor adopts frequency to voltage control technique for

speed control.

b) Brushless DC Motors : - Brushless dc motors consist of a

permanent magnet which is mounted on the armature shaft

instead of on the field and the field is wound. The

switching of the voltage in the field is reversed by

electronic commutation. By using optical disc mounted on

the armature rotates between the receiver and the light

transmitter which activates the electronic switching to

reverse the field to provide continuous rotation of the

armature.

The brushless motors have many advantages -

i) Reduced rotor inertia,

ii) They have better heat dissipation,

iii) The motors are less expensive, more durable and light

weight.

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 iv) The absence of brushes reduces maintenance costs due to

brush and commutator wear, and also allows electric

robots not to be used in some hazardous areas with

flammable atmosphere such as are found .in spray-

painting applications. One major disadvantage is that

the control systems for brushless motors are relatively

more complex and expensive.

1.3.5.C.V P.M. DC Motor :

P.M. DC Motors offer higher efficiency and drive loads

at a constant speed torque. In addition to good speed

control, the PMDC motor is well suited for application

requiring momentary high torque outputs. With PMDC motor,

power failure will not affect its braking ability because its

field is not affected by power failures. These motors are

available in 6V, 12V and 24V models, making them applicable

to solid state circuitry. Radio frequency interference (RFI)

is a problem in some applications [3, 14] . In this project

P.M.D.C. Motor operating on 12V is used as drive for the

robot.

1.3.6 Control System :

Important considerations when selecting a robot concern

its positioning, accuracy, its repeatability and its

capability to traverse smooth and often complex contours.

Various control systems that are employed can be classified

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as Servo and Non-servo controlled, open or closed loop

control and point-to-point or continuous path control [15,

16, 17] .

1.3.7 Programming System :

Robot sequences may be "programmed* in a number of

ways. These range from the physical positioning of limit

switches to determine a fixed sequence of movements, to

writing programs in specialist robot programming languages,

away from the robot. The programs can then be loaded into the

robot control system memory at a later time [17, 18, 19].

1.3.8 Generation :

Industrial Robots may be considered 'dumb', 'clever* or

'intelligent' depending upon the generation to which they

belong. The first generation robots are deaf, dumb and blind

and these robots can be trained by teach box to perform

simple repetitive functions.

/

The second generation 'clever' robots are fitted with

different sensors and the signal data can be processed with

microprocessor to allow the predetermined path.

The third generation 'intelligent* robotic system

consisting of many external sensors including vision,

acquires knowledge and attempts to understand the environment

from the sensory information by its reasoning and

interpreting capabilities [19, 20].

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1.4 SPECIFICATIONS OF ROBOTS :

There is no standard means of specification for

industrial robot. Manufacturers’ often specify certain

features, including performance data, in the 'technical

literature for the concerned robot. This means that it is

difficult to directly compare robots of even the same

configuration. Specification may relate to either physical

characteristics or performance characteristics.

1.4.1 Physical Characteristics :

Physical specification of industrial 'robots include some

or all of the following - [9, 21]

a) Mechanical :

i) Robot configuration

ii) Number of axes of movement

iii) Types of axis movement

iv) Floor space required for mounting

v) Weight

vi) Physical dimensions

vii) Physical details

b) Power :

i) Power drive system

ii) Power/Services requirements

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c) Control :

i) Programming method

ii) Type of control system

iii) External sensors supported

vi) Program backing store device

v) Memory size

1.4.2 Performance Characteristics :

a) Specific :

i) Accuracy

ii) Repeatability

iii) Resolution

iv) Velocity range

v) Operating cycle time

vi) Load - carrying capacity

b) Non - Specific :

i) Life - expectancy

ii) Reliability

iii) Maintainability

iv) Mean time between failure (MTBF)

v) Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)

1.5 APPLICATIONS OP ROBOTS :

In the initial stages, major applications of robots have

been for unpleasant and hazardous t.asks. Robots have found

wide applications in doing repetitive and monotonous jobs

maintaining consistency and product quality. Usually robots

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are most suitable for automated tasks which require little

sensing capability. However, intelligent robots are now in

demand for running automated systems or .factories [13,17,18].

1.5.1 Manufacturing Applications of Robots :

i) Material handling Depeiletizing/pellitizing

Transporting components
Transfer of components/tools
Bottle loading
parts handling

ii) Machine loading/ Loading parts to CNC machine

unloading components tool
Loading a punch press
Loading a die casting machine
Leading electron beam welding
and laser beam welding m/cs.
Loading/orienting parts to
transfer machines. ' . -
Loading parts on the test
machine.

iii) Spray painting Painting of trucks/automobiles

Painting of agricultural
equipment
Painting of appliance
components

iv) Welding Spot welding

Arc welding
Seam welding of variable width

v) Machining Drilling
Deburring
Sanding
Grinding
Cutting
Forming

vi) Assembly Mating components

Riveting small assemblies

vii) Inspection In-process measuring and

quality control,
Searching the missing parts

viii) Others Heat-treatment,applications of

adhesives, etc.

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 Applications at (i) , (iii) and (iv) are implemented in

the project work.

1.5.2 Non-manufacturing areas of robotic applications :

i) Hazardous environments Like Mining, Nuclear, space

and marine.

ii) Medical Rehabilitation engineering for handicapped,

iii) Distribution Warehousing and Retailing for food

industry,

iv) Agriculture

1.6 FUTURE TRENDS IN ROBOTICS :

Robotics of the future would incorporate more

intelligence than at present [7, 17, 21] . An intelligent

robotic system consisting of many external sensors may

include computer vision. High-level computer vision

interprets images or natural scenes. Intelligent robotic

systems use different robot computer languages like VAL, AL,

WAVE < RAIL, MAL, AUTOPASS, RAPT, etc. However, present-day

emphasis is to develop robot independent programs.

Future trends in the manufacturing industries point to

the use of intelligent work stations in the computer-

integrated manufacturing (CIM) system. Intelligent telerobots

have a great potential to be used in unstructured and

hazardous environments as in mining and deep-sea operations.

Smart robots will play an important role in' homes and they

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can be user-friendly with handicapped persons. It is believed

that the twentyfirst century would combine the full advantage

of the solid-state revolution and information technology to

make mechanized intelligent slaves or intelligent robots for

relieving men from the burden of subhuman tasks.

1.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS :

This chapter gives the historical development in the

field of robotics and its broad definition. Classification

based upon configuration, control system, transmission media,

programming system and generation are highlighted. In the

end, the chapter deals with present applications and future

trends.

Chapter -2 is devoted to literature review and state of

the Art.

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