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EX NO: 01
STUDY ON BASICS OF ROBOTS
DATE :
Objective:
To study the
Parts of the robot
Classification of robots
Description:
The industrial robots shown in fig 1.1 resemble an inverted human arm mounted on a base. The most
complex robotics system can be broken down into a few basic components.
The various components of the robots are,
Fig 1.1: Industrial robotic arm
Manipulator
End effector
Actuator
Sensors
Power supply
Means for programming
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Fig 1.1: Basic components of a robot
Manipulator:
Manipulator is the main body of the robot and consists of the links, joints, and other structural elements of
the robot.
End Effector:
End effector is the last part attached the last joint of a manipulator which generally handles objects, makes
connection to other machines or performs the required tasks. Grippers, welding torch, point spray gun,
glue – laying gun etc. are some of the examples of end effector.
Actuator:
An actuator is a motor or valve that converts power in to robot movements. There are two basic types of
actuators namely linear and rotary actuators. Linear actuators provide motion along a straight line. Rotary
actuators provide rotation, moving their loads in arc or circle.
Sensors:
Sensors are used to collect information about the internal state of the robot or to communicate with the
outside environment. Robots are often equipped with external sensory devices such as a vision system,
touch and tactile sensors, speech synthesizers etc., which enables the robot to communicate with the
outside world.
Power Supply:
Power supply provides the energy to drive the controller and actuators. It may convert ac voltage to the dc
voltage require by the robots internal circuits, or it may be a pump or compressor providing hydraulic or
pneumatic power. The three basic types or power supplies are electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic.
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Means for programming:
A robot may be programmed using any of several different methods. The teach pendant, also called a
teach box or hand held programmer. The teach pendant, also called a teach box or hand held programmer
shown in figure teaches a robot the movements required to perform a useful task. The operator uses a
teach pedant to move the robot through the series of points that describes its desired path. Offline
programming is one of the other methods where the programming is done on the computer using
simulation software without actually connecting it to the robot. After the successful simulation in the
software the robot can be loaded with the program.
Fig 1.1: Teach pendant
Classification of robot:
Robot can be classified in two types based on their mobility.
Mobile Robots
Non Mobile Robots
Mobile Robots:
Mobile Robots have the capability move from one place to another place in an environment. Usually a
mobile robots will have wheels attached to a platform and in some cases such as in humanoid robot or
other robot which resembles insect usually have legs for mobility. Other types of mobile robot are robots
which has the ability to fly like quadricopter. Few examples of mobile robot are show in the below figure
1.2 and 1.3.
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Fig 1.2: ASIMO Humanoid robot developed by HONDA Fig 1.3: NASA ‘s SPIRIT ROVER in planet MARS
Non-mobile Robot:
Industrial robotic arm is usually a non-mobile robot, which has a fixed base so it cannot move from one
place to another. The robot shown in fig 1.4 is a typical industrial robot developed by KUKA.
Fig 1.4 is a typical industrial robot developed by KUKA.
Conclusion:
By this above study experiment basic hardware components of robot and their classification based on their
mobility has been studied successfully.
