Robotics (ME60352)

PROF. (DR.) DILIP KUMAR PRATIHAR

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, IIT KHARAGPUR

1
 Books

Textbook

 Fundamentals of Robotics by D.K. Pratihar

Reference Books

 Robotics by Fu, Gonzalez and Lee

 Introduction to Robotics by Craig

2
Topic 1: Introduction to Robots and Robotics

3
 Introduction to Robots and Robotics
A Few Questions

 What is a robot?
 What is robotics?
 Why do we study robotics?
 How can we teach a robot to perform a particular task?
 What are possible applications of robots?
 Can a human being be replaced by a robot?,
and so on.

4
Definitions

 The term: robot has come from the Czech word: robota, which
means forced or slave laborer

 In 1921, Karel Capek, a Czech playwright, used the term: robot

first in his drama named Rossum’s Universal Robots (R.U.R)

 According to Karel Capek, a robot is a machine look-wise similar

to a human being

5
Robot has been defined in various ways:

1) According to Oxford English Dictionary A machine

capable of carrying out a complex series of actions
automatically, especially one programmable by a computer

2) According to International Organization for Standardization

(ISO): An automatically controlled, reprogrammable,
multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes,
which can be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial
automation applications

6
3) According to Robot Institute of America (RIA) 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

Note: A CNC machine is not a robot

7
Robotics

 It is a science, which deals with the issues related to design,

manufacturing, usages of robots

 In 1942, the term: robotics was introduced by Isaac Asimov in his

story named Runaround

 In robotics, we use the fundamentals of Physics, Mathematics,

Mechanical Engg., Electronics Engg., Electrical Engg., Computer
Sciences, and others

8
3 Hs in Robotics

3 Hs of human beings are copied into Robotics, such as

 Hand

 Head

 Heart

9
Motivation
To cope with increasing demands of a dynamic and
competitive market, modern manufacturing methods should
satisfy the following requirements:
 Reduced production cost
 Increased productivity
 Improved product quality

Notes:
(1) Automation can help to fulfil the above requirements
(2) Automation: Either Hard or flexible automation
(3) Robotics is an example of flexible automation

10
 A Brief History of Robotics

Year Events and Development

1954 First patent on manipulator by George Devol, the
father of robot

1956 Joseph Engelberger started the first robotics

company: Unimation

1962 General Motors used the manipulator: Unimate in

die-casting application

11
Year Events and Development
1967 General Electric Corporation made a 4-legged
vehicle
1969  SAM was built by the NASA, USA
 Shakey, an intelligent mobile robot, was built by
Stanford Research Institute (SRI)
1970  Victor Scheinman demonstrated a manipulator
known as Stanford Arm
 Lunokhod I was built and sent to the moon by
USSR
 ODEX 1 was built by Odetics

12
Year Events and Development

1973 Richard Hohn of Cincinnati Milacron

Corporation manufactured T3 (The Tomorrow
Tool) robot

1975 Raibart at CMU, USA, built a one-legged

hopping machine, the first dynamically stable
machine

1978 Unimation developed PUMA (Programmable

Universal Machine for Assembly)

13
Year Events and Development

1983 Odetics introduced a unique experimental six-

legged device

1986 ASV (Adaptive Suspension Vehicle) was

developed at Ohio State University, USA

1997 Pathfinder and Sojourner was sent to the Mars

by the NASA, USA

14
Year Events and Development
2000 Asimo humanoid robot was developed by Honda

2004 The surface of the Mars was explored by Spirit and

Opportunity

2012 Curiosity was sent to the Mars by the NASA, USA

2015 Sophia (humanoid) was built by Hanson Robotics,

Hong Kong

15
A Robotic System Various Components
1.Base
2.Links and Joints
3.End-effector /
gripper
4.Wrist
5.Drive / Actuator
6.Controller
7. Sensors

16
 Interdisciplinary Areas in Robotics
Mechanical Engineering

 Kinematics: Motion of robot arm without considering the

forces and /or moments

 Dynamics: Study of the forces and/or moments

 Sensing: Collecting information of the environment

17
 Interdisciplinary Areas in Robotics (Cont.)
Computer Science
 Motion Planning: Planning the course of action
 Artificial Intelligence: To design and develop suitable brain for
the robots

Electrical and Electronics Engg.

 Control schemes and hardware implementations

General Sciences
 Physics
 Mathematics

18
Connectivity / Degrees of Freedom of a Joint
It indicates the number of rigid (bodies) that can be connected to a
fixed rigid body through the said joint

Joints with One dof

Revolute Joint (R)

19
Joints with One dof
Prismatic Joint (P)

20
Joints with two dof
Cylindrical Joint (C)

21
Joints with two dof
Hooke Joint or Universal Joint (U)

22
Joints with three dof
Ball and Socket Joint / Spherical Joint

23
Representation of the Joints
Revolute joint (R)

Prismatic joint (P)

Cylindrical joint (C)

24
Representation of the Joints
Spherical joint

Hooke joint (U)

Twisting joint (T)

Kinematic Diagram

25
Degrees of Freedom of a System
It is defined as the minimum number of independent parameters /
variables / coordinates needed to describe a system completely

Notes
 A point in 2-D: 2 dof; in 3-D space: 3 dof
 A rigid body in 3-D: 6 dof
 Spatial Manipulator: 6 dof
 Planar Manipulator: 3 dof

26
Redundant Manipulator

Either a Spatial Manipulator with more than 6 dof

or a Planar Manipulator with more than 3 dof

Under-actuated Manipulator

Either a Spatial Manipulator with less than 6 dof

or a Planar Manipulator with less than 3 dof

27
Mobility/dof of Spatial Manipulator
Let us consider a manipulator with n rigid moving
links and m joints
: Connectivity of i-th joint; i = 1, 2, 3,………, m

No. of constraints put by i-th joint

Total no. of constraints

Mobility of the manipulator

It is known as Grubler’s criterion.

28
Mobility/dof of Planar Manipulator
Let us consider a manipulator with n rigid moving
links and m joints
: Connectivity of i-th joint; i = 1, 2, 3,………, m

No. of constraints put by i-th joint

Total no. of constraints

Mobility of the manipulator

It is known as Grubler’s criterion.

29
 Numerical Example
Serial planar manipulator
𝒏=𝟒 , 𝒎=𝟒
𝑪𝟏=𝑪 𝟐=𝑪𝟑=𝑪 𝟒=𝟏

Mobility/dof:
𝒎
𝑴 =𝟑𝒏 − ∑ ( 𝟑 − 𝑪 𝒊 )=𝟑 × 𝟒 −𝟖=𝟒
𝒊=𝟏

30
Parallel planar manipulator

𝒏=𝟕 , 𝒎=𝟗
𝑪𝒊=𝟏 , 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊=𝟏 , … , 𝟗

Mobility/dof:
𝒎
𝑴 =𝟑𝒏 − ∑ ( 𝟑 − 𝑪 𝒊 )=𝟑 ×𝟕 − 𝟏𝟖=𝟑
𝒊=𝟏

31
Parallel spatial manipulator

𝒏=𝟏𝟑, 𝒎=𝟏𝟖

Mobility/dof:
𝒎
𝑴 =𝟔𝒏 − ∑ ( 𝟔 − 𝑪 𝒊 )=𝟔 ×𝟏𝟑 − 𝟕𝟐=𝟔
𝒊=𝟏

32
Classification of Robots

 Based on the Type of Tasks Performed

1. Point-to-Point Robots
Examples:
Unimate 2000
T3

33
2. Continuous Path Robots
Examples:
PUMA
CRS

34
 Based on the Type of Controllers
1. Non-Servo-Controlled Robots
 Open-loop control system
Examples: Seiko PN-100
• Less accurate and less expensive

2. Servo-Controlled Robots

 Closed-loop control system

Examples: Unimate 2000, PUMA,
T3
• More accurate and more expensive

35
 Based on Configuration (coordinate
system) of the Robot
1. Cartesian Coordinate Robots
 Linear movement along three
different axes
 Have either sliding or prismatic
joints, that is, SSS or PPP
 Rigid and accurate
 Suitable for pick and place type of
operations
 Examples: IBM’s RS-1, Sigma robot

36
2. Cylindrical Coordinate Robots
 Two linear and one rotary
movements
 Represented as TPP, TSS
 Used to handle parts/ objects in
manufacturing
 Cannot reach the objects lying on the
floor
 Poor dynamic performance
 Examples: Versatran 600

37
3. Spherical Coordinate or Polar
Coordinate Robots
 One linear and two rotary movement
 Represented as TRP, TRS
 Suitable for handling parts/objects in
manufacturing
 Can pick up objects lying on the floor
 Poor dynamic performance
 Examples: Unimate 2000B

38
4. Revolute Coordinate or Articulated
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

39
• Based on Mobility Levels

1. Robots with fixed base (also known as manipulators)

Manipulators

Serial Parallel
PUMA, CRS Stewart platform

40
• Based on Mobility Levels (contd.)

2. Mobile robots
Mobile robots

Wheeled robots Tracked robots Multi-legged robots

41
• Based on Mobility Levels (contd.)

2. Mobile robots

Wheeled Robot Six-legged Robot

42
Workspace of Manipulators

It is the volume of space that the end-effector of a manipulator can reach

Workspace

Dextrous Reachable

43
Dextrous Workspace
It is the volume of space, which the robot’s end-effector can reach with various
orientations

Reachable Workspace
It is the volume of space that the end-effector can reach with one orientation

Note
Dextrous workspace is a subset of the
reachable workspace

44
Workspace of Cartesian Coordinate Robot

45
Workspace of Cylindrical Coordinate Robot

46
Workspace of Spherical Coordinate Robot

47
Workspace of Revolute Coordinate Robot

48