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A robot is a machine designed to execute one or more tasks repeatedly, with speed and precision. There are as many different types of robots as there are tasks for them to perform.
A robot can be controlled by a human operator, sometimes from a great distance. But most robots are controlled by computer, and fall into either of two categories: autonomous robots and insect robots. An autonomous robot acts as a stand-alone system, complete with its own computer (called the controller). Insect robots work in fleets ranging in number from a few to thousands, with all fleet members under the supervision of a single controller. The term insect arises from the similarity of the system to a colony of insects, where the individuals are simple but the fleet as a whole can be sophisticated.
Some advanced robots are called androids because of their superficial resemblance to human beings. Androids are mobile, usually moving around on wheels or a track drive (robots legs are unstable and difficult to engineer). The android is not necessarily the end point of robot evolution. Some of the most esoteric and powerful robots do not look or behave anything like humans. The ultimate in robotic intelligence and sophistication might take on forms yet to be imagined.
Industrial robots can nowadays be referred to as an important and reliable technology in factory automation. To be able to use the robot in an effective way as possible, a good knowledge about the characteristics and possibilities of the robot is needed.
Robots are used in a number of different tasks and processes. It is then important that the processes are well known so that process variables and breakdowns can be predicted. This demand is increasing in the future because of the steps towards smaller batches, flexible manufacturing systems and computer integrated manufacturing. With these factors in mind it is probably expected that there will be an increasing need of sensors and sensor systems in factory automation. Through this the possibilities towards integrated production with mixed production and shorter set-up times will increase. In this development the use of robots in factory automation will take an exceptional position due to its programmable and flexible mechanical structure.
The term "robot" was originally used to refer to an automated humanoid machine, although in the world of science and technology the word has had a much wider application. In industry the term is applied to automated systems ranging from the simple to the very complex. The word "robot" has its origin from the German word "robat". This word survived in the Polish and Czeckish languages as "robota" and means compulsory labour. It appears that the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov was the first to use the word "robotics" to describe robot technology. Asimov also proposed his three "Laws of Robotics":
First law: A robot must not harm a human being, nor through inaction allow one to come to harm.
Second law: A robot must always obey human beings, unless that is in conflict with the first law.
Third law: A robot must protect itself from being harm, unless that is in conflict with the first and second laws.
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Robots are sometimes grouped according to the time frame in which they were first widely used. First-generation robots date from the 1970s and consist of stationary, nonprogrammable, electromechanical devices without sensors. Second-generation robots were developed in the 1980s and can contain sensors and programmable controllers. Third-generation robots were developed between approximately 1990 and the present. These machines can be stationary or mobile, autonomous or insect type, with sophisticated programming, speech recognition and/or synthesis, and other advanced features. Fourth-generation robots are in the research-and-development phase, and include features such as artificial intelligence, self-replication, self assembly, and nanoscale size (physical dimensions on the order of nanometers, or units of 10-9 meter).
The first programmable robot is designed by George C. Devol
In 1954, who coins the term Universal Automation. Devol is
Joined by Joseph F. Engelberger in 1956, they had shorten the
Name to Unimation and the first successful robot manufacturing
company
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Joseph F. Engelberger, is entitled to be the father of robotics, together with George C. Devol developed the first commercial robot, Unimate, in 1961. It was placed on Ford and was there used for a press-loading operation. A picture of the first generation robots from Unimate can be seen in the picture below. |
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The first robots were principally intended to replacing humans in monotonous, heavy and hazardous processes. A distinctive feature of the use of the newly developed robots was in handling of materials and work pieces without direct control or participation in the manufacturing process. Robots did not become a major force in industry generally until they had been used extensively in the Japanese automobile industry. |
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