Dr. Brian Mac Namee (www.comp.dit.

ie/bmacnamee)
Mobile Robotics:
2. Robotics Fundamentals
 2
of
25
26 Acknowledgments
These notes are based (heavily)
on those provided by the authors
to accompany Introduction to
Autonomous Mobile Robots by
Roland Siegwart and Illah R.
Nourbakhsh

More information about the book is available at:

http://autonomousmobilerobots.epfl.ch/
The book can be bought at:
The MIT Press and Amazon.com
 3
of
25
26 Contents
Today well look in more detail at what we
mean when we talk about robots
Definition
Taxonomy
Applications
Advantages & disadvantages
Components
Autonomous robot control
 4
of
25
26 What Is A Robot?
The term robot was first
introduced by the Czech
playwright Karel apek in his
1921 play Rossums Universal
Robots (the word robota being
the Czech word for worker)
We will use the following Karel apek was one of
definition: the most influential
Czech writers of the
a robot is an artificial physical 20th century. At one time
the Gestapo had
agent that performs tasks by ranked him as "public
enemy number 2" in
manipulating the physical world Czechoslovakia!
 5
of
25
26 Robot Taxonomy
The Japanese Industrial Robot Association
gives the following classification of robots:
Class 1: Manual Handling Device
Class 2: Fixed Sequence Robot
Class 3: Variable Sequence Robot
Class 4: Playback Robot
Class 5: Numerical Control Robot
Class 6: Intelligent Robot
 6
of
25
26 Robot Taxonomy
We are primarily interested in intelligent robots
and can break these down simply as follows:
Manipulator robots
Mobile robots
Humanoid robots
 7
of
25
26 Manipulator Robots
Physically anchored to their
workplace
Manipulator motion usually
involves an entire chain of
controllable joints, enabling
such robots to place their
effectors in any position
within the workplace
Manipulators are by far the most common type
of industrial robots - a 2 billion dollar industry!
 8
of
25
26 Mobile Robots
We can divide mobile robots into the following
categories:
Wheeled robots
Legged robots
Aerial robots (UAVs)
Others
 9
of
25
26 Wheeled Robots

For more on the DARPA Grand Challenge go to:

www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/index.asp
10
of
25
26 Legged Robots

For more on Boston Dynamics go to: www.bostondynamics.com

11
of
25
26 Aerial Robots

More information on these projects can be found at:

lis.epfl.ch/index.html?content=research/projects/BioinspiredFlyingRobots/index.php
12
of
25
26 Aerial Robots

More information on these projects can be found at:

lis.epfl.ch/index.html?content=research/projects/BioinspiredFlyingRobots/index.php
13
of
25
26 Other Mobile Robots

A video of a slightly scary robotic amphibious snake

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/acm-r5-amphibious-snake-like-robot
14
of
25
26 Humanoid Robots
Hybrid robot: a mobile robot equipped with
manipulators
Hybrids can apply their effectors further a-field
then anchored manipulators
However, their task is made harder because
they dont have the rigidity that the anchor
provides
15
of
25
26 ASIMO

ASIMO slalom video available at:

world.honda.com/HDTV/ASIMO/New-ASIMO-slaloming/index.html
Loads of ASIMO videos are available from HONDA at:
world.honda.com/HDTV/ASIMO/
16
of
25
26 Robot Applications
Indoor Structured Environments
Transportation
Customer support in museums, shops, etc.
Cleaning large buildings
Building surveillance
Research
Entertainment
17
of
25
26 Robot Applications (cont)
Outdoor Unstructured Environments
Space Construction
Mining Fire fighting
Sewage tubes Military
Forest Underwater
Agriculture Aerial
18
of
25
26 Advantages
The major advantages of robots are:
Decreased labor costs
Increased precision and productivity
Increased flexibility compared with specialised
machines
Robots can perform dull, repetitive jobs
Robots can operate in hazardous environments
19
of
25
26 Components
The major components of a mobile robot are:
Power supply
Sensors Power Control
Control
Actuators
Sensors Actuators

Environment
20
of
25
26 Components (cont)
Power Supply: the power plant and
associated power transmission system, such
as a battery with associated equipment, or a
power supply unit which converts electricity
from the mains to appropriate power
requirements
Sensors: Including lasers, cameras, sonar and
microphones, sensors enable robots to collect
information about their own state and the state
of their environment
21
of
25
26 Components (cont)
Actuators: devices which transduce power
into kinetic energy or movement
Types of actuators include:
Electric motors
Pneumatic actuation (using compressed gas)
Hydraulic actuation (using pressurized fluids)
Robotic end effectors (e.g. grippers)
Control Subsystem: responsible for
evaluating the information collected and
processed by sensors and for planning actions
22
of
25
26 Robot Control Mechanisms
Robots may be controlled:
Directly by a human, such as remotely-controlled
bomb-disposal robots, robotic arms, or shuttles
Autonomously according to their own decision
making ability, provided by artificial intelligence
Many robots fall in-between these extremes,
being controlled by pre-programmed
computers
23
of
25
26 Mobile Robot Control
Tele-operated
Pioneer, robot that
was designed to
explore the
Sarcophagus at
Chernobyl
24
of
25
26 Mobile Robot Control (cont)
Autonoumous
EPFL Guide Robot
We are primarily
interested in autonomous
robots
25
of
25
26 Autonomous Robot Control

Control

Deliberative
Behaviour

Reactive
Sensors Behaviour Actuators

Environment
26
of
25
26 Summary
Today we:
Defined what we mean by a robot
Investigated some of the areas in which robots
are used
Defined the key components of a robot
Started to think about robot control mechanisms
Next time we start the real work
27
of
25
26 Questions