History of Robotics

The fun and intresting
sides, a little history, some intresting uses,
impacts of robots and some future ideas.

By Mike Williams
11/08/02
For Fun and Enjoyment
And a Class Assignment
Ball State University
ITDPT 303 Manufacturing Systems
HowardCountyBC.jpg
welding%20robot-3.jpg
Image From
 Image From
http://www.robotfactory.com
 http://www.panasonicrobots.com

INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
HOW ROBOTS WORK
USES FOR ROBOTS
IMPACT OF ROBOTS
FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGIES

INTRODUCTION

“Robotics, computer-controlled machine that is programmed to move, manipulate objects, and accomplish work while interacting with its environment. Robots are able to perform repetitive tasks more quickly, cheaply, and accurately than humans. The term robot originates from the Czech word robota, meaning “compulsory labor.” It was first used in the 1921 play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by the Czech novelist and playwright Karel Capek. The word robot has been used since to refer to a machine that performs work to assist people or work that humans find difficult or undesirable.”
(MSN Learning & Research. 2002)

American Heritage Dictionary: robot (rbt,-bt) n.
  1. A mechanical device that sometimes resembles a human being and is capable of performing a variety of often complex human tasks on command or by being programmed in advance.
  2. A machine or device that operates automatically or by remote control.
  3. A person who works mechanically without original thought, especially one who responds automatically to the commands of others.
Webster:
  1. a : a machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts ( as walking or talking) of a human being; a similar but fictional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized b : an efficient insensitive person who functions automatically.
  2. a device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks.
  3. a mechanism guided by automatic controls.
(Robotics Introduction. 2002)

The robots in the movies are portrayed as fantastic, intelligent, and sometime dangerous artificial life. But robots are really working for people and performing tasked for them and tasks that may be dangerous. And in the future robots will show up in schools, homes and even in parts of the body. As technology advances we are finding more ways to use robots  and greater ways to use them.
(The Tech. 2001)

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HISTORY

In the early 1800’s mechanical puppets were first built in Europe, just for entertainment value. And these were called robots since there parts were driven by linkage and cams and controlled by rotating drum selectors. In 1801 Joseph Maria Jacquard made the next great change and invented the automatic draw loom. The draw loom would punch cards and was used to control the lifting of thread in fabric factories. This was the first to be able to store a program and control a machine. After that there were many small changes in robotics but we were slowly moving forward.
(UK Robot. 2001)

The first industrial robots were Unimates developed by George Devol and Joe Engelberger in the late 50’s and early 60’s. The first patents we by Devol but Engelberger formed Unimation which was the first market robots. So Engelberger has been called the “father of robotics”.  For a while the economic viability of these robots proved disastrous and thing slowed down for robotics. But the industry recovered and by the mid-80’s robotics was back on track. 
(Dowling, Kevin. 1996 )

George Devol Jr, in 1954 developed the multijointed artificial arm which lead to the modern robots. But mechanical engineer Victor Scheinman, developed the truly flexible arm know as the Programmable Universal Manipulation Arm (PUMA).
(MSN Leaning & Research. 2002 )

In 1950 Isaac Asimov came up with laws for robots and these were:
  1. A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the first law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.
(Robotics Introduction. 2001.)

Mobile Robotics moved into its own in 1983 when Odetics introduced this six-legged vehicle which was capable of climbing over objects. This robot could lift over 5.6 times its own weight parked and 2.3 times it weight moving. 
(UK Robotics 2001)

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Image from
http://robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/groups/rv/homepage.html

HOW ROBOTS WORK

“The inspiration for the design of a robot manipulator is the human arm, but with some differences. For example, a robot arm can extend by telescoping—that is, by sliding cylindrical sections one over another to lengthen the arm. Robot arms also can be constructed so that they bend like an elephant trunk. Grippers, or end effectors, are designed to mimic the function and structure of the human hand. Many robots are equipped with special purpose grippers to grasp particular devices such as a rack of test tubes or an arc-welder.  The joints of a robotic arm are usually driven by electric motors. In most robots, the gripper is moved from one position to another, changing its orientation. A computer calculates the joint angles needed to move the gripper to the desired position in a process known as inverse kinematics.  Some multi-jointed arms are equipped with servo, or feedback, controllers that receive input from a computer. Each joint in the arm has a device to measure its angle and send that value to the controller. If the actual angle of the arm does not equal the computed angle for the desired position, the servo controller moves the joint until the arm's angle matches the computed angle. Controllers and associated computers also must process sensor information collected from cameras that locate objects to be grasped, or they must touch sensors on grippers that regulate the grasping force.  Any robot designed to move in an unstructured or unknown environment will require multiple sensors and controls, such as ultrasonic or infrared sensors, to avoid obstacles. Robots, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planetary rovers, require a multitude of sensors and powerful onboard computers to process the complex information that allows them mobility. This is particularly true for robots designed to work in close proximity with human beings, such as robots that assist persons with disabilities and robots that deliver meals in a hospital. Safety must be integral to the design of human service robots.”
(MSN Learning & Research. 2000.)

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USES FOR ROBOTS

700,000 robots were in the industrial world in 1995 and over 500,000 we used in Japan.  About 120,000 in Western Europe and 60,000 in the United States and many were doing tasks to dangerous or unpleasant for humans.  Some of the hazardous jobs are handling material such a blood or urine samples, searching building for fugitives and deep water search. And even some jobs that are repetitive and these can be run 24hrs a day without getting tired.  General Motors Corporation uses these robots for spot welding, painting, machine loading, parts transfer, and assembly. Assembly lines are the fastest growing because  of higher precision and lower cost for labor.
(MSN Learning & Research. 2000.)

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Image from
http://www.kipr.org/robots/tm.html

Tin Man I

The Tin Man was built by KISS Institute; it is a robot wheelchair which can automate some of the navigation and steering for someone with extreme disabilities. It can find its way through doorways, follow hallways and do limited reckoning navigation.
(Kiss Institute. 2002.)

EDUCATION

HowardCountyBC.jpg
Image From
http://www.robotfactory.com

“The Howard County Sheriff's department of Kokomo, Indiana, purchased a new “Buddy Car” in June 1999. Sheriff Jerry Marr said he knew it was going to attract a lot of attention, but when he took it to their county fair he said the results were “unbelievable”! They promote a seat belt safety program at the fair and of course his robot “deputy” had his seat belt on!  Sheriff Marr purchased his robot with three different interchangeable characters. He is using “Hairy” for the younger children, “Edgar” Eagle for the older children and he saves the “deputy” for events like the county fair. They also have the car custom painted and detailed to match the real Indiana Sheriff cars.  Howard County found an unusual benefit with the robot apart from public education: A 5-year-old girl who had been domestically abused did not want to talk with adults but she talked to the robot.”
(Robot Factory. 2000.)

ENTERTAINMENT

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Image From
http://www.robotfactory.com/edu.htm

“Since buying an animated “Hairy” with piano way back in 1993 we have played every gig imaginable. Hotel functions, corporate events, shopping malls, many parties and many fundraisers. Not only did the units pay for themselves within 18 months, but we had to buy another piano unit a few years ago due to the high demand for Hairy's performance. So thanks, The Robot Factory. You changed our lives. Keep doing it! Alan at Animates in Scotland. “
(Robot Factory. 2000.)

ADVERTISING

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Image From
http://www.robotfactory.com/edu.htm

 “The Zamboni robot has added excitement & helped developed fan loyalty from the ice and concourse. It has also been very effective in our off site educational and promotional activities.  Our robot has proved to be a great investment.”
(Robot Factory. 2000.)

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IMPACT OF ROBOTS

Robotics produces higher quality and lower cost to the manufacturing industry. But this can cause loss to the unskilled jobs but create new jobs for skilled people in software and sensor development. These machines will have to be maintained and people will have to be trained on there repair. So you could loss unskilled jobs and maybe train these same people in skilled and the overall loss may not be that bad.
(MSN Learning & Research. 2002.)

Robotics on the production line takes away many job that were done by humans
And this is less cost to the company but lost jobs for paid labor workers.
(Doyle, Joshua. 2000.)

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FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGIES

“Perhaps the most dramatic changes in future robots will arise from their increasing ability to reason. The field of artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from university laboratories to practical application in industry, and machines are being developed that can perform cognitive tasks, such as strategic planning and learning from experience. Increasingly, diagnosis of failures in aircraft or satellites, the management of a battlefield, or the control of a large factory will be performed by intelligent computers.”
(MSN Learning & Research. 2002.)

SchoolNet Robotics-Future Project

All these and more information can be found at SchoolNet Robotics 2001.

Technology of the Future: Teleportation

We've all seen on "Star Trek" how the dudes are beamed to and from the Enterprise. Now scientists have figured out how to do it in the lab. Sort of.  What they've "teleported" is a photon, or particle of light. If I understand it correctly, the photon wasn't exactly teleported. You won't be able to teleport to Hawaii or out of math class anytime soon (give it a thousand years). But the technique could be used in encryption, moving nano-scale objects, and especially quantum computing.  Email is fast, but consider being able to teleport information to the opposite end of the globe instantly. It could happen. For more information, read about IBM's research.
(TechTv. 2001.)

Technology of the Future: Nanotechnology  

Nanotechnology is the business of studying, manipulating, and piecing together very small things. How small? The standard measurement of nanotechnology -- one million nanometers -- could fit on the head of a pin. We're talking about molecules, DNA, atoms.   What good is it? Doctors could send tiny probes into your body to diagnose and perhaps repair problems. Satellites and spy-probes could be the size of a thumbnail. Unbelievably efficient solar panels could be produced using DNA molecules, potentially assisting us with an energy crisis that in all likelihood will only get worse going forward.  How serious is it? Last year President Clinton endorsed $495 million in funding to the National Nanotechnology Initiative. You can learn all about nanotechnology, and about what the federally funded scientists plan to do with all that money.  On a recent show, Brian Hubert from MIT visited us. He's a nanotechnologist, and he has a great article about nanotechnology.
(TechTv. 2002.)

Technology of the Future: Data Storage

Scientists have been working on using holographs as data storage media for forty years. Holographic memory has the potential to store trillions of bytes of data on a piece of crystalline material the size of a compact disc.  Because the basis of holographic storage is light, data can be retrieved far faster than will ever be possible with magnetic storage (microseconds as opposed to milliseconds for magnetic storage). How does it work in detail? Refer to this excellent article in Scientific American.
(TechTv. 2002)

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Robotics at Universities

•         Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute
•         Social Robots -- DESIRE Research
•         Galilei Global Directory of Universities
•         Internetworked Control of Scalable Direct Drive Robots
•         Robotics Laboratory at Laval University
•         Microrobot Ants at MIT
•         Boston University
•         Univ of S. CA Robotics Research Lab
•         Univ of Manchester
•         Stanford Robotics Lab
•         Univ of Indiana
•         Univ of Mass Robotics
•         UC Berkeley Robotics and Intelligent Machines Lab
•         General Robotics and Active Sensory Perception (GRASP) Lab
•         Central R&D Institute for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics St.Petersburg, Russia
•         Dr. Johann Borenstein U. of Michigan Advanced Technologies Lab
•         Anita Flynn's Home Page at MIT AI
(Robotics. 2001)

REFERENCES

The Robot Factory Inc. (2000).  “Education.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/08/2002. http://www.robotfactory.com/edu.htm

Robot Worx Inc. (2001). “Robots4welding.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/08/2002. http://www.panasonicrobots.com/home.htm

MSN Learning & Research. (2002). “Robot.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 09/16/2002. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761564255

Robotics Introduction. (2000). “Definitions.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/09/2002. http://www.ee.scu.edu/classes/2000winter/elen337/Lecture1/tsld003.htm

The Tech. (2001). “Introduction to Robotics.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/14/2002. http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/robots/intro/

UK Robot. (2001). “History of Robotic.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 09/16/2002. http://www.ukrobot.co.uk/html/main.htm

Dowling, Kevin. (1996). “Robotics, Frequently asked Questions.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/08/2002. http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/robotics-faq/1.html

MSN Learning & Research. (2002). “Robot.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 09/16/2002. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761564255

Robotics Introduction. (2001). “Definitions, Etymology.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/14/2002. http://www.ee.scu.edu/classes/2000winter/elen337/Lecture1/tsld002.htm

JPL Robotics. (2000). “ Robotic Vehicles.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 09/16/2002. http://robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/groups/rv/homepage.html

MSN Learning & Research. (2002). “Robot.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/14/2002.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761564255

Kiss Institute. (2002). “Tin Man.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/09/2002.
http://www.kipr.org/robots/tm.html

The Robot Factory Inc. (2000). “Education.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/08/2002. http://www.robotfactory.com/edu.htm

Doyle, Joshua. (2000). “Social Impact.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/14/2002.
http://www.smcc.qld.edu.au/ipt/issues/2000/2-27.htm

SchoolNet Robotics (2001). “Future Projects.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 09/16/2002. . http://www.schoolnet.ca/vp-pv/robotics/e/projects/future.html

TechTv. (2001). “Teleportation.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/14/2002.
http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/twistedlist/jump/0,24331,3320685,00.html

TechTv. (2001). “Nanotechnology.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/14/2002.
http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/twistedlist/jump/0,24331,3320686,00.html

TechTv. (2001). “Data Storage.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/14/2002.
http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/twistedlist/jump/0,24331,3320682,00.html

Robotics. (2001). “Robotics at Universities.” Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 10/14/2002.
http://www.robotics.com/cartoons