Introduction to Robotics

SUBJECT:

MTS 417: Introduction to Robotics

CREDIT HOURS:

3-1

CONTACT HOURS:

6 Hours per Week

TEXT BOOKS:

Introduction to Robotics by JJ Craig, Latest

Edition

REFERENCE BOOKS:

A Mathematical Introduction to Robotic

Manipulation by R. M. Murray, Z. Li, S. S.Sastry

PREREQUISITE:

ME-230: Engineering Dynamics

Course Instructor :

Lec Aqeela Mir

(MS Mechatronics, CEME, NUST)
aqeela_mir123@hotmail.com

Lab Instructor:

LE Adnan Shujah
(BS Mechatronics, CEME, NUST)
adnan_shujah@yahoo.com

Mark Distribution
Sessionals
Lab
Quizzes
Assignments
Final

25%
25%
07%
03%
40%

S.No

Topic

Week/Lecture

Types of robots

Types of joints used in robots

Spatial descriptions

3-5

Manipulator Kinematics

6-8

Jacobians

9-11

Inverse kinematics

12

Dynamics of Robots

13-14

Path Planning and Trajectory Analysis

15

Control

16

Learning Outcomes
1.

Analyze a serial manipulator and develop geometric

descriptions of the position and orientation of the robots
linkages

2.

Apply forward/inverse kinematics equations for serial

mechanism
Apply force and velocity analysis/ transformations on
mechanisms
Understand and able to solve basic robotic dynamics, path
planning and control problems.
Use modern analytical tools, test equipment and computer
aided design to assemble different types of robotic systems
and measure performance.

3.
4.
5.

Course Targets
S.No Outcomes

Level of
Learning

PLO

Analyze a serial manipulator and develop geometric

descriptions of the position and orientation of the
robots linkages

C4

Apply forward/inverse kinematics equations for serial

mechanism

C3

Apply force and velocity analysis/ transformations on

mechanisms

C3

Understand and able to solve basic robotic dynamics,

path planning and control problems.

C2

Use modern analytical tools, test equipment and

computer aided design to assemble different types of
robotic systems and measure performance.

P4

Lecture 1

What is a Robot ?

322 B.C If every tool, when ordered, or even of its

own accord, could do the work that befits itthen
there would be no need either of apprentices for the
master workers or the slaves for the lords - Aristotle

1495 Leonard da Vinci designs a

mechanical clockwork that sits up, waves
its arms and moves its head

1738 Jacques de Vaucanson creates a

mechanical duck that was able to eat, flap
its wings and excrete

1769 Wolfgang von Kempelen builds

The Turk, which gained fame as an
automation capable of playing chess until
the hidden human operator was discovered

1921 Karel Capek popularizes the

term robot in a play called R.U.R.
(Rossums Universal Robots) wherein
robot workers take over the earth

1942 Issac Asimov publishes

Runaround, which introduces the
three Laws of Robotics

The term robotics was introduced by Asimov as the science

devoted to the study of robots which was based on the three
fundamental laws:
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 by the human beings,

except when 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

1951 Raymond Goertz builds the first

master/slave tele-operation system for
handling radioactive

1961 Unimate, the first industrial

robot, begins work on a General
Motors assembly line

 A robot is a reprogrammable,
multifunctional manipulator
designed to move materials, parts,
tools, or specialized devices through
variable programmed motions for
the performance of a variety of
tasks
- The Robotics Institute of America

Arent robots more/different?

No single correct definition of robot, but a typical robot will
have several or possibly all of the following properties:
It is artificially created

It can sense its environment and manipulate or interact with

things in it
It has some ability to make choices based on the
environment, often using automatic control or a
preprogrammed sequence

Arent robots more/different?

It is programmable
It moves with one or more axes of rotation or translation

It makes dexterous coordinated movements

It moves without direct human intervention

Robot Examples

Robot Examples

Mars Rovers

RISE (the climbing robot)

Mobile Robots

Robot Examples

Sony AIBO Robot

Rhex hexapod Robot

Robot Examples

Medical Application

Examples : Micro/Nano Robots

Flying insect robot

Bacteria like Microbots to help in

surgery

Examples: Remote Exploration

Planetary Exploration

Underwater Exploration

Examples: Humanoid

Examples: Humanoid

Robot Necessity
Robots are needed for a variety of tasks, few are:
Tasks that humans cannot perform :
Examples are space or underwater exploration, moving in
confined and restrained spaces such as narrow pipes and
passageways are needed in earthquake rescue tasks, and
moving objects that are too small or too big for humans to
handle
Some tasks require performance beyond human capabilities
such as a higher degree of repetitive precision, high-speed
motion, or high levels of strength

Robot Necessity
Task that human do not want to perform:
Repetitive, boring, tedious work such as assembly line work,
ship cleaning and long shift security tasks
Tasks that are dangerous for humans:
Work in dangerous environments such as volcano craters,
space and underwater exploration missions, chemical spill
clean-up, nuclear waste disposal, explosive material
manipulation, and tasks that require prolonged exposure to
cold, heat, pressure, lack of air, or other conditions harmful
to humans

The amusement and entertainment of humans:

Robotic toys for children and robots for the entertainment
industry

Robotics
Robotics is commonly defined as the science studying the
intelligent connection between perception and action
A robotic system is in reality a complex system, functionally
represented by multiple subsystems

Robotic System
The essential component of a robot is the mechanical system
in general, with a locomotion apparatus (wheels, crawlers,
mechanical legs) and manipulation apparatus (mechanical
arms, end-effectors, artificial hands)

The realization of such a system refers to the context of

design of articulated mechanical systems and choice of
materials

Robotic System
The capability to exert as action, both locomotion and
manipulation, is provided by an actuation system which
animates(make alive) the mechanical components of the
robot
The concept of such a system refers to the context of motion
control, dealing with servomotors, drives and transmissions

Robotic System
The capability for perception is entrusted to a sensory
system which can acquire data on the internal status of
mechanical system(proprioceptive sensors, such as position
transducers) and on the external status of the environment
(exteroceptive sensors, such as force sensors and camera)
The realization of such a system refers to the context of
materials properties, signal conditioning, data processing
and information retrieval

Robotic System
The capability for connecting action to perception in an
intelligent fashion is provided by a control system which can
command the execution of the action in respect to the goals
set by the task planning technique, as well as of the
constraints imposed by the robot and the environment
Therefore, it can be said that robotics is an interdisciplinary
subject concerning the areas of mechanics, control,
computers and electronics

Degrees of Freedom
The number of independent movements that an object can
perform in a 3-D space is called the number of degrees of
freedom (DOF)
Thus the rigid body free in space has six degrees of freedom:
- Three for position
- Three for orientation

Degrees of Freedom
These six independent movements
shown in figure are:
Z

Three translations (T1,T2,T3)

representing linear motions along
three perpendicular axis, specify
the position of body in space

T3
R3
R2
O

Three rotations(R1,R2,R3) which

represent angular motions about
the three axis, specify the
orientation of body in space

R1
X

T2
T1

Robot Mechanical Structure

The key feature of a robot is its mechanical structure:
Robots can be classified as :
- Those with a fixed base, robot manipulators, and
- Those with a mobile base, mobile robots

Robot Manipulators
Labor is typically performed by human arms powered by
muscles and augmented by the use of tools. It is therefore
not a coincidence that the first widely commercialized
industrial robots were robotic arms, also called robot
manipulators
The mechanical structure of a robot manipulator consists of
a sequence of rigid bodies(links) interconnected by means of
articulations(joints)
A manipulator is characterized by an arm that ensures
mobility, a wrist that confers dexterity(skill and grace in
physical movement) and an end-effector that performs the
task required of the robot

Robot Manipulators

Mitsubishi PA-10 robotic arm

Robot Manipulators
Robots like PA-10, as electromechanical devices, can easily
far exceed the capabilities of the human arm in terms of
strength, range of motions, speed of action, precision,
repeatability and endurance
Today, robot manipulators constitute the largest portion of
industrial robots in operation in the world

Robot Manipulators
The fundamental structure of a
manipulator is the serial or open
kinematic chain
From a topological viewpoint, a
kinematic chain is termed open when
there is only one sequence of links
connecting the two ends of the chain
Alternatively, a manipulator contains
a closed kinematic chain when a
sequence of links forms a loop

Robot Manipulators

A manipulators ability is ensured by

the presence of joints. The
articulation between two consecutive
links can be realized by means of
either a prismatic or a revolute joint
In an open kinematic chain, each
prismatic or revolute joint provides
the structure with a single degree of
freedom(DOF)
A prismatic joint creates a relative
translational motion between the two
links, whereas a revolute joint creates
a relative rotational motion between
the two links

Robot Manipulators(DOF)
The degree of freedom should be
properly distributed along the
mechanical structure in order to
have a sufficient number to execute
a given task

B, C
J2 joint

Consider an open kinematic chain

of two links with revolute joints at A
and B(or C) as shown in figure
Here, the first link is connected to
the ground by a joint at A

A
J1 joint
Ground

Robot Manipulators(DOF)
Therefore, link 1 can only rotate
about joint 1 (J1) with respect to
ground and contributes one
independent variable(an angle), or
in other words, it contributes one
degree of freedom

B, C
J2 joint

Link 2 can rotate about joint 2 (J2)

with respect to link 1, contributing
another independent variable and
so another DOF
A
J1 joint
Ground

Robot Manipulators(DOF)
Thus, an open kinematic chain with one end connected to
the ground by a joint and the farther end of the last link free,
has as many degrees of freedom as the number of joints in
the chain

It is assumed that each joint has only one DOF

The DOF is also equal to the number of links in the open
kinematic chain

Robot Manipulators(DOF)
The variable defining the motion of a link at a joint is called a
joint-link variable
Thus, for an n-DOF manipulator n independent joint-link
variables are required to completely specify the
location(position and orientation) of each link(and joint),
specifying the location of the end-effector in space
Thus, for the two link, in turn 2-DOF manipulator, in figure
two variables are required to define location of the end
point

Required DOF in a Manipulator

It is concluded that to position and orient a body freely in a
space, a manipulator with 6- DOF is required
Such a manipulator is called a spatial manipulator. It has
three joints for positioning and three for orienting the end
effector
A manipulator with less than 6-DOF has constrained motion
in the 3-D space
There are many industrial manipulators that have five or
fewer DOF that are useful for specific applications that do
not require 6-DOF

Required DOF in a Manipulator

Spatial manipulators with more than 6-DOF have surplus
joints and are known as redundant manipulators
The extra DOF may enhance the performance by adding to
its dexterity
Dexterity here implies that the manipulator can reach a subspace which is obstructed by objects, by the capability of
going around these
However, redundant manipulators present complexities in
modeling and coordinate frame transformations and
therefore in their programming and control

Required DOF in a Manipulator

The DOF of a manipulator are distributed into subassemblies of arm and wrist
The arm is used for positioning the end effector in space and
hence the three positional DOF
The remaining 3-DOF are provided in the wrist, whose task is
to orient the end effector
The type and arrangement of joints in the arm and wrist can
vary considerably