What Is “Robotics” ?

 The word robotics is used to collectively

define a field in engineering that covers the
mimicking of various human characteristics
 Sound concepts in many engineering
disciplines is needed for working in this
particular field
 It finds it’s uses in all aspects of our life
What A Robot Can Mean ?

 An automatic industrial machine replacing

the human in hazardous work environment
 An automatic mobile sweeper machine at a
modern home
 An automatic toy car for a child to play with
 A machine removing mines in a war field all
by itself and many more…
What Do We Mean Here ?

 Here we are aiming at design and prototyping of

mobile robots capable of controlled locomotion
 It may be human controlled or automatic
 It must be able to perform certain tasks we set for it
 The task must be achieved within some given
limitations
Basic Parts Of Our Mobile Robot

 Locomotion system
 Power supply system
 Actuators
 Sensory devices for feedback
 Sensor Data processing unit
 Control system
Locomotion System
 As the name suggests a mobile robot must have a system to make it move
 This system gives our machine the ability to move forward, backward and take
turns
 It may also provide for climbing up and down
 The concept of locomotion invariably needs rotational motion e.g. a wheel driven by
some power source
 This involves conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy, which we can
easily achieve using electrical motors
 The issue is to control these motors to give the required speed and torque
Power Supply System

 Suitable power source is needed to run the

robots
 Mobile robots are most suitably powered by
batteries
 The weight and energy capacity of the batteries
may become the determinative factor of its
performance
End Actuators

 They convert the electrical energy into

meaningful mechanical work
 Mechanical output can be rotational or linear
(straight line)
 Motors provide rotational motion
 Electromagnets provide linear motion
Power, Torque and Speed

 A simple equation: Power is the product of Torque and

Angular velocity
 P=ζXω
 This implies that if we want more torque (pulling capacity)
from the same motor we may have to sacrifice speed and
vice versa
 The dc motors (tape motors) available have very high
speed of rotation which is generally not needed. But what
they lack is torque output
 For reduction in speed and increase in pulling capacity we
use pulley or gear systems
 These are governed by: ω1 X r1 = ω2 X r2
Wheeled Locomotion Systems

 Differentialdrive
 Car type drive
 Skid steer drive
 Articulated drive
 Synchronous drive
 Pivot drive
Differential Drive

 This is the most commonly used form of locomotion

system used in mobile robots as it’s the simplest and
easiest to implement
 It has a free moving wheel in the front accompanied with
a left and right wheel.The two wheels are separately
powered
 When the wheels move in the same direction the
machine moves in that direction. Turning is achieved by
making the wheels oppose each other’s motion, thus
generating a couple
Differential Drive Cont…

 Black arrows denote the direction of wheel. The green ones

show robot movement
Differential Drive Cont…

 In-place (zero turning radius) rotation is done by

turning the drive wheels at the same rate in the
opposite direction
 Arbitrary motion paths can be implemented by
dynamically modifying the angular velocity and/or
direction of the drive wheels
 Total of two motors are required, both of them are
responsible for translation and rotational motion
Car Type Drive

 This is the car type drive and the most common in

real world but not in robot world
 It is characterized by a pair of driving wheels and a
separate pair of steering wheels
 The translation and rotation are independent of each
other. But translation and rotation are interlinked
hence this system faces severe path planning
problem
Car Type Drive Cont…
Skid Steer Drive

 A close relative of the differential drive system

 It is mostly used in tracked machines e.g. tanks. Also
finds application in some four / six wheeled robots
 The left and right wheels are driven independently
 Steering is accomplished by actuating each side at a
different rate or in a different direction, causing the
wheels or tracks to slip, or skid, on the ground
Skid Steer Drive
Articulated Drive

 In this mechanism the machine chassis (body)

is deformed to achieve rotation in contrast to
the steering wheels in car type drive
 Synchronous Drive

 The direction of motion is given by black arrow. The alignment of the

machine is shown by green arrow
 As the name suggests, it uses synchronous rotation of its wheels to achieve
motion & turns
 It is made up of a system of motors. One set of which drive the wheels and the
other set turns the wheels in a synchronous fashion
 The two sets can be directly mechanically coupled as they always move in the
same direction with same speed
 Pivot Drive

 The most unique type of Locomotion system

 It is composed of a four wheeled chassis and a platform that can be
raised or lowered
Pivot Drive Cont…

 The wheels are driven by a motor for translation

motion in a straight line
 For rotation one motor is needed to lower/raise
the platform & another to rotate the chassis
around the platform
 This system can guarantee perfect straight line
motion as well as accurate in – place turns to a
desired heading
Motors are of various kinds

 AC Motors : Not used much in robotics

 Stepper Motors : For controlled rotation
 DC Motors : Finds extensive general use
 Servo Motors : DC motor with in built
feedback & error compensation
Stepper Motors

 Used for measured

rotation
 Can be held at a
particular position of the
shaft
 Ideal for many
autonomous robots
requiring higher precision
Stepper Motor Working

Stepping Sequences for Single Coil Excitation

Only one coil is active at a given instant of time
Stepper Motor Working Cont…

 Stepping Sequences for Double Coil Excitation

 Two coils active at any given instant of time
Interleaved Stepping (Half Step)
Problems with Stepper Motors

 Very low torque to weight ratio

 Torque decreases with increase in the
stepping frequency
 For sufficiently high stepping speed the
stepper motor may skip steps due to
overshoot
DC Motors

 As the name suggests,

a motor which uses a
DC (Direct Current)
power
 Can run in both
directions
 Speed Controllable
DC Motor Working

D C M O TO R D C M O TO R

1
V DC + +

A A
- V DC -

2
 Direction of rotation controlled by polarity of current /
voltage
 Speed of rotation controlled by average energy
(power) fed to the motor
DC Motor Characteristics

 Free running torque & current are ideally zero

 Increased load implies, increased torque, current
drawn & power consumption
 Power supplied by a motor is the product of output
shaft’s rotational velocity & torque
 DC Motors are high–speed, low-torque devices
 Using gears, the high speed of the motor is traded
off into torque
DC Motor Characteristics Cont…

 Zero speed at 100%

maximum load (stall 90%

torque) 80%
70%
POWER

 Highest speed while 60%

50%
free running (zero load) 40%
LOAD

 Highest power at half 30%

20%
speed & half load 10%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%
SPEED ------>
DIFFERENT TYPE OF SENSORS

 LDR - Light Dependent Resistor

 Made of cadmium sulphide
 Resistance between two terminals vary depending on the intensity of
light
 Can be used to differentiate contrast colours
 Thermistor
 Manufactured from the oxides of the transition metals - manganese,
cobalt, copper and nickel
 Resistor depends on temperature
 IR Photo Diode
 Detects presence of Infra Red radiations
 Used for obstacle proximity sensing
 IR Data Communication
THANK YOU