History of Industrial Robotics| George Devol applied for the first robotics patents in 1954 (granted in 1961). The first company to produce a robot was Unimation, founded by George Devol and Joseph F. Engelberger in 1956, and was based on Devol's original patents. Unimation robots were also called programmable transfer machines since their main use at first...
Robot programming and interface| The setup or programming of motions and sequences for an industrial robot is typically taught by linking the robot controller to a laptop, desktop computer or (internal or Internet) network. Software: The computer is installed with corresponding interface software. The use of a computer greatly simplifies...
How Robots Work| Like you, NASA's robonaut has a movable body, brain, power system and sensor system. See more pictures of robots. On the most basic level, human beings are made up of five major components: · A body structure · A muscle system to move...
Robot Basics| The vast majority of robots do have several qualities in common. First of all, almost all robots have a movable body. Some only have motorized wheels, and others have dozens of movable segments, typically made of metal or plastic. Like the bones in your body, the individual segments are connected together with...
The Robotic Arm| The term robot comes from the Czech word robota, generally translated as "forced labor." This describes the majority of robots fairly well. Most robots in the world are designed for heavy, repetitive manufacturing work. They handle tasks that...
Mobile Robots| Robotic arms are relatively easy to build and program because they only operate within a confined area. Things get a bit trickier when you send a robot out into the world. The first obstacle is to give the robot...
Autonomous Robots| Autonomous robots can act on their own, independent of any controller. The basic idea is to program the robot to respond a certain way to outside stimuli. The very simple bump-and-go robot is a good illustration of...
Homebrew Robots| In the last couple of sections, we looked at the most prominent fields in the world of robots -- industry robotics and research robotics. Professionals in these fields have made most of the major advancements in...
Robots and Artificial Intelligence| Artificial intelligence (AI) is arguably the most exciting field in robotics. It's certainly the most controversial: Everybody agrees that a robot can work in an assembly line, but there's no consensus on...
