Copyright Notice INTRODUCTION TO ROBOTICS - BY ONUORA AMOBI ©2019 Unirobotica Inc. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use, sharing, reproduction or distribution of these materials by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise is strictly prohibited. No portion of these materials may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever, without the express written consent of the Publisher or Author. Published under the Copyright Laws of The United States of America by: Unirobotica Inc. 3579 East Foothill Blvd, Suite #254 Pasadena, CA 91107 www.Unirobotica.com Legal Notice While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions or contradictory interpretation of the subject matter herein. This publication is not intended to be used as a source of binding technical, technological, legal or accounting advice. Please remember that the information contained may be subject to varying state and/or local laws or regulations that may apply to the user’s particular practice. The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, both federal, state, and local, governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising and any other aspects of doing business in the US or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the purchaser or reader. Unirobotica Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever on behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All trademarks and copyrights are freely acknowledged. Table of Contents Introduction Part 1: The Background What is Robotics? More about Robotics What is Automation? History of Robotics. Advantages and Disadvantages of Robots Who Invented The First Robot? How Many Robots Are There and Where are They? What Are The Different Types Of Robots? Part 2: The Ins and Outs of Robots and Robotics How Are Robots Programmed? Software Used To Program Robots Robot Languages Robotic Joints and Degrees of Freedom Robot Coordinates and Reference Frames Robot Workspace Robot Characteristics. Part 3: How Robots Will Affect Our Work and Personal Lives Will Robots Take Our Jobs And Which Ones? Which Industries Use Robots? Robot Applications Which Are the Most Sophisticated Robots? What Are Some of the Home Robots? What is Robotic Process Automation or RPA? Can Robots Gain Consciousness? What Are Some of the Ethical Questions of Life with Robots? How Can We Successfully Adapt to Life with Robots? Economic and Social Consequences of Using Robots Conclusion Introduction Thank you for taking the time to read my Introduction to Robotics. Here you will learn what robots are, what they are used for and how they are going to change the world we live in, indeed already are. The modern definition of the word, “robot”, is an electro-mechanical device that carries out tasks as per a set of programmed instructions, but the literal definition is “slave”. Robots were once the thing of science fiction movies and books but not all robots look like the Cyborgs from Doctor Who – they take many forms and there are thousands of them in use the world over, right now. For some people, the first thing they think of when they talk about robotics is automation. We know that robots are used for repetitive tasks without the need for human intervention, with the exception of programming the robot to do its task and providing it with a set of instructions. Robots can be constructed quite simply or they can be incredibly complex. They can be small or absolutely massive, but they all share the same characteristics, joint types, coordinates, and degrees of freedom and, if you don’t understand all that yet, you will by the end of this guide. One of the biggest fears we have is that robots are going to take over our jobs and our lives and while there is a small degree of truth in that, on the whole, they will actually bring about a whole heap of improvements. In fact, they already are. Robots are employed in industries across the world, doing repetitive, mundane work and freeing up employees to focus on the real value in their jobs. They work in areas where it is too dangerous to humans, environments of extreme temperatures, radioactive areas, in bomb disposal, space, underwater and more. They are cost-effective because they don’t need breaks, they don’t need safety equipment and they can work in many different areas. They don’t get RSI, they don’t get affected by breathing in chemicals, can work under pressure and they can work 24/7 – all things that affect human beings. Yes, they are taking some jobs but, rather than seeing us all out of work eventually, robots will actually create more jobs than they take – jobs that are specialized and safer to do. Robotics is the study and work of engineers to make machines capable of doing jobs that humans do with better precision, of doing the complicated and repetitive tasks that we really don’t want to do. And it is a technology that is leaping forward. Now robots are being developed that will be able to sense their environment, make decisions on what to do and, in the future, we expect to see more humanoid robots that act and look just like humans. All this and more is detailed in this short guide so come on into a science-fiction world of robots that is set to become the norm, as they bring about life-changing developments for all of us. Thanks for reading this book. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Let’s get started. Part 1: Background What is a Robot? The word, “robot” is not really all that well-defined right now and there is a lot of debate going on in the engineering, science and even hobbyist communities about the exact definition, what a robot is and what it isn’t. If you think of a robot as being a device that looks somewhat like a human, that does what its told, then you have the same vision as many other people and, while there are robots like that being developed now, they aren’t the most common ones. In fact, robots are far more common than most people realize, and we are likely to encounter them every single day. If you use an ATM machine to take money out, if you take your car through an automatic car wash, grab a coffee from a vending machine, then you have likely had some interaction with a robot. The Definition of a Robot Most of us will agree on one thing – a robot is a machine that is programmed (usually) by a computer and automatically carries out actions. This is one definition and it is the one that allows for lots of different machines to be called robots and that includes those vending machines and ATMs. Your washing machine could also be classed as a robot because it is a machine that is programmed with a number of settings – you select the setting; the machine carries out the task programmed to that setting. There are other characteristics that allow us to differentiate between complex machines and robots. The main one is that a robot can respond to the environment it is in, allowing it to change its programming so its task can be completed; it will also recognize when that task has been completed. The official definition of a robot at last until it gets changed again, is, “a machine capable of responding to its environment to automatically carry our complex or repetitive tasks with little to no direction from human beings”. Robots Are Everywhere If we use that definition of a robot, we can identify these as the robots commonly used: Industrial – Robots are commonly used in industry, with the first one being Unimate, designed for General Motors in 1959 by George Devol. Thought to be the very first industrial robot it is a robotic arm that was used for the manipulation of hot die-cast parts in the automobile manufacturing industry, a task that was considered far too dangerous for humans. Medical - Medical robots are used for many different things like assisting with patient rehabilitation, performing surgery, disinfection of surgical suites and hospital rooms, and more. Consumer - Most people have heard of Roomba, the very first robotic vacuum cleaner, and now there are many more models, along with robotic lawnmowers and more And the list of robots you probably didn’t realize were robots is extensive. These are things you come across daily and include: • Automatic car washes • ATMs • Traffic lights • Speed cameras • Kitchen appliance • Some children’s toys • Automatic door openers • Elevators What is Robotics? Robotics is a branch of engineering and science that describes the modern design of robots. It includes electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer sciences needed in the design and building of robots. Robotic design is wide-ranging, and it covers everything from the design of a robotic arm commonly seen in factories, right up to the humanoid, autonomous robots, known as androids, that augment or replace human functions. Many people won’t realize that Leonardo da Vinci dabbled in robotic design with a mechanical knight that could sit up, move its arms, head and open and close its jaws. Back in 1928, a humanoid robot called Eric was unveiled at the Model Engineers Society held in London. Eric wowed the crowds by delivering a speech, moving its head, arms and hands at the same time.