An actuator is a mechanical device for moving or controlling a mechanism or system.

Robotics is the science and technology of designing, making, and applying robots, including theory from many contributing fields. A robot is a mechanical or virtual, artificial agent. It is usually an electromechanical system, which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own. Robot Basics Most robots are designed to be a helping hand. They help people with tasks that would be difficult, unsafe, or boring for a real person to do alone. At its simplest, a robot is machine that can be programmed to perform a variety of jobs, which usually involve moving or handling objects. Robots can range from simple machines to highly complex, computer-controlled devices. Many of today's robots are robotic arms. In this exhibit, we will focus on one very "flexible" kind of robot, which looks similar to a certain part of your body. It is called a jointed-arm robot. 5 Main Parts For a machine to qualify as a robot, it usually needs these 5 parts: Controller Arm Drive End Effector Sensor

Select one of the choices above to identify the parts. Or, click on the robot's parts to do the same thing. CONTROLLER - Every robot is connected to a computer, which keeps the pieces of the arm working together. This computer is known as the controller. The controller functions as the "brain" of the robot. The controller also allows the robot to be networked to other systems, so that it may work together with other machines, processes, or robots. Robots today have controllers that are run by programs - sets of instructions written in code. Almost all robots of today are entirely pre-programmed by people; they can do only what they are programmed to do at the time, and nothing else. In the future, controllers with artificial intelligence, or AI could allow robots to think on their own, even program themselves. This could make robots more self-reliant and independent. ARM - Robot arms come in all shapes and sizes. The arm is the part of the robot that positions the end-effector and sensors to do their pre-programmed business.

Many (but not all) resemble human arms, and have shoulders, elbows, wrists, even fingers. This gives the robot a lot of ways to position itself in its environment. Each joint is said to give the robot 1 degree of freedom. So, a simple robot arm with 3 degrees of freedom could move in 3 ways: up and down, left and right, forward and backward. Most working robots today have 6 degrees of freedom. DRIVE - The drive is the "engine" that drives the links (the sections between the joints into their desired position. Without a drive, a robot would just sit there, which is not often helpful. Most drives are powered by air, water pressure, or electricity. END- EFFECTOR - The end-effector is the "hand" connected to the robot's arm. It is often different from a human hand - it could be a tool such as a gripper, a vacuum pump, tweezers, scalpel, blowtorch - just about anything that helps it do its job. Some robots can change end-effectors, and be reprogrammed for a different set of tasks. If the robot has more than one arm, there can be more than one end-effector on the same robot, each suited for a specific task. SENSOR - Most robots of today are nearly deaf and blind. Sensors can provide some limited feedback to the robot so it can do its job. Compared to the senses and abilities of even the simplest living things, robots have a very long way to go. The sensor sends information, in the form of electronic signals back to the controller. Sensors also give the robot controller information about its surroundings and lets it know the exact position of the arm, or the state of the world around it. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell are the kinds of information we get from our world. Robots can be designed and programmed to get specific information that is beyond what our 5 senses can tell us. For instance, a robot sensor might "see" in the dark, detect tiny amounts of invisible radiation or measure movement that is too small or fast for the human eye to see. Degrees of Freedom Most robots don't yet look like people, but do look like an important part of people. Raise your hand if you know. ROBOT ARMS What you hold above your head is correct. Many robots resemble human arms, and have shoulders, elbows, wrists, even fingers. This gives a robot lots of options for moving, and helps it do things in place of a human arm.

In order to reach any possible point in space within its work envelope, a robot needs a total of 6 degrees of freedom. Each direction a joint can go gives an arm 1 degree. As a result, many robots of today are designed to move in at least 6 ways.

On the most basic level, human beings are made up of five major components: A body structure A muscle system to move the body structure A sensory system that receives information about the body and the surrounding environment A power source to activate the muscles and sensors A brain system that processes sensory information and tells the muscles what to do Robot Image Gallery

Photo courtesy NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA's Urban Robot, Urbie, features software-controlled cameras and sensors that allow it to operate autonomously in many types of terrain. URBIE checks out areas that would pose potential risks to human investigators. Of course, we also have some intangible attributes, such as intelligence and morality, but on the sheer physical level, the list above about covers it. A robot is made up of the very same components. A typical robot has a movable physical structure, a motor of some sort, a sensor system, a power supply and a computer "brain" that controls all of these elements. Essentially, robots are man-made versions of animal life -- they are machines that replicate human and animal behavior.

In this article, we'll explore the basic concept of robotics and find out how robots do what they do. Joseph Engelberger, a pioneer in industrial robotics, once remarked "I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one." If you consider all the different machines people call robots, you can see that it's nearly impossible to come up with a comprehensive definition. Everybody has a different idea of what constitutes a robot. You've probably heard of several of these famous robots: R2D2 and C-3PO: The intelligent, speaking robots with loads of personality in the "Star Wars" movies Sony's AIBO: A robotic dog that learns through human interaction Honda's ASIMO: A robot that can walk on two legs like a person Industrial robots: Automated machines that work on assembly lines Data: The almost human android from "Star Trek" BattleBots: The remote control fighters on Comedy Central Bomb-defusing robots NASA's Mars rovers HAL: The ship's computer in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" Robomower: The lawn-mowing robot from Friendly Robotics The Robot in the television series "Lost in Space" MindStorms: LEGO's popular robotics kit

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 joints. Robots spin wheels and pivot jointed segments with some Photo courtesy NASA sort of actuator. Some robots use electric motors and A robotic hand, developed by solenoids as actuators; some use a hydraulic system; and NASA, is made up of metal some use a pneumatic system (a system driven by segments moved by tiny compressed gases). Robots may use all these actuator types. motors. The hand is one of the most difficult structures to A robot needs a power source to drive these actuators. Most replicate in robotics. robots either have a battery or they plug into the wall. Hydraulic robots also need a pump to pressurize the hydraulic fluid, and pneumatic robots need an air compressor or compressed air tanks. The actuators are all wired to an electrical circuit. The circuit powers electrical motors and solenoids directly, and it activates the hydraulic system by manipulating electrical valves. The valves determine the pressurized fluid's path through the machine. To move a hydraulic leg, for example, the robot's controller would open the valve leading from the fluid pump to a piston

cylinder attached to that leg. The pressurized fluid would extend the piston, swiveling the leg forward. Typically, in order to move their segments in two directions, robots use pistons that can push both ways. The robot's computer controls everything attached to the circuit. To move the robot, the computer switches on all the necessary motors and valves. Most robots are reprogrammable -- to change the robot's behavior, you simply write a new program to its computer.

Photo courtesy NASA JPL

NASA's Urbie climbing stairs Not all robots have sensory systems, and few have the ability to see, hear, smell or taste. The most common robotic sense is the sense of movement -- the robot's ability to monitor its own motion. A standard design uses slotted wheels attached to the robot's joints. An LED on one side of the wheel shines a beam of light through the slots to a light sensor on the other side of the wheel. When the robot moves a particular joint, the slotted wheel turns. The slots break the light beam as the wheel spins. The light sensor reads the pattern of the flashing light and transmits the data to the computer. The computer can tell exactly how far the joint has swiveled based on this pattern. This is the same basic system used in computer mice. These are the basic nuts and bolts of robotics. Roboticists can combine these elements in an infinite number of ways to create robots of unlimited complexity.

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 joints. Robots spin wheels and pivot jointed segments with some sort of actuator. Some robots use electric motors and

Photo courtesy NASA

A robotic hand, developed by NASA, is made up of metal segments moved by tiny motors. The hand is one of the most difficult structures to replicate in robotics.

solenoids as actuators; some use a hydraulic system; and some use a pneumatic system (a system driven by compressed gases). Robots may use all these actuator types. A robot needs a power source to drive these actuators. Most robots either have a battery or they plug into the wall. Hydraulic robots also need a pump to pressurize the hydraulic fluid, and pneumatic robots need an air compressor or compressed air tanks. The actuators are all wired to an electrical circuit. The circuit powers electrical motors and solenoids directly, and it activates the hydraulic system by manipulating electrical valves. The valves determine the pressurized fluid's path through the machine. To move a hydraulic leg, for example, the robot's controller would open the valve leading from the fluid pump to a piston cylinder attached to that leg. The pressurized fluid would extend the piston, swiveling the leg forward. Typically, in order to move their segments in two directions, robots use pistons that can push both ways. The robot's computer controls everything attached to the circuit. To move the robot, the computer switches on all the necessary motors and valves. Most robots are reprogrammable -- to change the robot's behavior, you simply write a new program to its computer.

Photo courtesy NASA JPL

NASA's Urbie climbing stairs Not all robots have sensory systems, and few have the ability to see, hear, smell or taste. The most common robotic sense is the sense of movement -- the robot's ability to monitor its own motion. A standard design uses slotted wheels attached to the robot's joints. An LED on one side of the wheel shines a beam of light through the slots to a light sensor on the other side of the wheel. When the robot moves a particular joint, the slotted wheel turns. The slots break the light beam as the wheel spins. The light sensor reads the pattern of the flashing light and transmits the data to the computer. The computer can tell exactly how far the joint has swiveled based on this pattern. This is the same basic system used in computer mice. These are the basic nuts and bolts of robotics. Roboticists can combine these elements in an infinite number of ways to create robots of unlimited complexity.

The SCARA acronym stands for Selective Compliant Assembly Robot Arm or Selective Compliant Articulated Robot Arm. In 1981, Sankyo Seiki, Pentel and NEC presented a completely new concept for assembly robots. The robot was developed under the guidance of Hiroshi Makino, a professor at the University of Yamanashi. The robot was called Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm, SCARA. Its arm was rigid in the Z-axis and pliable in the XY-axes, which allowed it to adapt to holes in the XY-axes.[1] By virtue of the SCARA's parallel-axis joint layout, the arm is slightly compliant in the X-Y direction but rigid in the Z direction, hence the term: Selective Compliant. This is advantageous for many types of assembly operations, i.e., inserting a round pin in a round hole without binding. The second attribute of the SCARA is the jointed two-link arm layout similar to our human arms, hence the often-used term, Articulated. This feature allows the arm to extend into confined areas and then retract or fold up out of the way. This is advantageous for transferring parts from one cell to another or for loading/ unloading process stations that are enclosed. SCARA's are generally faster and cleaner than comparable Cartesian systems. Their single pedestal mount requires a small footprint and provides an easy, unhindered form of mounting. On the other hand, SCARA's can be more expensive than comparable Cartesian systems and the controlling software requires inverse kinematics for linear interpolated moves. This software typically comes with the SCARA though and is usually transparent to the end-user.