PROJECT SUMARY-BASICS OF

ROBOTICS

Jorge de la Morena Vela

52297

ENGLISH FOR PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION

In this summary, I’ll present the basics of robotics throughout the main points that I’ve considered
the most important ones, taking in advance that we`re all engaged in the world of technical
development as engineering students. I’d like to end this summary clarifying to the audience that
robotics isn’t as uncomplicated as it can look at first sight, in part because it involves under its skin
complex and laborious engineering which is difficult to understand.

As I’ve mentioned before, engineering is the main aspect to consider in the process of robotics
design. It’s mandatory that an engineer, who´s dedicated to this scheme involving the roots of
robotics, masters the fields of mathematics (including the special vector algebra and the calculation
of algorithms) and the understanding of the physics implicated in this topic.

So, considering that we´re involved in a robot design from the beginning, It´ll help us if we consider
extending special attention to the three main pillars in which robotics bases its functionality:
kinematics, dynamics and the mechanism and actuation segment.

Following, I’m going to make an introduction to every one of these previously mentioned aspects
one by one, why they are part of this summary and why they are important to understand robotics.

Firstly and the most fundamental aspect of robot design and analysis is the kinematics end. Due to
its close link with the motion of bodies, not the forces and torques that dynamics care about, we
should pay special attention to the workspace. Having a clear idea about the workspace, which
represents the reachable points that the end-effector of the robot can be located with a full
displacement of movements, will help us to understand the following points that take part in
kinematics and are these: the location in space of a rigid body; the convention for representing the
geometry, which will allow the engineers working on a project to have a common language based
on mathematical models and pre-set equations; and the kinematics of the joints, that will define the
degree of freedom of a mechanism and therefore its capability of movement.

Secondly, we must pay attention to dynamics. Dynamics takes control of the acceleration and
motion end, studying the interaction between the rigid body and the forces and torques that
surrounds it. In order to achieve an efficient implementation of all parts involved, advanced
algorithms are mandatory used. The uncomplicated way to fulfill this problem is the use of
kinematics trees instead of the classic closed-loop algorithms.

The third and last part that I want to present is the mechanisms and actuator end. The work
envelope, previously noticed as workspace, and the load capacity, which will affect the velocity and
precision of the end effector should also be taken in consideration and will define the structure of
the robot as basic features of a robot manipulator. The way we are able to manipulate and change
them to our demand, is through the joints and actuators. Those will help us to adequate the
performance to the task for the robot is intended.