CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 ROBOT

A robot is a machine especially one programmable by a computer capable of carrying

out a complex series of actions automatically. Robots can be guided by an external control
device or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be constructed on the lines of
human form, but most robots are machines designed to perform a task with no regard to their
aesthetics.

The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and
application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback,
and information processing is robotics. These technologies deal with automated machines
that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or
resemble humans in appearance, behaviour, or cognition. Many of today's robots are inspired
by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics.

Robots have replaced humans in performing repetitive and dangerous tasks which
humans prefer not to do, or are unable to do because of size limitations, or which take place
in extreme environments such as outer space or the bottom of the sea. There are concerns
about the increasing use of robots and their role in society.

1.2 ETYMOLOGY

The word robotics was derived from the word robot, which was introduced to the
public by Czech writer Karel Capek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), which
was published in 1920. The word robot comes from the Slavic word robota, which means
slave/servant. The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people called robots, creatures
who can be mistaken for humans – very similar to the modern ideas of androids. Karel Capek
himself did not coin the word. He wrote a short letter in reference to an etymology in the
Oxford English Dictionary in which he named his brother Josef Capek as its actual originator.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word robotics was first used in print
by Isaac Asimov, in his science fiction short story "Liar!", published in May 1941 in
Astounding Science Fiction. Asimov was unaware that he was coining the term; since the
science and technology of electrical devices is electronics, he assumed robotics already
referred to the science and technology of robots. In some of Asimov's other works, he states
that the first use of the word robotics was in his short story Run-around (Astounding Science
Fiction, March 1942), where he introduced his concept of The Three Laws of Robotics.
However, the original publication of "Liar!" predates that of "Run-around" by ten months, so
the former is generally cited as the word's origin.

1.3 MODERN ROBOTS

1.3.1 MOBILE ROBOTS: A mobile robot is

a robot that is capable of locomotion. Mobile
robotics is usually considered to be a subfield
of robotics and information engineering. Mobile
robots have the capability to move around in their
environment and are not fixed to one physical
location. Mobile robots can be "autonomous"
Figure 1.1 - NASA's Mars Rover
(AMR - autonomous mobile robot) which means
they are capable of navigating an uncontrolled
environment without the need for physical or electro-mechanical guidance
devices. Alternatively, mobile robots can rely on guidance devices that allow
them to travel a pre-defined navigation route in relatively controlled space (AGV
- autonomous guided vehicle). The components of a mobile robot are a
controller, control software, sensors and actuators.

1.3.2 INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS: An industrial

robot is a robot system used for manufacturing.
Industrial robots are automated, programmable and
capable of movement on three or more axis. Typical
applications of robots include welding, painting,
assembly, disassembly, pick and place for printed
circuit boards, packaging and labelling, palletizing,
product inspection, and testing; all accomplished
Figure 1.2 - Industrial Robot
with high endurance, speed, and precision. They
can assist in material handling. robot  that
performs useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial automation
applications.
1.3.3 MILITARY ROBOTS: Some experts
and academics have questioned the use of
robots for military combat, especially
when such robots are given some degree of
autonomous functions. There are also
concerns about technology which might
allow some armed robots to be controlled Figure 1.3 - Military Robot

mainly by other robots.  The US Navy has funded a report which indicates that,
as military robots become more complex, there should be greater attention to
implications of their ability to make autonomous decisions. One researcher state
that autonomous robots might be more humane, as they could make decisions
more effectively.

1.3.4 DRONES: Also called unmanned aerial vehicles,

drones come in different sizes and have different levels of
autonomy. Examples include DJI’s popular Phantom
series and Parrot’s Anafi, as well as military systems
like Global Hawk, used for long-duration surveillance.
Unmanned aerial vehicle technology covers everything
from the aerodynamics of the drone, materials in the Figure1.4 - Drone

manufacture of the physical UAV, to the circuit boards,

chipset and software, which are the brains of the drone.

1.3.5 HUMANOID: A humanoid is something

that has an appearance resembling
a human without actually being one. The earliest
recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred
to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by
Europeans. By the 20th century, the term came Figure 1.5 - Humanoid robot
to describe fossils which
were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of the human skeleton.
More generally, the term can refer to anything with distinctly human
characteristics or adaptations, such as possessing opposable anterior forelimb-
appendages (i.e. thumbs), visible spectrum-binocular vision (i.e. having two
eyes), or biomechanics plantigrade-bipedalism (i.e. the ability to walk on heels
and metatarsals in an upright position).

1.4 INDUSTRY 4.0

Industry 4.0 is the subset of the fourth industrial revolution that concerns industry.
The fourth industrial revolution encompasses areas which are not normally classified as an
industry, such as smart cities, for instance.

Although the terms "industry 4.0" and "fourth industrial revolution" are often used
interchangeably, "industry 4.0" factories have machines which are augmented with wireless
connectivity and sensors, connected to a system that can visualise the entire production line
and make decisions on its own.

In essence, industry 4.0 is the trend towards automation and data exchange in
manufacturing technologies and processes which include cyber-physical systems (CPS), the
internet of things (IoT), industrial internet of things (IIOT), cloud computing, cognitive
computing and artificial intelligence.

Industry 4.0 fosters what has been called a "smart factory". Within modular structured
smart factories, cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of

Figure 1.6 - Terminology of Industry 4.0

the physical world and make decentralized decisions. Over the Internet of Things, cyber-
physical systems communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans in real-time
both internally and across organizational services offered and used by participants of the
value chain.
 The determining factor is the pace of change. The correlation of the speed of
technological development and, as a result, socio-economic and infrastructural
transformations with human life allow us to state a qualitative leap in the speed of
development, which marks a transition to a new time era.

1.5 LIGHT OUT MANUFACTURING

Lights-out manufacturing, more often called dark factory is a manufacturing

methodology (or philosophy), rather than a specific process.

Factories that run lights out are fully automated and require no human presence on-
site. These factories can be
considered to run "with
the lights off". Many
factories are capable of
lights-out production, but
very few run exclusively
lights-out. Typically,
workers are necessary to
set up tombstones that
Figure 1.7 - Light out Manufacturing
hold parts to be
manufactured and remove
completed parts. As the technology necessary for lights-out production becomes increasingly
available, many factories are beginning to use lights-out production between shifts (or as a
separate shift) to meet increasing demand or save money. An automatic factory is a place
where raw materials enter and finished products leave with little or no human intervention.

1.6 OBJECTIVE

1. Increased throughput or productivity.

2. Improved quality or increased predictability of quality.

3. Improved robustness (consistency), of processes or product.

4. Increased consistency of output.

5. Reduced direct human labour costs and expenses.

6. Installation in operations reduces cycle time.

7. Can complete tasks where a high degree of accuracy is required.

8. Replaces human operators in tasks that involve hard physical or monotonous work
(e.g., using one forklift with a single driver instead of a team of multiple workers to
lift a heavy object)

9. Reduces some occupational injuries (e.g., fewer strained backs from lifting heavy
objects)

10. Replaces humans in tasks done in dangerous environments (i.e. fire, space, volcanoes,
nuclear facilities, underwater, etc.)

11. Performs tasks that are beyond human capabilities of size, weight, speed, endurance,
etc.

12. Reduces operation time and work handling time significantly.

13. Frees up workers to take on other roles.

14. Provides higher level jobs in the development, deployment, maintenance and running
of the automated processes.