Robotics is the branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer

science that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots,
as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information
processing.
In 1942 the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov created his Three Laws of Robotics.
In 1948 Norbert Wiener formulated the principles of cybernetics, the basis of practical
robotics.
Fully autonomous robots only appeared in the second half of the 20th century.
The first digitally operated and programmable robot, the Unimate, was installed in 1961
to lift hot pieces of metal from a die casting machine and stack them.
Commercial and industrial robots are widespread today and used to perform jobs more
cheaply, or more accurately and reliably, than humans. They are also employed in jobs
which are too dirty, dangerous, or dull to be suitable for humans.
Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly, packing and packaging, transport,
earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry, laboratory research, safety, and the
mass production of consumer and industrial goods.

Robotic aspects

1. Robots all have some kind of mechanical construction, a frame, form or shape
designed to achieve a particular task. For example, a robot designed to travel
across heavy dirt or mud, might use caterpillar tracks. The mechanical aspect is
mostly the creator's solution to completing the assigned task and dealing with
the physics of the environment around it. Form follows function.
2. Robots have electrical components which power and control the machinery. For
example, the robot with caterpillar tracks would need some kind of power to
move the
tracker treads.
3. All robots contain some level of computer programming code. A program is
how a robot
decides when or how to do something.

Components

Power source
At present mostly (lead-acid) batteries are used as a power source.

Actuators

are like the "muscles" of a robot, the parts which convert stored
energy into movement.

Electric Motors
The vast majority of robots use electric motors, often brushed and brushless DC motors
in portable robots or AC motors in industrial robots and CNC machines. These motors
are often preferred in systems with lighter loads, and where the predominant form of
motion is rotational.
Linear actuators[
Various types of linear actuators move in and out instead of by spinning, and often have
quicker direction changes, particularly when very large forces are needed such as with
industrial robotics. They are typically powered by compressed air (pneumatic actuator)
or an oil (hydraulic actuator).

Series elastic actuators

A spring can be designed as part of the motor actuator, to allow improved force control.
It has been used in various robots, particularly walking humanoid robots.

Air muscles
Pneumatic artificial muscles, also known as air muscles, are special tubes that contract
(typically up to 40%) when air is forced inside them. They have been used for some
robot applications.

Muscle wire
Muscle wire, also known as shape memory alloy, Nitinol or Flexinol wire, is a
material that contracts slightly (typically under 5%) when electricity runs through it.
They have been used for some small robot applications

Electroactive polymers

EAPs or EPAMs are a new plastic material that can contract substantially (up to 380%
activation strain) from electricity, and have been used in facial muscles and arms of
humanoid robots,[21] and to allow new robots to float,fly, swim or walk.

Piezo motors

Recent alternatives to DC motors are piezo motors or ultrasonic motors. These work on
a fundamentally different principle, whereby tiny piezoceramic elements, vibrating
many thousands of times per second, cause linear or rotary motion. There are different
mechanisms of operation; one type uses the vibration of the piezo elements to walk the
motor in a circle or a straight line.[24] Another type uses the piezo elements to cause a
nut to vibrate and drive a screw. The advantages of these motors
are nanometer resolution, speed, and available force for their size.[25] These motors are
already available commercially, and being used on some robots

Elastic nanotubes
Elastic nanotubes are a promising artificial muscle technology in early-stage
experimental development. The absence of defects in carbon nanotubes enables these
filaments to deform elastically by several percent, with energy storage levels of perhaps
10 J/cm3 for metal nanotubes. Human biceps could be replaced with an 8 mm diameter
wire of this material. Such compact "muscle" might allow future robots to outrun and
outjump humans.[28]

Sensing
Sensors allow robots to receive information about a certain measurement of the
environment, or internal components. This is essential for robots to perform their tasks,
and act upon any changes in the environment to calculate the appropriate response.
They are used for various forms of measurements, to give the robots warnings about
safety or malfunctions, and to provide real time information of the task it is performing.

Touch
Current robotic and prosthetic hands receive far less tactile information than the human
hand. Recent research has developed a tactile sensor array that mimics the mechanical
properties and touch receptors of human fingertips.[29][30] The sensor array is constructed
as a rigid core surrounded by conductive fluid contained by an elastomeric skin.
Electrodes are mounted on the surface of the rigid core and are connected to an
impedance-measuring device within the core. When the artificial skin touches an object
the fluid path around the electrodes is deformed, producing impedance changes that
map the forces received from the object. The researchers expect that an important
function of such artificial fingertips will be adjusting robotic grip on held objects.
Scientists from several European countries and Israel developed a prosthetic hand in
2009, called SmartHand, which functions like a real oneallowing patients to write with
it, type on a keyboard, play piano and perform other fine movements. The prosthesis
has sensors which enable the patient to sense real feeling in its fingertips. [31]
Vision
Computer vision is the science and technology of machines that see. As a scientific
discipline, computer vision is concerned with the theory behind artificial systems that
extract information from images. The image data can take many forms, such as video
sequences and views from cameras.
In most practical computer vision applications, the computers are pre-programmed to
solve a particular task, but methods based on learning are now becoming increasingly
common.
Computer vision systems rely on image sensors which detect electromagnetic radiation
which is typically in the form of either visible light or infra-red light. The sensors are
designed using solid-state physics. The process by which light propagates and reflects
off surfaces is explained using optics. Sophisticated image sensors even
require quantum mechanics to provide a complete understanding of the image
formation process. Robots can also be equipped with multiple vision sensors to be
better able to compute the sense of depth in the environment. Like human eyes, robots'
"eyes" must also be able to focus on a particular area of interest, and also adjust to
variations in light intensities.

There is a subfield within computer vision where artificial systems are designed to
mimic the processing and behavior of biological system, at different levels of
complexity. Also, some of the learning-based methods developed within computer vision
have their background in biology.

manipulation :

Mechanical grippers
One of the most common effectors is the gripper. In its simplest manifestation it
consists of just two fingers which can open and close to pick up and let go of a range of
small objects.
Vacuum grippers
Vacuum grippers are very simple astrictive[39] devices, but can hold very large loads
provided the prehension surface is smooth enough to ensure suction.
Pick and place robots for electronic components and for large objects like car
windscreens, often use very simple vacuum grippers.
General purpose effectors[
Some advanced robots are beginning to use fully humanoid hands, like the Shadow
Hand, MANUS,[40] and the Schunk hand.[41] These are highly dexterous manipulators, with
as many as 20 degrees of freedom and hundreds of tactile sensors.

The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or Three Laws,
also known as Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by the science fiction
author Isaac Asimov. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround",
although they had been foreshadowed in a few earlier stories. The Three Laws, quoted
as being from the "Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D.", are:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being
to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such
orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not
conflict with the First or Second Laws.