Treść książki

Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
Fig.1.1.TheUNIMATErobotattheVolvo650assemblyline(source:http://www.volvocargent.be/nl/)
Oneofthefirsttasksoftherobot,equippedwithatelescopic,hydraulicarmwithajoint,wastotransportdiecastingsfromanassembly
lineandweldthesepartsonautobodies.Later,therobotwasalsousedonassemblylines,includingtheVolvocarsassemblyline.For
about50yearsitworkedapproximately100,000handitdelineatedthenewdirectionforindustry.
Thepossibilityofusingamachinewhichcanwork24hoursadaywithoutanoperatorconfirmedthesenseofequippingproductionlines
withefficient,programmablemachines.Thepossibilityofreplacingthethree-shift,hardworkoftheemployeestriggeredmassrobotic
productionfortheneedsofindustry(intheUnitedStatesin1963,inEuropeandJapanin1968,inPolandintheearly1970s).Today
UNIMATEisanexhibitattheSmithsonianInstitutionanditisdifficulttocompareitwithrobotswhosedevelopmentiscurrentlygoing
alongwiththeavalanchedevelopmentofmicroprocessortechnology.Today,thewidelydiscussedmatterisnotaworkforcebutrobot's
workingenvironment,theconstructorswanttoempowermachinesasmuchaspossible,equippingitwithsensorsthatcansimulatethe
humansenses.Sofar,outofthefivesenses(sight,touch,taste,hearing,andsmell)onlysightandtouchhavebeenwidelyapplied
inrobotics.Currently,thescientistsallovertheworldarecarryingoutintensiveresearchonvoicecontrol,identificationandrecognition
ofapositionoftheobjectinthree-dimensionalspaceaswellasondistancesensors.Thefulluseofthree-dimensionalsystemshas
becomepossiblethankstoimplementingtheadvancedvision,ultrasonicandlasersensors.Nowadays,thelocomotivefunctionsare
agreatchallengeandthescientistsarelookingforthesolutionofhowtocreateagripwhichwouldhavethepropertiessimilartoahuman
hand?Therefore,thescientistsaretryingtouseelectrostaticphenomenaandadaptivegrippers(adaptingtheirshapetotheshapeofthe
object).Whatdevicesshouldbeusedtoreplacehydrauliccylindersandelectricactuators?Howtominiaturizedrives?Therearestillmany
morequestionsthattoday'sengineersaretryingtoanswer.
Anotherseparateproblemofroboticsarecontrolsystemsinwhichasimplecontrolofthelocationisnotenoughanymore.Today,such
multiprocessorsystemsarebeingcreatedwhichallowtocreatemultithreadedapplicationstocooperatewiththesurrounding
environment,andthisstimulatesthedevelopmentofinterfacesconnectingthetwoworldsanddevelopsprogrammingtechniques.
Itseemsthatthebestsolutionsarehigh-levellanguages(easilylearntbyhumans),whichallowrobotstooperateinrealtime.