mechatronics and robotics part 1

Mechatronics and robotics.

What is mechatronics?
This is a commonly asked question in industry, so it is best if it is answered so people know what it is, exactly.

Mechatronics is a relatively new field of engineering. It was born out of industry pressure to create an engineer who could adapt. Traditional disciplines have grown so far apart, it has become hard for them to work together.

Mechatronics is a unique blend of computer science, Mechanical engineering, and Electrical engineering. It gives the mechatronics engineer an understanding in those field in order to tie them together. They are able to combine the necessary elements together to provide automated systems.

Why should you employ a mechatronics engineer?

COST!

Most traditional engineers regard the mechatronics engineer as 1/3 mechanical, 1/3 electrical and 1/3 computer science with not enough knowledge in any to be any good. In fact, research has shown that an engineer picks up most of his or her knowledge while working, and not studying.

A mechatronics engineer has good fundamental grounding in all three fields. He or she is a specialist in automation. A good mechatronics engineer will be able to take control of a project that involves automation, and ensure that everything will work. He or she will have enough background knowledge to be able to pick out any problem before it becomes a major issue (problem resolution is another thing though…). Any major delays can be avoided this way, saving you potentially millions of dollars.

industrial robotics - a very commonly discussed topic

Industrial robots today – a commonly discussed topic in robotics.

There is extensive debate about what a robot consists of. Some people insist it has to be bipedal, interact with humans and be able to think on its own. There are already robots like this, albeit experimental. The most well known one of this form is ASIMO. It is a research robot by Honda - more about this in a later article.

Robots, and more specifically robotics, have become very useful in industry. In these instances, they perform tasks too dangerous or too repetitive for humans to do. You will see them in manufacturing, parts fabrication, and so on. There is an ISO standard for industrial robots, which ensures a minimum standard to classify an industrial robot as a robot. The ISO definition is:

an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes

What does this mean for you?

This means you have probably worked with a robot if you have programmed a piece of equipment to do a specific task for you. If you have worked alongside a piece of equipment that fast and precise, you have worked alongside a robot.

Robots are very common in industries that carry a fair amount of danger, or a lot of repetition in the work. For example, robotic arms with welders are used in the automotive industry to weld car parts together. As you can imagine, the precision and repetition of the work would ensure a greater chance of a defective vehicle, or that there is an accident in the workplace. Robots have not completely taken over every possible job imaginable. You still need humans to weld the intricate parts together, and to ensure that everything is ‘correct’ (i.e. to spec). A robot would not be able to see the fine details.

how sae are today's robots? A discussion question on robotics

How safe are robots?

This is a common question discussed due to the popularity of robots in television and film. Most of today’s robots are relatively safe – within certain boundaries, of course. Exercising caution, you are not likely to be killed by robots in today’s society. This is of course a relief for those fearing for your lives. You are also not like to come to a robot face to face, unless you work in an industry near automatic welders, and the like.

In the future however, there will be more human looking robots. Boundaries will be blurred, and you will be thinking ‘will we be hurt? Will they turn against us?’. Rest assured – robots in the future will have to abide by the three laws of robotics. These 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 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 Law.

There are loopholes in these laws – the first can be broken unknowingly. In order to combat this, some people have suggested to make to robots altruistic and allow them to us their own judgement. This sidesteps potential unforseen circumstances.

Robots of the future - a question often discussed about robots

Whatever it is about robots, they enchant us. There have been many books and movies made about robots, their potentials, and their possible drawbacks. We want them to do so many things – tasks that we ourselves could perform, but we are too lazy to do. There have been many advances in the uses of robots, but it is generally agreed that here is a lot more potential to robots.

A discussion about robots in a general setting between friends, family, workmates, or someone off the street, will give you a wide variety of answers as to what they want a robot to fully perform – all the tasks they want a robot to be able to do. However, there is a variety of common tasks we would like the robot of the future to perform. These include:

· As Friends and/or companions – a way of helping elderly or lonely people feel loved. Robots like these would be welcome in nursing homes and in refuge shelters. We would also like to see them in the household.

· As helpers – with all the common household chores, it would be handy to have a robot that would not tire of the work. This is probably the most common ability most people want their robots to have. I’m sure all the ladies (and some men) would agree that a helper doing the household chores would be helpful. I think children around the world would rejoice – no more household chores (although I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing…)

· As police officers - no pay strikes, no disputes. I’m sure most people would want robot officers, as it would just be easy to increase police numbers. There are, however, numerous coffee table discussions involving what capabilities the police officer robot should have. The include, but are not limited to:

o How humane do you want the police robot to be?

o Shoot to kill on sight?

o What type/s of arms should it be equipped with?

· As nurturers – they would play with your children and feed them while you are out at work. This would increase your productivity as you no longer about whether your children are being fed properly

There are many more things people want in their robots, but they are too numerous to list. Instead, I hope the above list of the three most common ideas of the what the ideal future robot should do helps stimulate discussion about robots with the people you know.

discussion on interpreting robot sensor data - DAQ's PART 2

How much is a DAQ?

DAQ’s vary in price depending on manufacturer and specs. For example, the DAQ ADC11/12 by Pico was around $500aud from memory. This had 11 input channels, and was used in a UWA Mechatronic project testing forces on a walking frame (an ongoing student project). The DAQ’s from National Instrument were $800AUD minimum,

What connections are used with a DAQ?

There are a variety of connections, including USB, serial, PCMCIA, among others. If you are buying one with a new computer or laptop, I suggest USB for connectivity and portability.

NOTE: DO not go out an buy a DAQ, just to have a DAQ. If you want to know how to connect the DAQ to your robot/electronic device/ other electrical device then this will be posted next post.

How do I connect my robot/other electronic device to a DAQ?

This is not easy. It requires basic knowledge in circuitry and proficiency in soldering. As a result, I strongly recommend that if you have not got these skills or are under the age of 13, ask your mum, or preferably you dad, to do this for you.

First, look at the electronic circuit, and locate which are the output ports, and which ones are the inputs. (eg, the light sensor is the input and the connection from the light sensor is the output) Also locate which side the higher voltage is. Note this down on a printed diagram or on a piece of paper.

Second, get wires, and twist them into pairs. Solder one side of each pair at each of the outputs. This allows us to ‘read’ the information coming in.

Third, wire the twisted pairs into a parallel port/serial port/other port connector. For beginners, use a parallel port, and get a DAQ with a parallel port input. You can get these from RS components in Australia, or equivalent in your own country.

Fourth, plug your connector into your DAQ, and the DAQ into your computer.

Run the DAQ software.

How do I interpret the data coming from the DAQ software?

There are a number of ways to do this. Firstly, you need to know which sets of signals are coming from which sensor.

The numbers on the graphs, as your robot/ other device works is the sensor outputs. This means you can see when it fails, has problems, etc. you can then set new limits to stop your robot/other device from failing or running into problems.

There is another way to do this that is more visually appealing. There are programs such as Matlab, and national Instruments labview which allow you to write software that interfaces with the DAQ itself. There are a number of software that does this for you. I recommend Labview, but only because I have used it. There is a variety of different software that does this – go search for it.

well... that's all I can say about DAQ's. see you next week for more discussion about robotics.

Robotics discussion questions – how do I measure what my robot is ‘sensing’?

You can do this two ways. If your robot has inbuilt output ports with the appropriate software, they will usually provide instructions how to do this. If there is an output port, but no software, there is a piece of hardware called the Data Acquisition device. This allows you to collect the information your robot, or other device, gets.

Where do I get a Data Acquisition device (DAQ)?

DAQ’s are specialised pieces of equipment. Chances are you will not find one in your local hardware store. They can be found in a specialist elcectrical/electronics equipment supply store, such as RS components in Australia.

What brands can I expect to find?

Because you will generally only use these to gather test and field data, they are not manufactured by everybody. Some of the more common brands are National Instruments, and Pico.

What is 'the best' DAQ?

This is a question commonly asked by people, and is not a question linked directly to robotics.

There is no ‘best’ DAQ, only the best one for your need. If you don’t need to buy a DAQ with 0.5% accuracy, don’t.

that's all I have time for this week. More on DAQ's later.

Famous robots in film and TV

One of the most discussed questions in relation to robots are in fact the film robots, so here are a few

Famous robots in Tv and film

Terminator.

Appeared in all three Terminator films. Full name is T-100. In each film, the terminator sent back is a different one. There are three types of terminator seen in the films: T-100 (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger), T-1000, and T-X (AKA Terminatrix).

Bender (Futurama)

Bender is a loud mouthed, obnoxious beer drinking robot in the animated series Futurama. According to the episode “mars university”, he attended college, majoring in bending, and minoring in robo-american studies. He is also revealed to be 30% iron in the episode “The 30% Iron Chef”. Bender’s appearance is what we imagine what a robot would be like.

R2D2

Perhaps the most famous robot in film. R2D2 is a special type of robot known as a droid. He serves as a helpful aid to some of the characters in the star-wars movies.