Introduction to Robotics

Narendiran Anandan
Serkan Ergun
Basic Terms in Electrical Engineering
• Charge
• Current
• Voltage
• Resistance
• Capacitance
• Inductance
• Impedance

• Many more
Basic concepts in Electricity
• Electrical circuits are all about the movement of electric charge.
• Charge is a fundamental property of particles. (positive or negative).
• Particles with the same polarity repel each other while opposites attract.
• Charge is measured in coulombs.
Charge and Electric Field Intensity
Electric field intensity is a vector field we assign the
symbol 𝑬 and has units of electrical potential per
𝑽
distance; in SI units, volts per meter ( ).
𝒎

Electric field intensity (E, N/C or V/m) is a vector field that

quantifies the force experienced by a charged particle due
to the influence of charge not associated with that
particle.

𝐹Ԧ
𝐸=
𝑞
Charge and Current

• Current is the rate of charge movement over time.

• The unit of current is Amperes.

1 Columb
• 1 Ampere =
1 Second

Q
•I=
t

• Common analogy is the rate of water flowing in a

pipe
Energy and Voltage
• Energy is defined as the ability to do work. Its
basic unit is Joule.
• Moving charge from one point to another
requires energy.
• There is a potential difference between B and A
W
• Voltage V =
Q
1 Joule B has a higher electric potential
• 1Volt =
1 Coulomb than A
• Voltage always implies two points for
measurement because it involves a difference.
Power
• Power is the rate of energy usage. Its unit is Watts.
W
• P=
t
1 Joule
• 1 Watt =
1 Second
• 𝑃 =𝑉×𝐼
Examples
• During a half second interval, a certain battery delivers a charge of three
coulombs. Determine the resulting current.

• A device delivers a current of 25 mA. Determine the charge transferred in two

seconds along with the equivalent total number of electrons. The charge of an
electron is −1.602 × 10−19 C.

• 100 joules are expended to move a 20 coulomb charge from point A to point B.
Determine the resulting voltage.

• If a 9-volt battery delivers a current of 0.1 amps, determine the power delivered
in watts.
Conductance and Resistance
Conductance and Resistance
1 1
•𝑅= or 𝐺 =
𝐺 𝑅
𝑉
•𝑅= or 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 (Ohms Law)
𝐼
𝜌𝑙
•𝑅=
𝐴
• The unit of resistance is Ohms (Ω)
• The unit of conductance is Siemens(S)

Resistivity
Material
ρ (Ω·cm) at 20 °C
Silver 1.59×10−6
Copper 1.68×10−6
Gold 2.44×10−6
Resistors

Resistors are available in standardised

ohmic values and power rating. Along
with their resistance value, resistors also
have a specified tolerance.

For example, a 220 ohm resistor may have

a tolerance of 10%. This means that the
actual value of any given specimen from a box
of these resistors may be off of the nameplate
or nominal value by 10% or 22 ohms.
Common Circuit Elements, Symbols and Terminology
• Wire
• Voltage Source
• Current Source
• Resistors
• Capacitors
• Inductors
• Switches
• Meters
• Voltmeter
• Ammeter
• Nodes
• Branches
• Opencircuit
• Shortcircuit
Simple Electrical Circuit

Resistance of the bulb is

36 Ohm.

Battery voltage is 9V.

What is the power

consumption of the bulb?
Examples
A 9-volt battery is used in series to Determine the voltage developed
power a 40 Ω resistor. across the resistor in the circuit.
Determine the circulating current.
Resistors in Series Connection
𝜌𝑙2
𝑅2 =
𝐴
𝜌𝑙
𝜌𝑙1 𝑹𝟐
𝑅= 𝑅1 =
𝐴
𝐴 𝑹𝟏
A 𝒍𝟐
A
𝒍𝟏

𝜌(𝑙1 +𝑙2 ) 𝜌𝑙1 𝜌𝑙2

𝑅= = + = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2
𝐴 𝐴 𝐴
𝑹

𝑅𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 + ⋯ + 𝑅𝑁 A
𝒍𝟏 + 𝒍𝟐
Example

A string of resistors is placed in series.

Their values are: 120 Ω, 390 Ω, 560 Ω and 470 Ω.
Determine the equivalent series value.

𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 + 𝑅4
𝑅𝑇 = 120Ω + 390Ω + 560Ω + 470Ω

𝑅𝑇 = 1540Ω
Sources in Series
• Multiple Voltage sources can be connected in series.
• The equivalent series voltage is sum of voltages considering the polarities.
• Multiple Current Sources in Series is NOT ALLOWED.
Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL)
• The sum of voltage rises around a series loop must
equal the sum of voltage drops.
• Voltage rises due to voltage sources.
• Voltage drops due to resistances.
Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL)

Determine the voltage across the Determine the voltage (𝑉𝑎 ) across the
resistors in the given circuit. current source in the given circuit.
Example – KVL
Determine the voltage 𝑉𝐵𝐸 in the circuit
Resistors in Parallel
𝜌𝑙
𝑅1 =
𝜌𝑙 𝐴1
𝑅=
𝐴 𝑹𝟏
𝑹𝟐
𝜌𝑙
A 𝑨𝟏 𝑅2 =
𝒍 𝐴2
𝑨𝟐

𝜌𝑙
𝑅=
𝐴1 +𝐴2
1 𝐴1 +𝐴2 𝐴1 𝐴2
= = + 𝑹
𝑅 𝜌𝑙 𝜌𝑙 𝜌𝑙
1 1 1
= +
𝑅 𝑅1 𝑅2
1 1 1 1 𝒍
= + + ⋯+
𝑅𝑇 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅𝑁 𝑨𝟏 + 𝑨𝟐
Sources in Parallel

Current Sources can be placed in parallel.

The total current is the sum of currents considering the polarity.
Do not place voltage sources in parallel. (Exception when the voltage is same)
Example
• A group of resistors is placed in parallel as shown in the figure. Determine the
equivalent parallel value.
1 1 1 1
= + + ⋯+
𝑅𝑇 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅𝑁
1
𝑅𝑇 =
1 1 1
+ + ⋯+
𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅𝑁

1
𝑅𝑇 =
1 1 1
+ +
2𝑘Ω 6𝑘Ω 12𝑘Ω

𝑅𝑇 = 1.333𝑘Ω
Kirchoff’s Current Law
• The sum of all currents entering and exiting a node must sum to zero.

𝐼1 𝐼2

𝐼 − 𝐼1 − 𝐼2 = 0
𝐼 = 𝐼1 + 𝐼2
Kirchhoff’s Current Law
A simple parallel network is shown in the following figures.
Determine the current through each resistor.
Series Parallel Circuits
Simplification Method:
• Identify subgroups of resistors that exhibit
series or parallel configurations within
themselves.
• Replace the subgroups with a single
equivalent resistance.
• Repeat the above steps until the circuit is
reduced to a single resistance, or
alternately, a simple series-only or parallel-
only configuration.
Examples
• A series-parallel circuit is shown in the following figures. Determine Vb.
Examples
• Determine 𝑉𝑎𝑐 and the voltages across each resistor in the circuit.
Examples
• Determine Vb, Vc, Vd, the source current Is, and the current flowing through the
40 Ω resistor
Superposition Theorem
• Useful to analyse multi-source series-parallel circuits.
• Applicable only to Linear and Bilateral Networks.
• Steps:
• For every voltage or current source in the original circuit, create a new sub-circuit. The
sub-circuits will be identical to the original except that all sources other than the one
under consideration will be set to zero.
• Label the current directions and voltage polarities on each of the new sub-circuits, as
generated by the source under consideration.
• Solve each of the sub-circuits for the desired voltages and/or currents using standard
series-parallel analysis techniques. Make sure to note the voltage polarities and current
directions for these items.
• Add all the contributions from each of the sub-circuits to arrive at the final values, being
sure to account for current directions and voltage polarities in the process.
Superposition Theorem
• Determine 𝑉𝑏 for the circuit in figures using superposition.
Reference
“DC Electrical Circuit Analysis: A Practical Approach”, James M. Fiore.

https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/dc-electrical-circuit-analysis-a-
practical-approach-fiore