Introduction to Robotics

Dr Frazer K. Noble
Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
Massey University
E: [email protected]
O: AV 1.18, Albany Village

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Introduction
In this presentation, I will:

Define what a robot is.

Provide some background.
Provide some history of robotics.
Introduce topics related to robotics.

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What is a Robot?
Exactly what constitutes a robot is sometimes debated.

The distinction lies somewhere in the sophistication of the programmability of the

device.

If a mechanical device can be programmed to perform a wide variety of applications, it

is probably a robot.

Machines that are, for the most part, limited to one class of tasks are considered fixed
automations.

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A generic definition for a robot is:

"A goal-oriented machine that can sense, plan, and act."

A robot senses its environment and uses that information, together with a goal, to plan
an action.

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The term "Industrial Robot" is defined by ISO 8373:2012 as:

An automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator

programmable in three or more axes, which can be either fixed in place or mobile
for use in industrial automation applications.

The terms used in the definition are explained below:

Reprogrammable: the robot is designed so that the programmed motions can be

changed without physical alterations.
Multipurpose: the robot is capable of being adapted to a different application with
physical alteration.
Physical alteration: alteration of the mechanical system.
Axis: direction used to specify the robot motion in a linear or rotary mode.

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Types of Robots
Robots can be classified based on whether they can move or not.

A robot that can not move is called a fixed robot.

A robot that can move is called a mobile robot.

Alternatively, robots can be classified based on their functions.

A robot that works in a factory is called a manufacturing robot.

A robot that works with a person is called a collaborative robot.
A robot that works in a field is called a field robot.
A robot that performs a service is called a service robot.

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Figure: Examples of fixed and mobile robots. (Left) ABB's IRB 1200; (Centre) Boston
Dynamics's Spot; and (Right) Agility Robotics' Digit.

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A manufacturing robot is typically an arm-like manipulator, which has a fixed based and
peforms repetitive tasks within a local work cell.

Manufacturing robots, e.g., ABB's IRB 1200, are able to perform tasks quickly and
precisely; however, they can be dangerous for people to work around.

Manufacturing robots are, typically, placed in a cage to prevent human interaction.

Collaborative robots, e.g., ABB's IRB 14000 YuMI, perform tasks slower than a traditional
manufacturing, but are safe for people to work around.

Collaborative robots are, typically, placed alongside a human and stop when
encountering an obstacle.

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Figure: (Left) ABB's IRB 1200; and (Right) ABB's IRB 14000 YuMi.

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Mobile robots face challenges that fixed robots do not, e.g, they must operate in
dynamic environments, and they must operate safely.

For example, a delivery robot will need to move from one point to another and avoid
obstacles along its path; however, these obstacles, e.g., people, may be constantly
moving. It will also need to drive on the road, obey traffic signals, and the rules of the
road.

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Figure: (Left) NASA's Curiosity Mars rover robot; and (Right) Amazon's Scout delivery
robot.

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Background
Robots are widely used in a range of industries for automation.

The history of industrial automation is characterized by periods of rapid change in

popular methods.

Either as a cause or, perhaps, an effect, such periods of change in automation

techniques seem closely tied to world economics.

Use of the industrial robot, which became identifiable as a unique device in the 1960s,
along with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems and Computer-Aided Manufacturing
(CAM) systems, characterizes the latest trends in the automation of the manufacturing
process.

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In North America, there was much adoption of robotic equipment in the early 1980s,
followed by a brief pull-back in the late 1980s. Since that time, the market has been
growing, although it is still subject to economic swings.

As of mid-1985, approximately 16,000 industrial robots were estimated to be in use in

the United States (U.S).

Since 2010, the demand for industrial robots has accelerated considerably due to the
ongoing trend toward automation and continued innovative technical improvements in
industrial robots.

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Figure: Estimated world-wide annual shipments of industrial robots by region.

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Between 2012 and 2017, robot sales increased on average 19 % per year.

Between 2005 and 2008, the average annual number of robots sold was about 115,000
units.

2009 however, was not an ordinary year because of the global economic and financial
crisis which caused an exceptional plunge in robot sales that year.

In 2010, investments which had been restrained in 2009 were the main driver of the
significant increase in robot sales.

Between 2011 and 2017, the average annual supply doubled to about 236,000 units
compared to the average annual supply between 2005 and 2008.

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The main driver of growth has been the electrical and electronics industry.

Since 2010, the automotive industry considerably increased investments in industrial

robots worldwide. After two years of single-digit growth rates, robot sales increased in
2017 by 22 % to a new peak of almost 125,700 units.

Between 2012 and 2017, robot sales to the automotive industry increased by 14 % on
average per year.

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Figure: Estimated world-wide annual shipments of industrial robots by industry.

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Since 2010, investments in new production capacities in the emerging markets, as well
as investments in production modernization in major car producing countries, have led
to a rising number of robot installations.

Robot sales to the electrical and electronics industry (including computers and
equipment, radio, TV and communication devices, medical equipment, precision and
optical instruments) have been significantly up since 2013 and are almost at the same
level as the automotive industry.

In 2017, sales increased by 33 % to a new peak of 121,300 units, accounting for a share
of 32 % of the total supply in 2017. The rising demand for electronic products and new
products, the need to automate production and the increasing need for batteries, chips
and displays, were driving factors behind the boost in sales.

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There are several reasons for their use and acceptance:

Reduced labour costs.

Increased output rate.
Elimination of dangerous or undesirable jobs.
Improved product quality.
Increased manufacturing flexibility.
Reduced material waste.
Easier compliance with health and safety regulations.
Reduced labour turnover.
Lower capital costs.
Controlled and faster inventory turnover.

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The following lists some common applications industrial robots have been used in:

Machine Tool Loading.

Spot Welding.
Spray Painting.
Palletizing.
Waterjet Cutting.

There are, indeed, a great deal more applications.

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The History of Robotics
The term "robot" means different things to different people.

Science fiction has strongly influenced what people consider a robot to be; however, in
reality, robotics is far behind these popular conceptions.

Robotics, however, is developing quickly and products, e.g., robotics vacuum cleaners
and self-driving cars, are becoming increasingly common.

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Figure: (Left) Robby the Robot (1956); (Centre) iRobot Roomba (2002); and (Right) Tesla
Roadster (2009).

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As early as the 18 century, people were interested in automata, i.e., moving
mechanical devices, which mimicked animals and humans.

These machines, complex mechanisms at the time, demonstrated life-like behaviour,

e.g., flapping wings, eating, and defecating.

These systems, typically executed very simple, mechanically-driven programs.

These automata inspired some of the first programmable machines, e.g., Jacquard's
loom, a programmable weaving machine.

Programs were encoded as a series of holes on punched cards.

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Figure: (Left) Vaucanson's duck automaton; and (Right) a Jacquard loom and punched
cards.

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The word "robot" was first used by Karel Capek in the 1920's play, Rossumovi
Univerzalni Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots).

The concept of robots was then popularised by Isaac Asimov in the 1950's, who
postulated the Three Laws of Robotics:

A robot must not harm a human being, nor through inaction allow one to come to
harm.
A robot must always obey human beings, unless that is in conflict with the first law.
A robot must protect itself from harm, unless that is in conflict with the first or
second law.

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Figure: Popular media based on Asimov's work. (Left) Bicentennial Man (1999); (Centre)
I, Robot (2004); and (Right) Foundation (2022).

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Inspired by Asimov's works, Joseph F. Engelberger tried to design a working robot in
the 1950's. Along with George C. Devol, he started the Unimation Robotics Company in
1958.

In 1959, Devol and Engelberger developed the first industrial robot.

In 1961, a Unimation (USA) Unimate robot was installed at the General Motor's (GM)
(USA) Ternstedt plant in Trenton, New Jersey.

In 1967, a Unimate robot was installed at Metallverken, in Uppsland Vasby, Sweden.

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Figure: (Left) A Unimate robot; and (Right) a Unimate robot at GM.

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The 1970s saw an increase in the global use of industrial robots, significant
developments in their capabilities, and a number of new robots entering the market.

In 1969, GM (USA) used Unimate robots for spot-welding, the Stanford Research
Institute (USA) demonstrated the use of machine vision for mobile robot navigation,
and Hitachi (Japan) developed the world's first vision-based, fully-automatic, intelligent
assembly robot.

In 1973, KUKA (Germany) developed the first electro-mechanically actuated, six Degree
of Freedom (6-DOF) industrial robot.

In 1974, ASEA (Sweden) developed the first, fully electric, micro-processor-controlled,

industrial robot.

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Figure: (Left) Unimate robots being used for welding; (Centre) Stanford's robot; and
(Right) ASEA's IRB 6.

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In 1975, ABB (Sweden) developed an industrial robot with a 60 kg payload.

In 1978, Unimation (USA) and GM (USA) developed the Programmable Universal

Machine for Assembly (PUMA) robot, and Professor Hiroshi Makino (Japan) developed
the Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) robot.

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Figure: (Left) ABB's IRB 60 robot; (Centre) Unimation's PUMA robot; and (Right) ABB's
IRB 910SC robot.

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The 1980s saw further developments in industrial robots' capabilities, with machine
vision being increasingly used, and novel robot programming languages being
developed.

In 1980, the University of Rhode Island (USA) reported a vision-based, robot system
that picked up randomly placed and orientated parts from a bin.

In 1981, GM (USA) installed "CONSIGHT", a machine vision system at their foundry in St.
Catherines, Ontario.

In 1982, IBM (USA) developed the A Manufacturing Language (AML) programming

language for robotic applications.

In 1984, ABB (Sweden) produced the fastest assembly robot.

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Figure: (Left) GM's CONSIGHT system; (Centre) IBM's AML being used; and (Right) ABB's
IRB 1000.

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The 1990s saw industrial robots' capabilities to further develop, with significant
developments made in terms of their control.

In 1992, Wittmann (Austria) introduced the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus for
robots, ABB (Sweden) launched an open control system, and Demaurex (Switzerland)
sold its first delta robot.

In 1996, KUKA (Germany) launched the first PC-based robot control system.

In 1998, ABB (Sweden) developed FlexPicker, the world's fastest, delta robot-based
robot.

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Figure (Left) ABB's S4 controller; (Centre) Demaurex's delta robot being used; and
(Right) ABB's FlexPicker being used.

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The 2000s saw industrial robots' capabilities continue to develop, with robots being
used in increasingly wider applications.

In 2003, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s (USA) Spirit and
Opportunity missions to Mars were launched, and KUKA (Germany) developed the first
entertainment robot, Robocoaster.

In 2007, Motoman (Japan) launched "super speed" arc welding robots, and KUKA
(Germany) launched a robot with a 1000 kg payload.

In 2008, FANUC (Japan) launched a heavy-duty robot with a payload of 1200 kg.

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Figure: (Left) NASA's Opportunity robot; (Centre) KUKA's Robocoaster; and (Right)
FANUC's M-2000iA robot.

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Description of Position and Orientation
In the study of robotics, we are concerned with the location of objects in three-
dimensional space.

These objects are the manipulator's links, the parts and tools it deals with, and objects
in the manipulator's workspace.

In order to describe the position and orientation of a body, we attach a coordinate

system, or frame, rigidly to the object.

The position and orientation of the frame is then described with respect to some
reference coordinate system.

Any frame can serve as a reference system within which to express the position and
orientation, so we often think of transforming or changing the description of these
attributes from one frame to another.
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Figure: Coordinate systems, or frames, are attached to a manipulator.

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Forward Kinematics of Manipulators
Kinematics is the science of motion that treats motion without regard to the forces that
cause it. Within kinematics, position, velocity, and acceleration are studied.

The study of kinematics of manipulators refers to all the geometrical and time-based
properties of the motion.

Manipulators consist of nearly rigid links, which are connected via joints that allow
relative motion of neighbouring links.

These joints are usually instrumented with position sensors, which allow the relative
position of neighbouring links to be measured.

The number of degrees of freedom that a manipulator has is the number of

independent position variables that would have to be specified in order to locate all
parts of the the manipulator.
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Figure: Kinematic equations describe the tool frame relative to the base frame as a
function of the joint variables.

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At the end of the manipulator is the end-effector. Depending on the robot, the end-
effector could be a gripper, a welding torch, a magnet, or a sensor.

The position of the manipulator is usually described by giving a tool frame, which is
defined relative to a base frame.

A very basic problem in the study of the manipulator is called forward kinematics. This
is the static geometrical problem of computing the position and orientation of the end-
effector of the manipulator.

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Inverse Kinematics of Manipulators
The inverse kinematics problem can be summarised as: "Given the position and
orientation of the end-effector of the manipulator, calculate all possible sets of joint
angles that could be used to attain this given position and orientation".

This is a rather complex geometrical problem and is not as simple as the forward
kinematics one.

Because kinematic equations are non-linear, their solution is not always easy (or
possible) in a closed form.

Also, questions about the existence of a solution and about multiple solutions arise.

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Figure For a given position and orientation of the tool frame, values for the joint
variables can be caluclated via the inverse kinematics.

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Velocities, Static Forces, and Singularities
In addition to dealing with static positioning problems, it may also be necessary to
analyse manipulators in motion.

When performing velocity analysis of a mechanism, it is convenient to define a matrix

quantity call the Jacobian of the manipulator.

The Jacobian specifies the mapping from velocities in joint space to velocities in
Cartesian space.

At certain points, called singularities, this mapping is not invertible.

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Figure: The geometrical relationship between joint rates and the velocity of the end-
effector can be described using a matrix called the Jacobian.

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Dynamics
Dynamics is a huge field of study dedicated to studying the forces required to cause
motion.

In order to accelerate a manipulator from rest, move at a constant end-effector speed,

and finally decelerate to a stop, a complex set of torque functions must be applied to
the manipulator's joints.

One method of controlling a manipulator is calculating the actuators' torques using the
dynamic equations of motion of the manipulator.

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Trajectory Generation
A common way of causing a manipulator to move from one point to another in a
smooth, controlled fashion is to cause each joint to move via a smooth function of time.

Commonly, each joint starts and ends its motion at the same time.

Exactly how to compute these motion functions is a problem of trajectory generation.

Often a path is specified using intermediate points, or via points, and a spline is used
for a smooth function that passes through the set points.

In order for the end-effector to follow a path through space, the desired motion needs
to be converted to an equivalent set of joint motions. This is Cartesian trajectory
generation.

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Figure In order to move the end-effector from point A to point B, we must compute a
trajectory for each joint to follow.

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Manipulator Design and Sensors
Although manipulators are, in theory, universal devices applicable to many situations,
economics generally dictates that the intended task domain influence the mechanical
design of the manipulator.

Along with issues such as size, speed, and load capability, the designer must also
consider the number of joints and geometric arrangement. These considerations affect
the manipulator's workspace, size and quality, the stiffness of the manipulator structure,
and other attributes.

In order to build a useful robot, two approaches can be taken:

Build a specialised robot. This robot works on a specific task.

Build a universal robot. This robot would be able to work on a variety of tasks.
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Position Control
Some manipulators are equipped with stepper motors that can execute a desired
trajectory directly.

However, the majority of manipulators are driven by actuators that supply a force or
torque to cause motion in the links.

In this case, an algorithm is needed to compute torques that will cause the desired
motion.

A primary concern of a position control system is to compensate automatically for

errors and to suppress disturbances that perturb the system.

To achieve this, position and velocity sensors are used by the control algorithm, which
computes the torque commands for the actuators.
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Figure: In order to make the manipulator follow a desired trajectory, a position-control
system must be implemented. Such a system uses feedback from joint sensors to keep
the manipulator on course.
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Force Control
The ability for a manipulator to control forces of contact when it touches parts, tools, or
work surfaces is of importance in applying manipulators to real-world tasks.

Force control is complementary to position control. When a robot is moving in free

space, only position control is useful (there's no surface to touch); when touching a
surface, position control could lead to excessive forces at the point of contact, or no
contact at all.

Therefore, a hybrid control approach is required with some movements governed by a

position-control law, others by a force-control law.

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Figure: In order for a manipulator to slide across a surface while applying a constant
force, a hybrid position-force control system must be used.

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Programming Robots
A robot programming language serves as the interface between the human user and
the industrial robot.

In typical robot systems, there is a shorthand way for a human user to instruct the robot
which path it is to follow.

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First, a special point of the grasped tool is specified as the operational point, also called
the Tool Centre Point (TCP)

Motions of the robot will be described by the user in terms of the desired location of
the TCP relative to a user-specified coordinate system.

Most often paths are created from via points. Via points are specified relative to the
reference coordinate system and denote locations along the path the TCP should pass
through.

In addition, the user may specify the speed the TCP travels at.

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Off-line Programming and Simulation
An off-line programming system is a robot programming environment that has been
sufficiently extended, generally by means of computer graphics, that the development
of robot programs can take place without access to the robot itself.

The advantage of off-line programming is that it does not case production equipment,
i.e., the robot, to be tied up when it needs to be reprogrammed; hence, factories can
stay in production for longer.

Off-line programming tools also enable the use of computer aided design (CAD)
models to model the robot's work-space, "dramatically reducing programming time
required for the manufacturing process".

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Figure: Off-line programming systems allow robots to be programmed without access
to the robot itself during programming.

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Robots, Jobs, and Ethics
A number of ethical issues have arisen from the advent of robotics.

One concern people have is "robots taking jobs from people".

It is a reality that robots are now doing work that people used to.

Robots are being used to do dangerous work, e.g., handling hazardous waste or
working in dangerous environments.

They are helping keep people safe.

Robots are also being used to do low-skilled work, e.g., picking fruit and cleaning.

They are doing work that people don't want to do.

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Another concern people have is "robots causing harm".

Manually driven cars are ubiquitous, yet are responsible for over 1.3 million deaths per
year.

Self-driving cars could drastically reduce this toll; however, people are worried about
"who will be blamed" when an accident occurs.

Robotic transportation, healthcare, education, etc. might bring economic benefits to

society, but we need to ask the question: "is it the right thing to do?"

It's important to balance the good of the individual with the good of the society.

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Conclusion
In this presentation, I have:

Defined what a robot is.

Provided some background.
Provided some history of robotics.
Introduced topics related to robotics.

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References
1. Corke, P. I., & Khatib, O. (2011). Robotics, vision and control: fundamental
algorithms in MATLAB (Vol. 73, p. 2). Berlin: Springer.
2. https://ifr.org/free-downloads/.
3. https://ifr.org/robot-history.
4. https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/ai-robotics/.
5. https://new.abb.com/products/robotics.
6. https://www.bostondynamics.com/.
7. https://agilityrobotics.com/.

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Recommended Reading
1. Corke, P. I., & Khatib, O. (2011). Robotics, vision and control: fundamental
algorithms in MATLAB. Chapter 1.

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