Introduction to

Robotics
(HISTORY AND BEYOND . . .)
What is Robotics?

 A robot is a programmable mechanical device that can

perform tasks and interact with its environment, without
the aid of human interaction.
 Robotics is the science and technology behind the design,
manufacturing and application of robots.
History of robotics
 Karel Čapek was one of the most influential Czech
writers of the 20th century and a Nobel Prize nominee
(1936).
 He introduced and made popular the frequently used
international word robot , which first appeared in his
play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) in 1921
 “Robot” comes from the Czech word “robota”,
meaning “forced labor
 Karel named his brother Josef Čapek as the true
inventor of the word robot
History of robotics
 The word " robotics " also comes from science fiction it first
appeared in the short story "Runaround " (1942) by
American writer Isaac Asimov
 This story was later included in Asimov's famous book “I,
Robot”
 The robot stories of Isaac Asimov also introduced the three
laws of robotics
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 to 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.
History of robotics
Early automata
 The book of “Ingenious Devices “ arabic : ‫ كتاب الحيل‬,
Kitab al Hiyal) has been published in around 850 by the
three persian brothers Banu Musa (Ahmad,
Muhammad and Hasan bin Musa ibn Shakir
 It describes more than 100 complex automata

Self-regulating oil lamp Water clock

Early automata (cont.)
• 1497, Leonardo da Vinci : Clocks,
self driven cart, robotic knight, etc.
Early automata (cont.)
• 1738, Jacques de Vaucanson :
Player of the transverse flute,
replica of the human mouth.
Early automata (cont.)
• 1769 , Baron von Kempelen : The Mechanical Turk (chess player
• 1774 , Pierre and Henri Louis Jacquet Droz : “Sketcher”, “Writer” and
Musician puppets could be programmed using different program drums
Early robots
Modern robots Industry
Modern robots-Service
Modern robots-Entertainment
Modern robots-Care robots
Modern robots-Research robots
Modern robots-Humanoid robots
Basic Components of a Robot

 The components of a robot are the

 body/frame,
 control system,
 manipulators, and
 drivetrain.
Basic Components of a Robot
 Body/frame: The body or frame
can be of any shape and size.
Essentially, the body/frame
provides the structure of the
robot. Most people are
comfortable with human-sized
and shaped robots that they
have seen in movies, but the
majority of actual robots look
nothing like humans. Typically,
robots are designed more for
function than appearance.
Basic Components of a Robot
 Control System: The control
system of a robot is equivalent to
the central nervous system of a
human. It coordinates and
controls all aspects of the robot.
Sensors provide feedback based
on the robot’s surroundings,
which is then sent to the Central
Processing Unit (CPU). The CPU
filters this information through
the robot’s programming and
makes decisions based on logic.
The same can be done with a
variety of inputs or human
commands.
Basic Components of a Robot
 Manipulators: To fulfill their purposes, many robots are required to interact with
their environment, and the world around them. Sometimes they are required to
move or reorient objects from their environments without direct contact by
human operators. Unlike the Body/frame and the Control System, manipulators
are not integral to a robot, i.e. a robot can exist without a manipulator.
Basic Components of a Robot
 Drivetrain: Although some
robots are able to perform their
tasks from one location, it is
often a requirement of robots
that they are able to move from
location to location. For this
task, they require a drivetrain.
Drivetrains consist of a
powered method of mobility.
Humanoid style robots use legs,
while most other robots will use
some sort of wheeled solution.
Uses and Examples of Robots
 Robots have a variety of modern day uses. These
uses can be broken down into three major
categories:
1. Industrial Robots
2. Robots in Research
3. Robots in Education
Industrial Robots
 In industry, there are numerous jobs
that require high degrees of speed
and precision. For many years
humans were responsible for all
these jobs. With the advent of
robotic technology, it became
evident that many industrial
processes could be sped up and
performed with a higher degree of
precision by the use of robots. Such
jobs include packaging, assembly,
painting, and palletizing. By the end
of 2014, the International Federation
of Robotics predicts that there will
be over 1.3 million industrial robots
in operation worldwide!
Robots in Research
 Robots come in very handy in
the world of research, as they
often can be used to perform
tasks or reach locations that
would be impossible for
humans. For decades, NASA
has utilized probes, landers,
and rovers with robotic
characteristics to study outer
space and planets in our solar
system.
Robots in Education

 The field of robotics has become an exciting and accessible tool for
teaching and supporting science, technology, engineering,
mathematics (STEM), design principles, and problem solving.
Robotics enables students to use their hands and minds to create like
an engineer, artist, and technician does, all at once. It allows for
instantaneous application of scientific and mathematical principals.
Why is Robotics Important?
 It is with applications in many facets of our lives.
 Robotics provides a unique combination of the pillars of STEM:
science, technology, engineering and math.
 It allows students to experience a true interdisciplinary lesson while
studying a cutting edge and exciting topic.
 The aesthetics which go into the design and creation of robots allow
students to experiment with an artistic side, while working through
technical principals.
Are robots intelligent?
What is intelligence?
What is intelligence?
 Ability to perceive information and use it as knowledge for
adaptive behaviors within an environment
 Logic

 Abstract thought
 Understanding

 Self awareness
 Communication

 Learning and memory

 Emotions

 Planning

 Creativity

 Problem solving
Definition: What is AI?
Definition: What is AI?

 John McCarthy, who coined the term in

1955, defines it as " the science and
engineering of making intelligent
machines
 J. McCarthy developed LISP
programming language
Definition: What is AI?
 “The exciting new effort to make computers think ... machines with
minds , in the full and literal sense” ( Haugeland , 1985; coined the
term GOFAI)
 “The automation of activities that we associate with human thinking,
activities such as decision making , problem solving , learning ...”
(Bellman , 1978)
 “The art of creating machines that perform functions that require
intelligence when performed by people ” (Kurzweil, 1990)
 The study of how to make computers do things at which , at the
moment , people are better ” (Rich and Knight, 1991)
Definition: What is AI?
 “The study of mental faculties through the use of computational
models” Charniak and McDermott, 1985)
 “The study of the computations that make it possible to perceive ,
reason , and act ” (Winston, 1992)
 “A field of study that seeks to explain and emulate intelligent
behavior in terms of computational processes ” (Schalkoff , 1990)
 “The branch of computer science that is concerned with the
automation of intelligent behavior ” (Luger and Stubblefield , 1993)
Artificial intelligence as engineering
 How can we make computer based systems more intelligent?
 Ability to automatically perform tasks that currently require human
operators
 More autonomy in computer systems ; less requirement for human
intervention or monitoring
 More flexibility in dealing with variability in the environment in an
appropriate manner
 Systems that are easier to use by understanding what the user wants
from limited instructions
 Systems that can improve their performance by learning from
experience
History of AI
 Aristotle-more than 2000 years ago
 Propositional logic (modus ponens) using deductive
reasoning
 Reasoning from one or more statements to reach a
logical conclusion (“top down logic”)
 Francis Bacon 1620s
 Agorithm for determining the essence of an entity
using reduction and inductive reasoning (Novum
Organun)
 Conclusion is reached by generalizing or extrapolating
from specific cases to general rules ( (“bottom up
logic”
History of AI
 Calculating machines
 Chinese abacus more than 4000 years
ago
 Logarithms that allowed multiplication
and the use of exponents to be reduced to
addition and multiplication (John Napier,
1614)
 William Oughtred and others developed
the slide rule in the 17th century
(multiplication, division, roots,
exponents, logarithms)
History of AI
 Calculating machines
 Calculating Clock for addition and
substraction (Wilhem Schickard, 1623)
 Pascaline machine for addition and
subtraction (Blaise Pascal, 1642)
 Lebniz Wheel for multiplication and
division (Leibniz, 1694)
History of AI
 Formal logic
 Boole‘s logical algebra : „AND“, „OR“, and
„NOT“ (1847,1854)
 First order predicate calculus (Frege 1879,
1884)
 Graph theory
 Euler in 1736 layed foundations of graph
theory The Seven Bridges of Königsberg)
 State space search
 Breadth first search in 1950
 Depth first search in 19th cent
 Dijkstra‘s algorithm in 1956
History of AI
 Calculating machines
A New Inspiration To Arithmetic
(ANITA) the first electronic
calculator (1962)
 Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Computer (ENIAC) the first
electronic computer (1946)
 Apple II home computer (1977)
History of AI
 In1997 an IBM supercomputer
Deep Blue defeated the world chess
champion Garry Kasparov

 In 2017 Google's DeepMind

AlphaGo artificial intelligence
defeated the world's number one Go
player Ke Jie
PERCEPTION-ACTION LOOP
PERCEPTION-ACTION LOOP