Overview
Practically speaking, a robot is a machine device that automatically performs work. Robots can accept human command, execute pre-programmed programs, or act according to principles and programs formulated with artificial intelligence technology. Robots perform tasks that replace or assist human work, such as manufacturing, construction, or hazardous work.
Robots can be the product of advanced integration of cybernetics, mechatronics, computers, materials and bionics. Currently, it has important uses in fields such as industry, medicine and even military.
European and American countries believe that robots should be computer-controlled automatic machines with multi-functions that can be changed through programming, but Japan does not agree with this statement. The Japanese believe that "a robot is any advanced automatic machine", which includes manipulators that still need to be controlled by a person. Therefore, many Japanese concepts of robots are not what Europeans and Americans define.
Now, the international concept of robots has gradually converged. Generally speaking, people can accept this statement that a robot is a machine that relies on its own power and control capabilities to achieve various functions. The United Nations Organization for Standardization has adopted the definition of a robot from the American Robotics Association: "A programmable and multi-functional manipulator used to transport materials, parts, and tools; or a programmable and programmable machine to perform different tasks. Specialized system for action. ”
The evaluation criteria for robot abilities include: intelligence, which refers to feeling and perception, including memory, operation, comparison, identification, judgment, decision-making, learning and logical reasoning; function, which refers to flexibility. property, versatility or space occupancy, etc.; physical energy refers to force, speed, continuous operation capability, reliability, interoperability, lifespan, etc. Therefore, it can be said that robots are spatial three-dimensional coordinate machines with biological functions.
A brief history of the development of robots
In 1920, Czechoslovak writer Karel Capek, in his science fiction novel "Rosam's Robot Universal Company", based on Robota (Czech Republic) Wen, originally meaning "labor, hard work") and Robotnik (Polish, originally meaning "worker"), created the word "robot".
Elektro, a home robot manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Company, was exhibited at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It is controlled by cables, can walk, can speak 77 words, and can even smoke, but it is still far from being able to actually do housework. But it makes people's vision of home robots more concrete.
In 1942, American science fiction master Asimov proposed the "Three Laws of Robotics". Although this was just a creation in science fiction novels, it later became the default R&D principle in academia.
In 1948, Norbert Wiener published "Cybernetics", which elaborated on the consistent laws of communication and control functions in machines and human nervous and sensory functions, and was the first to propose a computer-centered system. automated factory.
In 1954, American George DeVore built the world's first programmable robot and registered a patent. This kind of manipulator can perform different tasks according to different programs, so it is versatile and flexible.
At the Dartmouth Conference in 1956, Marvin Minsky proposed his view of intelligent machines: Intelligent machines are “capable of creating abstract models of their surroundings and, if they encounter problems, can Finding solutions in abstract models”. This definition affects the research direction of intelligent robots in the next 30 years.
In 1959, DeVore teamed up with American inventor Joseph Engelberg to create the first industrial robot. Subsequently, the world's first robot manufacturing factory, Unimation Company, was established. Due to Ingeberg's development and promotion of industrial robots, he is also known as the "Father of Industrial Robots."
In 1962, the American AMF company produced "VERSTRAN" (meaning universal handling), which became a truly commercial industrial robot like the Unimate produced by Unimation Company and was exported to countries around the world, setting off a worldwide response. A boom in robots and robotics research.
The application of sensors in 1962-1963 improved the operability of robots. People have tried to install various sensors on robots, including the tactile sensor used by Ernst in 1961, the pressure sensor used by Tomovich and Boney in the world's earliest "dexterous hand" in 1962, and McCarthy In 1963, he began to add visual sensing systems to robots, and in 1965, he helped MIT launch the world's first robot system with visual sensors that could identify and locate building blocks.
In 1965, the Beast robot was developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University. Beast can already correct its position according to the environment through sonar systems, photoelectric tubes and other devices. Since the mid-1960s, robotics laboratories have been established one after another at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, Stanford University, and the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. The United States has begun to research the second generation of sensor-equipped, "sentient" robots and is moving towards artificial intelligence.
In 1968, the Stanford Research Institute in the United States announced their successful robot Shakey. It has a vision sensor that can detect and grab building blocks based on human instructions, but the computer that controls it is as big as a room. Shakey can be regarded as the world's first intelligent robot, kicking off the development of the third generation of robots.
In 1969, the laboratory of Ichiro Kato of Waseda University in Japan developed the first robot that walked on two legs. Kato Ichiro has long been committed to the research of humanoid robots and is known as the "Father of Humanoid Robots". Japanese experts have always been good at developing humanoid robots and entertainment robots. Later, they went a step further and gave birth to Honda's ASIMO and Sony's QRIO.
In 1973, the world's first robot and small computer worked together, and the robot T3 of the American Cincinnati Milacron company was born.
In 1978, the American company Unimation launched the general industrial robot PUMA, which marked the complete maturity of industrial robot technology. PUMA is still working on the front line of the factory.
In 1984, Ingeberg launched Helpmate, a robot that could deliver meals, medicines, and mail to patients in hospitals. In the same year, he also predicted: "I will let the robot clean the floor, cook, go out and wash my car for me, and check the safety."
In 1998, the Danish LEGO Company launched the robot (Mind-storms) kit, which made robot manufacturing as easy as building blocks. It was relatively simple and could be assembled at will, and robots began to enter the personal world.
In 1999, Sony Corporation of Japan launched the dog-shaped robot AIBO (AIBO), which was sold out immediately. Since then, entertainment robots have become one of the ways for robots to enter ordinary households.
In 2002, the Danish company iRobot launched Roomba, a vacuum cleaner robot that can avoid obstacles, automatically design its travel route, and automatically drive to a charging base when the battery is low. Roomba is currently the largest-selling and most commercial home robot in the world.
In June 2006, Microsoft launched Microsoft Robotics Studio. The trend of robot modularization and platform unification is becoming more and more obvious. Bill Gates predicted that home robots will soon sweep the world.
The definition of robot
In the world of science and technology, scientists will give a clear definition to every scientific term. However, decades after the advent of robots, the definition of robots still differs from person to person. Wisdom, there is no unified opinion. One reason is that robots are still developing, and new models and new functions are constantly emerging.
The fundamental reason is mainly because robots involve the concept of human beings and become a philosophical question that is difficult to answer. Just like the word robot was first born in science fiction novels, people are full of fantasies about robots. Perhaps it is precisely because of the vague definition of robots that it gives people ample room for imagination and creation.
Operational robots: can be automatically controlled, can be programmed repeatedly, are multi-functional, have several degrees of freedom, can be fixed or movable, and are used in related automation systems.
Programmable robot: Controls the mechanical movements of the robot in sequence according to the pre-required order and conditions.
Teaching and reproducing robots: Through guidance or other methods, the robot movements are first taught, the work program is input, and the robot automatically repeats the operation.
CNC robot: It is not necessary to make the robot move. The robot is taught through numerical values, language, etc., and the robot performs operations based on the taught information.
Sensation-controlled robot: Uses information obtained from sensors to control the robot's movements.
Adaptive control robot: The robot can adapt to changes in the environment and control its own actions.
Learning-controlled robot: The robot can "understand" the work experience, has a certain learning function, and uses the "learned" experience at work.
Intelligent robot: a person who uses artificial intelligence to determine his actions.
Based on the application environment, robot experts in our country divide robots into two major categories, namely industrial robots and special robots. The so-called industrial robots are multi-joint manipulators or multi-degree-of-freedom robots oriented to the industrial field. Special robots are various advanced robots other than industrial robots that are used in non-manufacturing industries and serve humans, including: service robots, underwater robots, entertainment robots, military robots, agricultural robots, robotic machines, etc. Among special robots, some branches are developing rapidly and have a tendency to form independent systems, such as service robots, underwater robots, military robots, micro-operation robots, etc. At present, international roboticists divide robots into two categories based on their application environment: industrial robots in manufacturing environments and service and humanoid robots in non-manufacturing environments. This is consistent with our country's classification.
Aerial robots are also called drones. Among the military robot family, drones have been the field with the most active scientific research activities, the greatest technological progress, the largest investment in research and procurement funds, and the richest practical experience in recent years. For more than 80 years, the development of drones in the world has basically been driven by the United States. The United States ranks first in the world in terms of technical level and types and quantities of drones.