Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Most robots today are found in the manufacturing industry on automated production and assembly lines and in manufacturing cells.
Automation = use of computers to control machinery and processes
this largely replaces human operaters
Six degrees of freedom
Complexities of actions require greater movement of freedom.
Six degrees of freedom (6DoF) refers to motion of a rigid body in three-dimensional space, namely the ability to move forward/backward, up/down, left/right (translation in three perpendicular axes) combined with rotation about three perpendicular axes (pitch, yaw, roll). As the movement along each of the three axes is independent of each other and independent of the rotation about any of these axes, the motion indeed has six degrees of freedom.
Now try and see how many degrees of freedom your arm has and see how a simple task can end up with many complex co-ordinated movements.
Watch the following video and see how many degrees of freedom you can see.
Complexity of Manufacturing tasks for Robots
There are four main levels of difficulty for robotics each level needing to carry out a more difficult task.
Level 1: - Using simple robotic jigs and fixtures to position components and tooling to achieve the required accuracy: welding, painting and sealant application
Level 2 : - Requiring Sensory Feedback in order for small modifications to be made: Arc Welding, Automotive Window Glazing, Spare Wheel Mounting.
Level 3 : - Requiring Complex Sensory Feedback such as pattern recognition for complex decisions to be made based on this feedback: Automated assembly processes that require locating and fixing objects such as AGVs.
Level 4 : - Having to deal with unpredicatable behavior with components or equipment within a manufacturing cell: Handling of flexible materials.
Further information from bara.org.uk/info