roduction to Robotics – A Strategic Overview Robotics has captured widespread global interest, driven by its immense potential to reshape industries, economies, and daily life. In popular imagination, robots are often anthropomorphic machines—machines that look and behave like humans. However, in technical reality, a robot is defined more precisely: it is a man-made mechanical device capable of autonomous movement, with motions that must be mathematically modeled, planned, sensed, actuated, and controlled. The robot’s behavior is programmable, allowing external influence over its operations and expanding its adaptability across numerous environments. Historical Context and Technological Evolution The term "robot" first emerged in 1920, introduced by Czech playwright Karel Čapek, derived from the word "robota," meaning forced labor or drudgery. Subsequently, the term "robotics" was coined by Isaac Asimov in his 1942 short story Runaround, where he also articulated his famous "Three Laws of Robotics." These early conceptualizations laid the philosophical groundwork for the field, but practical, physical robots only materialized much later. The first true robot was realized in 1956 when George C. Devol, Norman Schafler, and Joseph F. Engelberger launched Unimation, producing the groundbreaking Unimate robot. Engelberger, later dubbed the "Father of Robotics," was instrumental in translating theoretical robotics into a commercial reality. Unimate initially served General Motors, tasked with extracting die-castings and performing spot welding—physically demanding, repetitive, and hazardous jobs previously shouldered by human workers. The commercial success of Unimate catalyzed a revolution, ushering in the era of industrial automation and fundamentally altering labor practices in manufacturing. Types of Robots – Strategic Classifications Robotic systems have diversified into several distinct categories, each addressing specific operational challenges: Mobile Robots: Designed for movement, these systems are critical for search and exploration tasks. Subcategories include: Rolling Robots: Equipped with wheels, optimized for flat surfaces. Walking Robots: Employ multiple legs (four, six, or more) to navigate rugged terrains, often where wheeled mobility is impractical. Industrial Robots: Deployed extensively across manufacturing sectors, these stationary robots excel at repetitive, monotonous tasks. Their tireless, error-resistant performance has redefined production paradigms. Autonomous Robots: Operating independently, these robots use onboard programming and environmental sensors to adapt and learn. Over time, autonomous systems evolve by refining their operational routines based on experiential success. Remote-Controlled Robots: Where environmental uncertainty or task complexity exceeds current AI capabilities, human operators guide robots via remote control. This paradigm enables safe intervention in hazardous settings, as demonstrated b

1. Introduction to Robotics
 Robots have become a subject
of great interest nowadays.
 In our imagination, a robot is a
machine that looks and acts
like a human being.
 Robots are, in fact, defined as
man-made mechanical
devices that can move by
themselves, whose motion
must be modeled, planned,
sensed, actuated and
controlled, and whose motion
behaviour can be influenced
by “programming”.

2. History of Robots
 The acclaimed Czech
playwright Karel Capek made
the first use of the word ‘robot’,
from the Czech word for forced
labor or serf.
 The word 'robotics' was first
used in Runaround, a short
story published in 1942, by
Isaac Asimov.
 But it was not until 1956 that a
real robot came into existence.
Isaac Asimov

3. The First Robot
 After the technology explosion
during World War II, in 1956,
George C. Devol, Norman
Schafler and Joseph F.
Engelberger and made a
serious and commercial effort
to produce a robot.
 They started a firm named
Unimation and succeeded in
building the 1st
robot named
Unimate.
 Joseph F. Engelberger is
known as the ‘Father of
Robotics’
Unimate Puma500 Manipulator

4. The Unimate
 It was first used in General Motors.
 It basically to extract die-castings from die casting machines and to
perform spot welding on auto bodies, both tasks being particularly
hateful jobs for people.
 A variety of other tasks were also performed by robots, such as
loading and unloading machine tools.
 The Unimate started a revolution in the robotics industry and many
robots of its type were built for doing tiresome jobs for people.
 Robots offer specific benefits to workers and industries. If
introduced correctly, industrial robots can improve the quality of life
by freeing workers from dirty, boring, dangerous and heavy labor.

5. Types of Robots
 The types of robots are: -
1) Mobile robots.
2) Industrial robots
3) Autonomous robots
4) Remote-controlled robots.
5) Virtual robots.

6. Mobile Robots
 Mobile robots are able to
move, usually they perform
tasks such as searching.
 They are of 2 types: -
1) Rolling robots- Rolling robots
have wheels to move around.
They can quickly and easily
search. However they are
only useful in flat areas.
2) Walking robots- Robots on
legs are usually brought in
when the terrain is rocky. Most
robots have at least 4 legs;
usually they have 6 or more.

7. Industrial Robots
 Most of these robots perform
repeating tasks without ever
moving.
 Most robots are working in
industries. Especially dull and
repeating tasks are suitable for
robots.
 A robot never grows tired; it
will perform its duty day and
night without ever
complaining.

8. Autonomous Robots
 Autonomous robots are self-
supporting.
 They run a program that gives
them the opportunity to decide
on the action to perform
depending on their
surroundings.
 At times, these robots even
learn new behavior. They start
out with a short routine and
adapt this routine to be more
successful at the task they
perform. The most successful
routine will be repeated .

9. Remote-controlled Robots
 In case a robot needs to
perform more complicated yet
undetermined tasks an
autonomous robot is not the
right choice.
 Complicated tasks are still
best performed by human
beings with real brainpower. A
person can guide a robot by
remote control. A person can
perform difficult and usually
dangerous tasks without being
at the spot where the tasks are
performed.
Dante 2, a NASA robot designed to
explore volcanoes via remote control.

10. Virtual Robots
 Virtual robots don’t exits in real
life. Virtual robots are just
programs, building blocks of
software inside a computer.
 A virtual robot can simulate a
real robot or just perform a
repeating task.
 Search engines use such kind
of robots. They search the
World Wide Web and send the
information to the search
engines.

11. The Future of Robotics
 To demonstrate advances in
research and stimulate
scientists, a RoboCup soccer
competition is held a few times
every year.
 Recognizing teammates, the
goals, the ball is a difficult task
for the robots. Thus, it
becomes a challenge for them.
 Thus, constant advances are
being made in robotics and
robots are bound to
revolutionize Humanity