Industrial Robotics

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Unit Introduction
An industrial robot is a general-purpose, programmable machine possessing certain anthropomorphic characteristics—that is, human-like characteristics that resemble the human physical structure, or allow the robot to respond to sensory signals in a manner that is similar to humans. Such anthropomorphic characteristics include mechanical arms, used for various industry tasks, or sensory perceptive devices, such as sensors, which allow robots to communicate and interact with other machines and make simple decisions. The technology is quite similar to numerical control, as it has followed the same developmental path, and its history is related.

KEYPOINT
An industrial robot is a general-purpose, programmable machine possessing certain anthropomorphic characteristics.

END KEYPOINT LEARNING ACTIVITY 6.1
Learn more about the history and application of industrial robots at web-site

END LEARNING ACTIVITY 6.1
Both robots and numerical control are similar in that they seek to have co-ordinated control of multiple moving axes (called joints in robotics). Both use dedicated digital computers as controllers. Robots, however, are designed for a wider variety of tasks than numerical control. Typical applications include spot
welding, material transfer (pick and place), machine loading, spray painting, and assembly.