Automation & Robotics
Looking back about 200 years ago, products were produced by hand. This provided very little quantity for the masses, and typically only the rich could afford their purchases. Fast-forwarding to the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution brings us to the time when machines were being invented. This change made it possible for one worker to produce ten times the quantity of product in the same amount of time. This lowered the prices and made it possible for more people to be able to purchase what they needed. This period is known as the “1st stage of automation.” The “2nd stage of automation” occurred in the 1960s with the advent of the computer. This provided the opportunity for a new class of machine to be developed--the industrial robot. Programmable, intelligent machines were developed that provided for very little human intervention. The “3rd stage of automation” occurred in the 1980s with the creation of powerful software that made adaptation to many different tasks possible.
The creation of this powerful software has allowed humans to focus on the tasks these intelligent machines can perform and not on the execution of those tasks. Operators draw visually on the computer tasks to be done and then simulate them on the computer screen. When engineers are satisfied with the operation of the system, they can use special software which generates the programming code for machines and robots. The computers are left to generate the thousands of codes necessary to make complex factory systems run.
In this unit, the historical development of the robot, future developments in robotics, and the differences between inexpensive open-loop control robots and the expensive closed-loop control robots will be investigated. Students will solve a series of problems that will provide design, fabrication, programming, and troubleshooting opportunities.
Concepts...
Lesson 1: Robots in Today’s World
Concepts Addressed in this Lesson
1. Automation is the process of operating machines with minimal human control.
2. Robotics is the specialized field of engineering and computer science that deals with the design and application of robots.
3. The use of automation and robotics affects humans in various ways, both positively and negatively, including their safety, comfort, choices, and attitudes about a technology’s development and use.
4. Automation and robotics have had an influence on society in the past and present, and will influence society in the future.
Lesson 2: Mechanical Gears and Energy Transfer
Concepts Addressed in this Lesson
1. Energy is the capacity to do work.
2. A mechanism can be used to change energy by transferring its direction, speed type of movement, and force or torque.
3. There are many types of mechanisms that can be used individually, in pairs, or in systems.
Lesson 3: Fischertechnik Parts and Programming
Concepts Addressed in this Lesson
1. Automated systems require minimal human intervention.
2. An open-loop system has no feedback path and requires human intervention, while a closed-loop system uses feedback.
3. Troubleshooting is a problem-solving method used to identify the cause of a malfunction in a technological system.
4. Invention is a process of turning ideas and imagination into devices and systems.
5. Some technological problems are best solved through experimentation.
