What Are the Different Types of Robots?

Robots designed and manufactured to imitate human form and behavior are humanoid robots, which generally have humanoid limbs and head, respectively or simultaneously. Professor Chen Xiaoping of the University of Science and Technology of China introduced that robots are generally designed into different shapes according to different application needs, such as industrial robot arms, wheelchair robots, walking robots, etc. The research of humanoid robots integrates a variety of sciences such as machinery, electronics, computers, materials, sensors, and control technologies, and represents the high-tech development level of a country. Judging from the research status of robotics and artificial intelligence, there is still a long way to go to fully realize high-intelligence and high-flexibility humanoid robots. Moreover, humans do not have a thorough understanding of themselves. Development of human robots.

Humanoid robot

(Type of robot)

On November 29, 2000, CCTV News reported that China's first humanoid robot was successfully developed. On November 30, major newspapers across the country published the news in a prominent position. Many people ask: What is a humanoid robot? What does the advent of humanoid robots signify? What level has the humanoid robot developed in the world and China?

For humanoid robots to be able to understand, adapt to the environment, and work accurately and flexibly, the development of high-performance sensors is essential. Sensors are an important means for robots to gain intelligence. How to combine the information captured by sensors and use them effectively is the basis for sensor control and a prerequisite for robot autonomy.

Humanoid robots have the appearance of humans, can adapt to human living and working environment, complete various tasks in place of humans, and can expand human capabilities in many aspects, and have been widely used in many fields such as service, medical, education, and entertainment.

Human simulation and high simulation are the main directions for the development of robots. From the perspective of technological development, man is the most advanced animal in the world, and research with a human background is the highest goal and can drive the development of related disciplines. From an emotional level, people like things that are similar to people. Scientists from various countries are actively researching and developing humanoid robots.

Developed similar to human appearance features, with

Humanoid robot in Japan

Honda is one of Japan's major companies producing sports cars and cars. Honda has invested heavily, and after more than 10 years of development, finally developed the world's leading biped walking robot-P3. P3 sends the condition of the ground back to the computer through its body's gravity sensor and the tactile sensors on the soles of the feet. The computer makes a judgment based on the road conditions, and then balances the body and walks back and forth stably. It can take not only flat roads, but also steps and slopes. It stands stable, can't push down, and has uneven feet to maintain its upright posture. In 1997, when Chinese Premier Li Peng visited the headquarters of Honda in Japan, Robot P3 received Premier Li Peng. When Premier Li Peng and his party arrived in the performance hall, a robot wearing a space suit like an astronaut came out from behind the screen of the projection TV. His walking resembled the urchin's steps, although his steps were unpleasant, but solid and powerful. It walked into the hall to stand up to Premier Li Peng, and stretched out his right hand as a welcome. And introduce myself in Chinese: "I am a robot P3, warmly welcome Premier Li Peng and his wife, please allow me to shake hands with you." The robot held Prime Minister Li Peng's hand, shook it three times in a row, and then took a pose for the reporter who was there to take pictures.

Then P3 invited Masahiro Kawamoto, president of Honda, and others. They introduced the development history and technical characteristics of Honda's robots to Chinese guests through a projection TV screen. As soon as President Kawamoto's voice fell, P3 also said, "I'm a little nervous, please allow me to take a short break, and then ask my second brother to continue performing." Say stop and turn around, retreating along the same path. According to reports, Honda has named the biped walking robots P1, P2, P3, etc. according to the development time. The height of P3 is 160cm and it weighs 130kg. Known as the second brother, the robot P2 is 1.80 meters tall, weighs 120 kilograms, and is clumsy and long-headed, but it is not inferior to the flexible "Little Three". P2 performed the difficult movement of going up the stairs. It walked very smoothly, step by step, it was amazing. Then P2 performed a screwdriver with a wrench. After the P2 robot exited, the P3 robot waved and bid farewell to the VIP: "This is the end of the performance. Thank you again for your presence!"

Honda also introduced a new type of intelligent robot "Asimo" (ASIMO). Compared with the P3 born in 1977, it has the characteristics of small size, light weight, compact and gentle movements. Asimo is 120cm tall and weighs 43kg, which is more suitable for home operation and natural walking. Hiroshi Yoshino, president of Honda, said at the product launch: "In the future, we will also make robots have better recognition capabilities such as vision and hearing, and improve their autonomy." He also said, "If controlled by satellite networks, it will It's another 'you' who can do many things as a user. "

"Kogo" robot

Born in Australia, Rodney Brooks is a 40-year-old professor at the Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He likes to leave the classics and never believes in traditional conventions. Since the 1980s, he has opposed the doctrine that robots must think before they can do things. To prove his point, he developed a series of alien robots. These robots don't have the ability to think, but they can do everything. His success has made him the most controversial figure in the robotics world.

From an early age, Brooks has loved to make all kinds of unusual small devices. After entering Flemish University, he reprogrammed the entire operating system for the school's only IBM mainframe computer. No other user could have imagined how the computer could suddenly become incredibly amazing. After obtaining a master's degree from the school, Brooks was admitted to Stanford University in the United States with his own strength. In the early 1980s, Brooks was a junior researcher at MIT. At that time, the traditional method of artificial intelligence research was to first design various "brain maps" to help the robot understand the surrounding environment, so that the robot learned to recognize obstacles before bypassing them. But robots often take a long time to judge what they see, and most of them cannot pass through unfamiliar spaces. And Brooks believes that true intelligence cannot work that way.

Brooks believes that intelligence does not come from abstract thinking as imagined, but instead reacts after learning through contact with the outside world. As long as the robot has a complex interaction with its surroundings, intelligence will eventually emerge.

Initially, his plan was to start with insect robots, and gradually develop to imitate advanced animals, and then finally humanoid robots. Brooks thought that only humanoid robots can show that his theory is also suitable for advanced intelligence, so he decided to make his own artificial intelligence advanced robot, namely Kogo robot.

The development of Cogo is ongoing. "Kogo" itself is very complicated. If it can obtain knowledge through contact with the outside world, it must imitate humans as much as possible. For example, its arms must be as compliant as humans.

How can we turn "Kogo" into a real humanoid robot? The goal is not clear. Brooks and his colleagues are learning from the developmental process of young children, making "Cogo" from simple to difficult, and gradually learn various skills until they are able to hear.

The brain of the "Kogo" robot is composed of 16 Motorola 68332 chips. The "Kogo" brain is placed in the adjacent room and connected to it by a cable. "Kogo" can use up to 250 Motorola chips. Brooks plans to replace some of these chips with digital signal processors to perform special tasks. Kogo's brain, like the human brain, can handle multiple tasks simultaneously. Although people have been impressed with the power of computers, if "Kogo" can reach the intelligence of two-year-old children, it will be successful. Now Kogo is using his brain to learn to look like a baby. Each eye of "Kogo" consists of a wide-angle camera and a narrow-field camera. Each camera can be tilted and rotated. "Kogo" first observes the surroundings through a wide-angle camera, and then uses a narrow-field camera to observe things closely. Kogo's head can be rotated back and forth, like a human head.

"We are trying to find a way for Cogo to understand the world on his own," Brooks said.

"Kogo" first learned to watch, then began to learn to listen. These functions must be taught one by one. To this end, a microphone and processor were mounted on the head of the "Kogo". Sound can help Cogo determine where to look, and the robot can recognize the sound. "Kogo" has a head and body, but no skin, arms and fingers. The first arm is being manufactured for "Kogo", this arm works in a completely new way, each joint has a spring, thus giving "Kogo" flexibility.

Research on Humanoid Robots in China

China has done a lot of research on humanoid robots and achieved many results. For example, Changsha National University of Defense Technology has developed a biped walking robot, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics has developed a multi-finger dexterous hand, and Harbin Institute of Technology and Beijing University of Science and Technology have also done a lot of in-depth work in this area.

The research of biped walking robot is a very attractive research topic, and it is very difficult. Research on biped walking robots in Japan has a history of more than 30 years, and many biped walking robots that can walk statically, dynamically and stably have been developed. P2 and P3 mentioned above are among the best.

With the support of the National 863 Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Hunan Province, Changsha National University of Defense Technology successfully developed a six-joint plane-moving bipedal walking robot in February 1988, and subsequently developed ten joints, The twelve-joint space-moving robot system has realized the basic walking functions of human beings such as forward and backward on the ground, sideways to the left and right, turns to the left and right, up and down steps, up and down slopes, and obstacle crossing. On the twelve-joint space motion mechanism, two steps per second of forward movement and left and right dynamic walking functions are realized.

After ten years of research, the National University of Defense Technology successfully developed China's first humanoid robot, the "first mover," and achieved a major breakthrough in robotics. "Forerunners" have the same body, head, eyes, arms, and feet, have certain language functions, and can walk dynamically.

Compared with animals, human beings have the ability to think rationally and accurately express language, and have a pair of dexterous hands is also the pride of human beings. Because of this, giving robots a pair of dexterous hands has become the goal of many researchers.

Under the auspices of Academician Zhang Qixian, the Robotics Research Institute of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics started the research and development of dexterous hands in the late 1980s. The BH-1 dexterous hands originally researched were relatively simple in function, but filled the domestic blank at the time. In the following years, continuous improvements have been made, and dexterous hands have been able to cleverly grasp and manipulate objects of different materials and shapes. It is equipped on the robot arm to act as a smart end effector to expand the robot's working range and complete complex assembly and handling operations. For example, it can be used to grab eggs without dropping them or crushing them. Smart hands have application prospects in aerospace and medical care.

The dexterous hand has three fingers, each finger has 3 joints, and the 3 fingers have 9 degrees of freedom. The micromotor is placed inside the dexterous hand. Each joint is equipped with a joint angle sensor, and the finger end is equipped with a three-dimensional force sensor. -Level distributed computer real-time control system.

Humanoid robots are the integration of multiple basic disciplines and many high technologies, and represent the cutting-edge technology of robots. Therefore, humanoid robots are one of the research hotspots of contemporary science and technology. Humanoid robots are not only an important symbol of a country's high-tech comprehensive level, but also have a wide range of uses in human production and life. There is still a gap between the research of humanoid robots in China and the world advanced level. China's science and technology workers are struggling to move forward, and we eagerly look forward to seeing our own higher-level, more powerful humanoid robots.