Robots

Robot is an automatically controlled material handling unit that is widely used in the manufacturing industry. It is generally used for high volume production and better quality. Implementation of robot technology with integration of automatic system can contribute to increasing of productivity of the company and enhances the profitability of the company.

The term 'robot' first appeared in the year 1921 in the Czech playwright Karel Capek's play 'Rossum's Universal Robots'. The term is related to Czech words Robota (meaning work) and Robotnik (meaning slave). Robot Institute of America describes robot as ...a programmable multi function manipulator designed to move and manipulate parts, material tools or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of specified tasks.

ISO describes a robot as: A robot is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose, manipulative machine with several reprogrammable axes, which is either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation application.

The automation of the previous tasks significantly facilitates computer controlled manufacturing systems. Additionally, robots have frequently been employed in undesirable and hazardous environment like that of dust, noise, excessive heat, fumes etc. and for dirty, dangerous dull and difficult tasks. So, industrial robot has become a necessary component of all flexible manufacturing systems, subsystems, cells and modules.