English for Specific Purposes

96 Electronic Engineering

 

 

SPECIALIST READING B: Robotics

 

14. Read the text and decide whether these points are discussed in it.

 

Yes No Yes No

 

Robots power supply details

 

Linear actuators features

 

Types of robots

 

Series elastic actuators Pneumatic muscles downsides

 

 

Nitinol or Flexinol Wires

 

Elastic nanotubes application

 

Modern sensing features

 

Touch and vision abilities

 

Robots application for social work

 

Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with		technology	in	early-stage	experimental
the design, construction, operation, structural		development. The absence of defects in carbon
disposition, manufacture and application of robots and		nanotubes enables these filaments to deform
computer systems for their control, sensory feedback,		elastically by several percent, with energy storage
and information processing.		levels of perhaps 10 J/cm3 for metal nanotubes.
Today, robotics is a rapidly growing field, as we		Current robotic and prosthetic hands receive far
continue to research, design, and build new robots		less tactile information than the human hand.
that serve various practical purposes, whether		Recent research has developed a tactile sensor array
domestically, commercially, or militarily. Many robots		that mimics the mechanical properties and touch
do jobs that are hazardous to people such as defusing		receptors of human fingertips. The sensor array is
bombs, exploring shipwrecks, and mines.		constructed as a rigid core surrounded by
At present mostly (lead-acid) batteries are used,		conductive fluid contained by an elastomeric skin.
but potential power sources could be: pneumatic		Electrodes are mounted on the surface of the rigid
(compressed gases), hydraulics (liquids), flywheel		core and are connected to an impedance-measuring
energy storage, organic garbage (through anaerobic		device within the core. When the artificial skin
digestion) etc.		touches an object the fluid path around the
Actuators are the parts which convert stored		electrodes is deformed, producing impedance
energy into movement. By far the most popular		changes that map the forces received from the
actuators are electric motors that spin a wheel or gear,		object. The researchers expect that an important
and linear (pneumatic and hydraulic) actuators that		function of such artificial fingertips will be adjusting
control industrial robots in factories. But there are		robotic grip on held objects.
some recent advances in alternative types of		Computer vision is the science and technology of
actuators, powered by electricity, chemicals, or		machines that see. As a scientific discipline,
compressed air.		computer vision is concerned with the theory
Electroactive polymers are new plastic materials		behind artificial systems that extract information
that can contract substantially (up to 380% activation		from images. The image data can take many forms,
strain) from electricity, and have been used in facial		such as video sequences and views from cameras.
muscles and arms of humanoid robots, and to allow		Computer vision systems rely on image sensors
new robots to float, fly, swim or walk.		which detect electromagnetic radiation which is
Recent alternatives to DC motors are piezo motors		typically in the form of either visible light or infra-
or ultrasonic motors. These work on a fundamentally		red light. The sensors are designed using solid-state
different principle, whereby tiny piezoceramic		physics. There is a subfield within computer vision
elements, vibrating many thousands of times per		where artificial systems are designed to mimic the
second, cause linear or rotary motion. The advantages		processing and behavior of biological systems, at
of these motors are nanometer resolution, speed, and		different levels of complexity. Also, some of the
available force for their size.		learning-based methods developed within computer
Elastic nanotubes are a promising artificial muscle		vision have their background in biology.