Industrial Robotics Technology, Programming and Application

Industrial Robotics Technology, Programming and Application

Industrial Robotics Technology, Programming and Application

M.P. Groover, M. Weiss, R.N. Nagel and N.G. OdreyMcGraw-Hill1986480 pp.ISBN 0-07-100442-4£22.99

Aimed primarily at first year engineering undergraduates, this is an introductory text giving a broad overview of many issues and concepts concerning robotics.

The book consists of 20 chapters, which are split into nine distinct sections. Early sections concern themselves with technical aspects of robotics. An introduction to the anatomy of a robot provides the new reader with basic terminology, and a feel for the mechanical components and requirements of a robot. Further chapters build on this, expanding the areas of control systems and analysis, motion analysis, end effectors and sensors. The sensor topic of robot vision has a chapter to itself. However, as with the rest of the book, the depth of discussion of this large field is somewhat brief. The level of mathematics required for control and motion analysis is easily within the grasp of first year engineering students.

A section on programming for robots overviews the requirements and techniques for programming and teaching work cycles. Discussion of both textual and leadthrough methods are included, and an appendix provides a summary of some commercially available textual languages and leadthrough techniques. This is followed by a chapter on artificial intelligence, which the authors of the book believe to hold the future for robotics control.

All of the previous chapters are pulled together by section four, which considers the problems of developing work cells where multiple robots may be present. Issues such as man-machine and machine-machine interfacing, cycle times, workcell controllers are explained, and the concept of simulation is introduced.

Later sections revolve around the economic analysis and managerial aspects of introducing robots into the workplace. With the general theme of Robotics Applications, the book goes on to describe typical robot uses and configurations. Also discussed are aspects of quality, maintenance, safety and training, and the impact of robotics on manual labor.

This book provides a wide insight into the field of robotics, and gives a feel for the practical considerations for the introduction of robots to the workplace. Problems are presented at the end of most chapters as an aid to learning. However, the wide range of topics discussed does mean that each is dealt with only briefly and an interested reader may wish to consult more specialised texts.