What is "Automation and Robotics"?

Students trace the history, development, and influence of automation and robotics as they learn about mechanical systems, energy transfer, machine automation, and computer control systems. Students use the VEX Robotics® platform to design, build, and program real-world objects such as traffic lights, toll booths, and robotic arms.

Course Outline

Unit 1

 1.1 WHAT IS ENGINEERING

In this lesson students will learn about STEM careers and how they impact the past, present, and future

   1.2 DESIGN PROCESS

This lesson focuses on the tools that engineers use to solve problems. Students will study the Design Process and will use it to guide their actions. In this lesson students will be introduced to the idea that there are many design processes and no single design process is better or more useful than another. They will learn that the selected design process will be built upon in the high school Pathway to Engineering courses. Students will encounter each step in more detail as they gain knowledge and experience throughout the course.

2.1 What is Automation and Robotics

Looking back only 200 years ago, most products were produced by hand. This method provided a limited quantity for the masses. Typically, only the rich could afford to purchase these hand-made products. Fast-forwarding to the middle of the 19th century and to 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 prices and made it possible for more people 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. Programmable intelligent machines provided for very little human intervention. The 3rd stage of automation occurred in the 1980s with the creation of powerful software.

Automation and robotics include computer-controlled machines used to make manufacturing more efficient, productive, and safe. Some of this equipment is used to perform jobs or to explore places that humans cannot. Robots are also used as assistive tools for people with disabilities and as equipment in hospitals to help with surgery, to deliver food, or to dispense medications. Robots are becoming popular household helpers, performing chores like vacuuming and mowing lawns.

Japanese scientists say that future generation robots will be able to clean up, take out the trash, or even care for an elderly parent. Robots are currently out of reach for many people due to prohibitive costs, but designers predict there will come a time when robots will be commonplace. Japanese companies wish to place 30,000 robots into Japanese homes by 2013. What's driving research in Japan is the fact that 20 percent of the population is over the age of 65. It is not surprising that robots are seen as a way to care for the aged and to replenish the work force. For now, though, scientists admit that robots have limited capabilities and mobility. Therefore, they have a relatively small number of everyday uses. Experts say that it is difficult to envision robots in the future because technology is advancing so rapidly. They note that two or three decades ago, few people would have envisioned that the Internet would become so ubiquitous or that almost everyone would be walking around with a cell phone.

2.2 Mechanical Systems

Think about a bicycle, an eggbeater, a sewing machine, a hand cranked drill, and a workshop vice. What do they have in common? All of them have at least one mechanism that provides movement. Some of the devices use human effort, while others use electricity. If the devices were taken apart, you would find a series of gears that redirect the applied force so they can accomplish their tasks. Gears come in all sizes. Small gears are found in mechanical watches, while very large gears are found in cranes that are used to raise large bridge sections into place. Some of the gears are encased in covers to protect them from their surroundings, while others are left out in the open. Some never need lubrication, but many do need to be lubricated to ensure they continue doing their job.

The activities in this lesson will introduce the students to several mechanisms that are used to change speed, torque, force, type of movement, and direction of movement. These mechanisms have been developed over time to address the need for changes in machine tools, robots, automobiles, airplanes, etc. Students will build different mechanisms and discover how they are used in the world today. They will be introduced to the VEX® building parts and the proper way to assemble them. It will be important for students to correctly assemble and disassemble the parts so that they are not damaged.

2.3 Automated Systems

Computer programs and sensing devices provide feedback to guide tools and machines in the manufacturing of parts. Automated systems can be used to pick up a part, move it to a certain location, wait for a process to be performed, pick it back up, and deliver it to an offloading location. Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) and computer integrated manufacturing systems (CIMS) have many advantages. Among them are the following: the use of feedback for customization, lower operating costs, safer working conditions for operators, alleviation of tedious tasks for workers, more uniformity of the product, and faster production. Often during programming, icons or pictures are used to represent lines of programming language. This is done when it is necessary for the operator to know the process needed to make the machine do its assigned task.

Computer programmed manufacturing systems have improved efficiency and increased output in manufacturing facilities. Automotive manufacturing facilities require a much higher level of technically trained employees because of the use of computer programmed machinery and the need for the employees to troubleshoot problems as they arise.

Upon completion of this lesson, students will have a better understanding of the necessary components of a flexible manufacturing system and the programming necessary for communication between them.