by Makoy

Created on: April 02, 2009   Last Updated: April 04, 2009

Robotics is a very vast field and covers mainly three different fields: electronics, mechanics, and software development or programming. Each of these fields plays a vital role in robotics and with the tremendous advancements in technology, each of which plays a very essential role in building a robot and for it to function properly.

Mechanics. Robots are made up mostly of mechanical or kinematic chains which acts like the skeleton of the human body. It serves as the robot's structure and backbone, links different elements into it, and determines the robot's degrees of freedom. The field of mechanics plays a very vital role in robotics eversince and since robots these days have become highly versatile and mobile. The laws of physics doesn't exempt robots hence its movements are still limited to forces and displacements and forces from the environment. A good background in mechanics can produce a robot and make it perform in its highest potential.

Electronics. Electronics serves as the robots' brain and blood. Normally, robots use a power source, motors, and sensors for it to function fully and properly. Power source gives the robot it's life. The most popular power source is the battery. Actuators act as the muscles of the robots. Actuators generally use the energy stored in storage devices and power sources such as capacitors and batteries to produce movement. Different motors are generally used as actuators which serve different purposes. Sensors also play a very important role in robotics. Because robots are highly independent systems, sensors gives the robots its "senses" which makes it distinguish things. Sensors are patterned after the human senses hence robots can also see, touch, and feel depending on the type of sensor installed.

Software development. Recent advances in technology would require tremendous amount of programming. Gone are the days when robots can only rely on mechanics and electronics by the use of ICs, transistors, and other minute controlling devices. The software gives the robots instructions on what to do which makes robots more versatile than ever. The list of commands to be executed are written in the software. Among the more popular softwares used in robots are general operating system, application softwares, and firmware. The operating system serves as the interface between the hardware and the user. The operating system is responsible for the management and coordination of activities. The application is the user's access to the machine while the firmware is normally used in controlling electronics devices.

Mechanics, electronics, and software development have gone hand in hand lately in the field of robotics. These 3 fields offers great opportunities in the field of robotics.

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