The modern automaton -- Robot!

In mosaic land, there are many kinds of robots...

Each with its own unique function...

Not demanding for pay, and willing to do their job perfectly...

The Mosaic Bot haha~~ Background by Ivan

Robots are a group of amazing machines. 

They are designed to do extraordinary jobs that humans could not do.

The general structure of a robot

A robot is usually made up off the following:

Drive system:The system that provides power for the robot to move. This could be a hydraulic system (uses fluid to move), pneumatic system (uses air pressure from compressed air to move) or electric motor system (uses electric motor to move) 

Sensors: These are devices that sends data to the robot's "brain" or controller unit. These data are used by the robot to recognize its surrounding. There are a few types of sensors, for example, motion sensor, ultrasonic sensor, light sensor, heat/thermal sensor, digital cameras and touch sensors.

Controller Unit: This is the "brain" of the robot. It calculates data received by the sensors, run programmes installed in its central processing unit and sends commands to the drive system and effectors.

Effector: These are parts that actually makes a robot useful. One of the most common effector is gripping arms that allows the robot to grip things. Apart from that, effectors may be welding guns, suction cups, spot - lights, fire-retardant or anything that would give the robot its functions.

Robots available today

Industrial Robots

http://www.rstech.com/zimages/industrial-robotics.gif

This type of robots are used in factories to facilitate production. They do a wide range of jobs, from spot welding to painting.

House-hold robots

http://media.techeblog.com/images/roomba_discovery.jpg

House-hold robots such as this Roomba performs household duties.

The Roomba(shown in picture) is an  automated vacuum cleaner that cleans your floor automatically. Its sensors help it to navigate around your house while avoiding steps and obstacles.

Educational Robots

http://embedded.ufcg.edu.br/erobotica/hp/images/lego-nxt-robot.jpg 

The educational robots such as this Lego NXT aims to educate the younger generations about robots. With both my elder and younger brothers in the school robotics team, this type of robot never ceased to impress me. 

Military Robots

http://abriefhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/predator.jpg

Military robots such as this unmanned Predator Drone aims to collect information and field data about enemy forces. Other military robots includes bomb-disarming robots and combat robots.

Space Probes

http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/E94DBF14-9F3B-3D1F-3CFD4102717B20A9_1.jpg

Space probes are unmanned space crafts designed to collect informations about the outer-space, including our neighboring planets.

Other interesting robots

Real life cyborg, Prof. Kevin Warwick, read his website:  http://www.kevinwarwick.com/Cyborg2.htm

Cycling robot

Musical Robot

Robot Models