Controller – The computer or “brain” of the robot, tells the robot what to do through programs (sets of instructions written in code). Almost all robots are pre-programmed and can only do what they were programmed to do, but a few can do a lot more, and can learn new functions.

Arm – Many (but not all) resemble human arms, and have shoulders, elbows, wrists, even fingers. This gives the robot a lot of ways to position itself in its environment. Each joint is said to give the robot 1 degree of freedom.
So, a simple robot arm with 3 joints would have 3 degrees of freedom, and could move in 3 ways: up and down, left and right, forward and backward.

Drive – The drive is the “engine” that moves the links (the sections between the joints) into their desired position. Without a drive, a robot would just sit there, motionless. Most drives are powered by air, water pressure, or electricity.

End-Effecter – The end-effecter is the “hand” connected to the robot’s arm. It is often different from a human hand – it could be a tool such as a gripper, a vacuum pump, tweezers, scalpel, blowtorch or just about anything that helps it do its job. Some robot’s end-effectors can be changed, and be reprogrammed for a different set of tasks.

Sensor – Sensors provide feedback to a robot to let it do its job properly. Compared to the senses and abilities of even the simplest living things, robots have a very long way to go.
The sensor sends information, in the form of electronic signals back to the controller. Sensors also give the robot information about its surroundings and allows it to know the exact position of the arm, or its surroundings, which may influence its task in hand.

The 6 degrees of freedom

Horizontal
Vertical
Depth
Pitch
Yaw
Roll

Welding robots
The most popular purpose of robots, is in the welding industry. Since robots just repeat a set of instructions which was designed for accuracy and speed, it’s incredible how much more efficient a robot can do a job rather than a person. In the welding industry a robot can complete two main types of welding, spot welding and arc welding, however laser welding is also implemented sometimes. The automotive industry is a major user of robotic spot welders.

Spray Painting robots
The next most popular purpose of robots, is spray painting robots. The swift and precise movement of the robot can give near perfect quality results, while wasting no paint, therefore are cheaper expense, with greater income. Who wouldn’t want one?

Domestic Robots

Robot Vacuum Cleaners
That’s right, you can now get a robot, that cleans your house for you. With a few minutes of setup, you can relax as your robot vacuum cleaner does all your chores . These robots have sensors in them to avoid collision with pets, furnisher, toys, or even you. They cannot detect stairs and open doors though, so you need to place magnetic strips around your home to prevent them from falling down stairs or leaving your house.

Robot Lawn Mowers
Robot lawn mowers work pretty much the same as robot vacuum cleaners, detect obstacles and work around them. The only difference is, robot lawn mowers don’t use magnetic strips; they use a charged wire that goes around the perimeter of your property

Robots used for entertainment

Robosaurus
The Robosaurus is a 40ft tall robot, designed to perform at Motorsports Events, Airshows, Nascar Tracks, Parades, City Events, Company Sales Promotions, and Theme Parks all over the world. Robosaurus is mostly known for destroying cars, trucks and other motor vehicles. This beast breathes 20ft fingers of flame, incinerating whatever’s in its way.

ASIMO
Created by the car manufacturing company ‘Honda’, ASIMO is known as “world’s most advanced humanoid robot”. With the ability to learn almost anything, ASIMO can run, jump, push, pull, carry objects, avoid obstacles, it can even recharge its own battery when it drops below a certain level. The ASIMO robot is simply amazing.

Repetitive and Dangerous tasks
The T-52 Enryu (sometimes referred to as “Hyper Rescue Robot”) is a five-ton, 3.5 meter tall, hydraulically-operated robot, built to cut a path through debris for rescue workers, in the case of an earthquake or other catastrophe. The T-52 Enryu can lift a ton of weight with its arms alone, and the arms have the full range of movement available to the human arm. The robot is guided by an operator who wears a telefactoring (remote manipulating) gauntlet; the robot arms mimic the actions of the human operator.

In 1942, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov created a set of three imaginary Laws of Robotics. What was the name of the book Asimov wrote in 1942 in which he described the Laws of Robotics?
The book Isaac Asimov wrote was called “Runaround”.

The three laws of Robotics are:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

What is the so-called “Zeroth Law of Robotics? Why is it called the Zeroth Law?
The Zeroth Law of Robotics is: “A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm”. It is called the Zeroth Law in order to keep the pattern of lower numbered laws being more important than higher numbered laws.

Robotics is the science and technology of Robots, their design, manufacture, and application.