Industrial robot

Some robots work in big factories.

They can move like a human arm. These robots can do many jobs. They can paint or join metal parts.

They can also pack food into boxes.

Some robots can even pick up small parts. They move with great speed. They are very good at their work. They help make things for us every day.

Industrial robots are machines used to make things in factories.

These robots are programmable. This means people can give them sets of steps to follow. They can move in many directions. Most use three or more axes. An axis is a line that a part moves around.

Robots can do many jobs with great speed. They can weld metal or paint cars. They can also pack food into boxes. Some robots, called articulated robots, look like human arms. They are the most common type. Other robots, like the Delta robot, are good at picking up small parts very fast. In 2024, there were over 4 million industrial robots working around the world. Some robots are even autonomous. This means they can act without a person controlling them. Early autonomous robots were even shaped like tortoises! They could move toward light. Today, many robots use machine vision. This helps them see and identify objects to work on.

Industrial robots are special machines built for manufacturing.

They are automated, which means they can work on their own. These machines are also programmable. This means people can give them a set of instructions to follow. Most robots can move on three or more axes. An axis is a line that a part moves around.

This movement allows them to perform many different tasks. They can weld metal, paint objects, or pack food into boxes. They work with great speed and precision. Many robots also help with material handling in big factories.

There are several ways these robots are designed to move. Articulated robots are the most common type. They look like a human arm and use several joints to move.

Another type is the Cartesian robot. It uses three prismatic joints to move its tool. There are also cylindrical robots that move by sliding vertically or horizontally. Spherical robots use only rotary joints and were among the first used in industry. SCARA robots have two parallel joints for moving in a flat plane. Finally, Delta robots use parallel links to move very quickly. These are great for fast pick-and-place tasks.

People have been building robots for a long time. In 1937, Bill Griffith P. Taylor completed an early industrial robot. It was built using Meccano parts and used a single electric motor. This robot could stack wooden blocks using punched paper tape.

Later, George Devol applied for the first robotics patents in 1954. He and Joseph F. Engelberger founded Unimation in 1956. This was the first company to produce robots. These early machines were called programmable transfer machines. They were used to move objects from one place to another.

Many important inventions changed how robots work. In 1969, Victor Scheinman invented the Stanford arm at Stanford University. This was an all-electric robot with six axes. It could follow complex paths for welding and assembly. In 1973, companies like ABB Robotics and KUKA Robotics brought robots to the market. ABB introduced the IRB 6, which was controlled by a micro-processor. KUKA built its first robot, named FAMULUS, in 1973. By 1984, the company Unimation was bought by Westinghouse Electric Corporation for 107 million dollars. The robot industry continues to grow every year.

Today, robots are part of our modern world. In 2024, there were about 4,663,698 industrial robots working worldwide. Some robots are even autonomous, meaning they act without human control. Early autonomous robots, like Elmer and Elsie, were even shaped like tortoises. They could move toward light using a process called phototaxis. Modern robots often use machine vision to see. This works like a visual sensor to help them identify objects. This technology helps them do much harder jobs with less help from people.

Industrial robots are automated machines designed for manufacturing tasks. These machines are programmable, meaning they follow specific instructions to complete work. They are capable of movement on three or more axes. An axis is a line that a part moves around. This movement allows them to perform tasks like welding, painting, and assembly. They can also handle packaging, labeling, and product inspection. These robots offer high endurance, speed, and precision. In 2024, the International Federation of Robotics estimated there were 4,663,698 industrial robots in operation worldwide.

To understand how they move, we look at their kinematics. Kinematics refers to the arrangement of rigid members and joints. This arrangement determines the robot's possible motions. A robot's reach is called its working envelope. The weight it can lift is its payload. To control a robot's position in space, it needs three axes. To control the orientation of the wrist, it needs three more axes. These are called yaw, pitch, and roll. This gives the robot six degrees of freedom.

There are six main types of industrial robots. Articulated robots are the most common. They look like human arms and use several joints to move. Cartesian robots, or gantry robots, use three prismatic joints for movement. Cylindrical robots have a rotary joint at the base and slide vertically or horizontally. Spherical robots use only rotary joints and are used for machine tending. SCARA robots use two parallel joints for precise lateral movements in a plane. Finally, Delta robots use parallel links for high-speed pick-and-place tasks.

Robots can also be organized by their architecture. Serial manipulators consist of a series of links connected by motor-actuated joints. These extend from a base to an end-effector. SCARA and Stanford manipulators are typical serial examples. Parallel manipulators are designed differently. Each chain in a parallel robot is usually short and simple. This makes them rigid against unwanted movement. Errors in one chain are averaged with others rather than becoming cumulative. This closed-loop stiffness makes them very stable.

Some robots are designed to be autonomous. An autonomous robot acts without human control. In the late 1940s, W. Grey Walter built Elmer and Elsie. These were the first robots programmed to "think" like biological brains. They were shaped like tortoises and showed phototaxis. Phototaxis is movement in response to light. Modern robots use machine vision sub-systems. These act as visual sensors linked to powerful computers. This helps them identify objects and perform flexible tasks.

History shows how these machines evolved. In 1937, Bill Griffith P. Taylor built an early industrial robot. It was made of Meccano parts and used one electric motor. It used punched paper tape to move control levers. In 1954, George Devol applied for the first robotics patents. He and Joseph F. Engelberger founded Unimation in 1956. These were called programmable transfer machines. They used hydraulic actuators to move objects. In 1969, Victor Scheinman invented the Stanford arm. This was an all-electric, 6-axis robot that could follow complex paths.

The industry grew rapidly through the 1970s and 1980s. ABB Robotics introduced the IRB 6 in 1973. It was one of the first micro-processor controlled robots. KUKA Robotics also released the FAMULUS robot in 1973. By 1984, Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired Unimation for 107 million US dollars. Today, the market is very large. In 2026, the global market value for industrial robot installations reached 16.7 billion US dollars. A few major companies like ABB, KUKA, and Stäubli continue to lead the field.