What is a robot and Types of Robots ?

Let's see the types of robots that exist and how they are classified, but first let's start by trying to define what a robot is?

 Due to the rapid evolution of robots, it is increasingly difficult to define who is a robot without excluding any.

 Joseph Engelberger, credited very often as the "father of robotics," once he commented, "I can't define a robot, but I know it is, when I see one."

 The first person to use the word "robot" was Karel Capek in a play, RUR (Rossum Universal Robots) in 1921, at the suggestion of his brother Josef, Capek. The word was a derivation of the Czech word "robota", which literally means "work" or "servitude. It could also mean" heavy work "or" hard work ", which, without a doubt, is the main reason why Robots were built in the first place, to help humans.

 Some robots can do the job for themselves, but other robots must always have a person to tell them what they have to do. To define "robot" it is best to first see how a robot works:

What is a robot?

 According to NASA: "Robots are machines that can be used to do jobs."

 The RAE (Royal Academy of Language) has 2 definitions for robot:

 1. Programmable electronic machine or ingenuity, capable of manipulating objects and performing operations previously reserved only for people.

 2. Program that automatically scans the network to find information.

 According to Oxforddictionaries.com: A robot is a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of automatically programmed actions

 But in my opinion the best definition of robot is as follows:

 "A robot is a mechanical device that is capable of performing a variety of tasks, according to instructions programmed in advance."

 Robotics is a branch of engineering that involves the conception, design, manufacture and operation of robots. This field overlaps with electronics, computer science, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, nanotechnology and bioengineering. If you want to learn robotics we recommend the following link: Learn Robotics.

 Now, let's see the types of robots.

Types of Robots:

  They usually used to be classified into two types of service and industrial:

  Industrial robots: Industrial robots are robots that are used in an industrial manufacturing environment. In general, these are usually joints and arms developed specifically for applications such as welding, material handling, joining parts, painting and others. We could also include some automatically guided vehicles.

Service robots: The Japanese are at the forefront in these types of robots. In essence, this category consists of any robot that is used outside of an industrial installation, although they can be subdivided into two main types: robots used for professional work, and the second, robots that are used for personal use. The creation of the walking humanoid called Asimo gave the impetus for several others. Today we have robots for the care of the elderly, military use, lifting people, even robots that are capable of playing football.

Given the great evolution and development of robotics it is necessary to make a more concrete classification, since these are two very large groups where other much smaller subgroups could be included. Let's see some:

  Domestic or household robots: Robots used in the home. These types of robots include many different devices, such as robotic vacuum cleaners, robotic pool cleaners, sweepers, gutter cleaners and other robots that can do different tasks. In addition, some surveillance and telepresence robots could be considered as domestic robots if used in that environment.

Medical robots: Robots that are used in medicine and medical institutions. First of all we have surgery robots. In addition, some automated guided vehicles and some lifting machines can also be included in this type.

Military robots: Robots used in military applications. These types of robots include bomb deactivation robots, different types of transport robots, reconnaissance aircraft. Often, robots initially created for military purposes can be used in the search and rescue of people and other related fields.

 Entertainment Robots: These are robots that are used for entertainment. This is a very broad category. It starts with toy robots with simple movements and ends with real heavy weights such as articulated robotic arms used as motion simulators.

 Space robots: They are used in space. This type would include robots used in the International Space Station, as well as Mars vehicles and other robots that are used in space.

 Educational Robots: They are special to teach robotics used in schools around the world. Line followers, Lego, sumo-bots and all those robots that are only for learning. There are even robots that teach you to draw.

 Humanoid Robots: Robots with a human-like appearance and performing tasks of a human being, even expressing emotions.

  Another classification may be based on the robot's working environment:

Stationary Robots: These robots are fixed in one place and cannot be moved. This category includes robotic arms, computer machine tools, and most industrial robots.

  Ground Robots: These robots are designed to operate on the surface of the earth or another planet, and are generally subclassified by their form of movement transmission: wheels, tracks or legs.

Underwater Robots: Also known as autonomous underwater vehicles, these are designed to operate underwater, and many of them at great depth.

  Aerial Robots: They are unmanned aerial vehicles and include various types of robotic flying machines, including airplanes and helicopters.

  Microgravity robots: Robots that have been designed to operate in low gravity environments, such as Earth's orbit.

Finally, there are other calls for work in dangerous environments, which, as the name implies, are developed to work in dangerous places, such as a robot to deactivate bombs or also called an artifice robot, or war robots.

  They can also be classified according to their autonomy:

 Teleoperated: Remote controlled robots that need to be controlled all the time by a human being. Your control can be with or without cable. An example would be drones or robots to do operations.

 Semi-automatic: It has a certain degree of autonomy, but they are still controlled by a human being. A package sorting robot could be semi-automatic or even a barrier to open when a card (car parking) is inserted.

 Automatic: These robots can make their own decisions without the need of a human being. The best known lately could be the driverless car.

  Finally another classification could be even depending on its size: Robots, Microrobots (micron size) and NanoRobots or NanoBots (manometric size, the smallest).