Robots can be divided into general robots and intelligent robots. A general robot is a robot that does not have intelligence, but only has general programming capabilities and operational functions.
Intelligent robots are called intelligent robots because they have a well-developed "brain". In the brain acts the central processor, and this computer has a direct connection with the person who operates it. The main thing is that such a computer can perform actions arranged according to the purpose. It is for this reason that we say that such robots are real robots, although their appearance may differ.
There is no unified definition of an intelligent robot worldwide. Most experts believe that intelligent robots must have at least three elements: a sensory element, which is used to recognize the state of the surrounding environment; a motor element, which makes reactive movements to the outside world; and a thinking element, which is used to figure out what kind of action to adopt based on the information obtained from the sensory element. Sensory elements include non-contact sensors that can perceive vision, proximity, distance, etc. and contact sensors that can perceive force, pressure, touch, etc.
These elements are essentially the equivalent of the five human senses, such as the eyes, nose, and ears, and their functions can be realized using electromechanical components such as cameras, image sensors, ultrasonic transducers, lasers, conductive rubber, piezoelectric elements, pneumatic elements, and travel switches. For the motor elements, intelligent robots need to have a trackless type of moving mechanism to adapt to different geographical environments such as flat ground, steps, walls, stairs, ramps, etc. Their functions can be accomplished with the help of moving mechanisms such as wheels, tracks, legs, suction cups, air cushions, etc. The moving mechanism should be controlled in real time during the movement, and this control should include not only having position control, but also force control, mixed position and force control, and stretch rate control.
The thinking element of intelligent robots is the key to the three elements, and it is also the element that people want to give to robots. The thinking element includes intellectual activities such as judgment, logical analysis, and understanding. These intellectual activities are essentially an information processing process, and the computer is the main means to complete this process.
Intelligent robots can be subdivided into three types, depending on their degree of intelligence.
Sensor-based robots
Also known as externally controlled robots. It has the ability to use sensing information (including vision, hearing, touch, proximity, force, infrared, ultrasound and laser) to process sensing information and achieve control and operation. The robot is controlled by an external computer with an intelligent processing unit that processes various information collected by the controlled robot as well as information about the robot's own posture and trajectory, and then issues control commands to direct the robot's movements. The robots used in the small category of the Robot World Cup are of this type.
Interactive robots
The robot is controlled and operated by a computer system that conducts a human-machine dialogue with the operator or programmer. Although it has some processing and decision-making capabilities and can independently perform functions such as trajectory planning and simple obstacle avoidance, it is also subject to external control.
Autonomous robots
After design and production, the robot can perform various anthropomorphic tasks automatically in various environments without human intervention. Autonomous robots have modules for perception, processing, decision making, and execution on their bodies, and can move and handle problems as independently as an autonomous human. The robots used in the medium-sized category of the Robot World Cup are of this type.
The most important feature of a fully autonomous mobile robot is its autonomy and adaptability. Autonomy means that it can perform certain tasks in a certain environment completely autonomously without relying on any external control. Adaptability means that it can identify and measure the surrounding objects in real time, adjust its own parameters according to the changes in the environment, adjust its action strategy as well as handle emergency situations.
Interactivity is also an important feature of autonomous robots, where the robot can exchange information with people, with the external environment, and with other robots. Because fully autonomous mobile robots involve research in many areas such as actuator control, sensor data fusion, image processing, pattern recognition, neural networks, etc., they can reflect a country's level of manufacturing and artificial intelligence in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, many countries have attached great importance to the research of fully autonomous mobile robots.
Research on intelligent robots started in the early 1960s, and after decades of development, intelligent robots based on sensory control (also known as second-generation robots) have reached the stage of practical application, and intelligent robots based on knowledge control (also known as autonomous robots or next-generation robots) have also made great progress, and a variety of prototypes have been developed.
