Page 27 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Artificial Intelligence
position. Others can move in smooth, sweeping motions, and are capable
of reaching to any point within a certain region.
One method of robot arm movement is called articulated geometry.
The word “articulated” means “broken into sections by joints.” This type
of robot arm resembles the arm of a human. The versatility is defined in
terms of the number of degrees of freedom. There might, for example, be
base rotation, elevation, and reach. There are several different articulated
geometries for any given number of degrees of freedom. The illustration
shows one scheme for a robot arm that uses articulated geometry.
Shoulder
Elbow

Wrist

Articulated geometry

Other geometries that facilitate movement in two or three dimensions
are defined under the titles CARTESIAN COORDINATE GEOMETRY, CYLINDRICAL COORDI-
NATE GEOMETRY, DEGREES OF FREEDOM, POLAR COORDINATE GEOMETRY, and SPHERICAL COOR-
DINATE GEOMETRY.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The definition of what constitutes artificial intelligence (AI) varies
among engineers. There is no universally accepted agreement on its
exact meaning.
The programming of robots can be divided into levels, starting with
the least sophisticated and progressing to the theoretical, rather nebu-
lous level of AI. The drawing shows a four-level programming scheme.

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