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Definition of Robotics
----------------------

In recent years, autonomous navigation technologies have received huge
attention in many fields.
Such fields include, autonomous driving[22], drone flight navigation,
and other transportation systems.
What is Robotics?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Examples of Python in Robotics:
Robot is a machine that can perform tasks automatically or semi-autonomously.
Robotics is the study of robots.
The field of robotics has wide areas of technologies such as mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, computer science, and artificial intelligence (AI),
to create machines that can perform tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously.

The History of Robots
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This timeline highlights key milestones in the history of robotics:

Ancient and Early Concepts (Before 1500s)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The idea of **automated machines** has existed for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations imagined mechanical beings:

- **Ancient Greece (4th Century BC)** – Greek engineer **Hero of Alexandria** designed early **automata** (self-operating machines) powered by water or air.
- **Chinese and Arabic Automata (9th–13th Century)** – Inventors like **Al-Jazari** created intricate mechanical devices, including water clocks and humanoid robots.

The Birth of Modern Robotics (1500s–1800s)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- **Leonardo da Vinci’s Robot (1495)** – Designed a humanoid knight with mechanical movement.
- **Jacques de Vaucanson’s Automata (1738)** – Created robotic figures like a mechanical duck that could "eat" and "digest."
- **Industrial Revolution (18th–19th Century)** – Machines began replacing human labor in factories, setting the foundation for automation.

The Rise of Industrial Robots (1900s–1950s)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- **The Term “Robot” (1921)** – Czech writer **Karel Čapek** introduced the word *“robot”* in his play *R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)*.
- **Early Cybernetics (1940s–1950s)** – Scientists like **Norbert Wiener** developed theories of self-regulating machines, influencing modern robotics.

The Birth of Modern Robotics (1950s–1980s)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- **First Industrial Robot (1961)** – *Unimate*, created by **George Devol and Joseph Engelberger**, was the first programmable robot used in a factory.
- **Rise of AI & Autonomous Robots (1970s–1980s)** – Researchers developed mobile robots like **Shakey** (Stanford, 1966) and AI-based control systems.

Advanced Robotics and AI Integration (1990s–Present)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- **Autonomous Vehicles & Drones** – Self-driving cars and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) became more advanced.
- **Medical Robotics** – Robots like **da Vinci Surgical System** revolutionized healthcare.
- **Personal Robots** – Devices like **Roomba** (vacuum robot) and **Sophia** (AI humanoid) became popular.
- **Collaborative Robots (Cobots)** – Robots started working alongside humans in industries.

Key Components of Robotics
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Robotics consists of several essential components:

#. Sensors – Gather information from the environment (e.g., cameras, LiDAR, gyro, accelerometer, wheel encoders).
#. Actuators – Enable movement and interaction with the world (e.g., motors, hydraulic systems).
#. Computers – Process sensor data and make decisions (e.g., micro-controllers, CPUs, GPUs).
#. Power Supply – Provides energy to run the robot (e.g., batteries, solar power).
#. Software & Algorithms – Allow the robot to function and make intelligent decisions (e.g., ROS, machine learning models, localization, mapping, path planning, control).

This project, PythonRobotics, focuses on the software and algorithms part of robotics.

Applications of Robots
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Robots come in various forms depending on their purpose:

#. 🤖 Industrial Robots – Used in manufacturing (e.g., robotic arms in manufacturing factories).
#. 🏠 Service Robots – Assist in daily life (e.g., vacuum robots, delivery robots).
#. 🚗 Autonomous Vehicles – Self-driving cars and drones.
#. 👨‍⚕️ Medical Robots – Assist in surgeries and healthcare.
#. 🚀 Space & Exploration Robots – Used for planetary exploration (e.g., NASA’s Mars rovers).
#. 🐶 Humanoid & Social Robots – Designed to interact with humans (e.g., ASIMO, Sophia).

Autonomous Navigation: Python is used in self-driving cars and other autonomous vehicles for tasks like perception, localization, and path planning.
Industrial Robotics: Python is employed in manufacturing for robot control, quality inspection, and automation.
Service Robotics: Python powers robots that perform tasks like cleaning, delivery, and customer service in various environments.
Research and Education: Python is a popular choice in robotics research and education due to its ease of use and versatility.
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Expand Up @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Python for Robotics
A programing language, Python is used for this `PythonRobotics` project
to achieve the purposes of this project described in the :ref:`What is PythonRobotics?`.

This section explains the Python itself and features for science computing Robotics.
This section explains the Python itself and features for science computing and robotics.

Python for general-purpose programming
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Technology for Robotics
-------------------------


Autonomous Navigation
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In recent years, autonomous navigation technologies have received huge
attention in many fields.
Such fields include, autonomous driving[22], drone flight navigation,
and other transportation systems.

An autonomous navigation system is a system that can move to a goal over long
periods of time without any external control by an operator.
The system requires a wide range of technologies:
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