Robots are becoming increasingly popular to make life easier for humans.  Robots can perform repetitive and strenuous tasks faster, more easily, and more accurately than humans, and they never complain.  This frees humans to pursue safer or more intellectual roles, and increases the efficiency of manufacturing, packing, palletizing, and other industrial activities.  Some robots, such as cobots or semi-automated machines, can work in tandem with humans safely to increase production efficiency and quality.  In academia, robots are being researched and developed for applications in the medical field to improve quality and efficiency of patient care, and in the fields of outer space and subsea in order to explore realms with conditions that may be dangerous for humans.  This chapter details the types and various applications of robots, and then hones in on robot selection, modeling, and simulation for industrial jobs.

1) Types of Robots and Joints

Although the science-fiction image of a robot is a mechatronic humanoid, and the typical industrial robot is a 6-axis articulated arm, many other types of robots exist.  A robot is a just a machine that performs a task automatically.  The video below explains fundamentals of robots: types of robots, types of joints and their schematic notation, and basic types of control.

Video: Robot Fundamentals (click link to watch in YouTube if you need closed captions)

Despite the benefits of automation, it can be abused – incorrectly used, overused, or used without thought to consequences.  Robots are also not the end-all, be-all solution for every task.  This video covers some important lessons learned from a young engineer in the robotics industry.

Video: Industrial Lessons

Quick Quiz

2) Applications of Robots

Robots are used in various applications for both industry and research.  In industrial settings, they are useful for performing heavy or repetitive tasks much more easily and consistently than humans.  These include material handling, welding, packing and palletizing, assembly, spray painting, gluing, and other areas of automation.  In research, they are being investigated for medical, subsea, and outer space applications.  Videos below show and explain robots in action in a host of applications, including:

• Standard industrial robot applications
• Agricultural automation
• Experimental robots
• Lower limb prosthetics
• Upper limb exoskeletons

Standard Industrial Robot Applications, by Jabil Co.

Agricultural automation: Robotics at IPPE 2023 highlights from the 2023 Industrial Production and Processing Expo (click link to watch in YouTube if you need closed captions)

Experimental Robots, highlights from the 2024 Robotics Summit and Expo

Lower Limb Prosthetics for Stair Ascent, from research at Vanderbilt University

Upper Limb Exoskeletons (Orthotics) for Stroke Rehabilitation, from research at Vanderbilt University and Middle Tennessee State University

Quick Quiz

3) How to Select a Robot for a Job

How does an engineer select a robot for a job?  This depends on three criteria: axes, payload, and reach.

• The axes are the number of actuators, or degrees of freedom, of a system.  Most industrial articulated arms come in either six or four axes.
• The payload is the lift capacity of the robot.  However, more important than actual weight is torque on the robot’s wrist.  So the true payload capacity depends on both the weight of the object lifted and the end-of-arm tool, and the distance of the payload’s center of gravity from the robot’s wrist.
• The reach is the workspace limit of the robot.  A typical reach is given as a radius (in meters) extending spherically outward from the robot’s base.  The workspace can be visualized as the space between an outer sphere for maximum reach and an inner sphere for minimum reach (so the robot would not crash into itself).

Robot selector applications from manufacturers’ websites are at the following links:

• ABB Robot Selector
• Fanuc Robot Selector
• KUKA Robot Selector
• Motoman/Yaskawa Robot Selector
• Universal Robots Selector
• Epson Robot Selector

A detailed guide to industrial robot selection, including how to do the calculations for axes, payload, and reach, how to find potential candidates on manufacturers’ websites, and how to check calculations against specifications found in robot manuals, is here: Robot Selection Guide (printable pdf).

For a video explanation, see below.
How to Select a Robot for a Job (click link to watch in YouTube for closed captions)

Details on performing payload calculations and checking them against the actual robot capability maps given in a manual is shown in the Robot Payload Analysis video below:

Quick Quiz

4) CAD Modeling and Simulation

Once a robot is chosen, the best practice is to model and simulate the robot in software before purchasing it.  This way, the engineer can verify that the robot will work before purchasing and installation, preventing costly mistakes.  While many robot suppliers such as Fanuc and ABB sell their own simulation softwares, not all companies can afford this luxury.  If you work for a smaller company, or are considering robots from multiple manufacturers, you may need to be resourceful and build a cell simulation in CAD.  To do this, the basic steps are: (1) import the CAD files of the robot into your cell assembly, (2) fix the robot to the assembly origin (or other designated location), and (3) mate the wrist, claw, or tip of the robot to various pick and place points in the cell, to verify that the robot can reach the objects at all required positions and orientations.

Documentation and CAD libraries for robots can be found on manufacturers’ websites at the following links:

• ABB CAD and Documentation Library
• Fanuc: Must call 888-FANUC-US with robot F-number.
• KUKA CAD and Documentation Library
• Motoman/Yaskawa Documentation Library
• Universal Robots CAD and Documentation Library
• Epson CAD and Documentation Library

Onshape is an online CAD software with free and paid subscription options that can easily be used for this application.  A guide to robot modeling in Onshape is here: Onshape Robot Modeling (printable pdf).  Video tutorials showing how to (1) find and import a CAD model of a robot and (2) simulate the robot’s reach and workspace are below.

Video: Onshape Robot Assembly (click link to watch in YouTube for closed captions)

There are two ways of doing a robot reach simulation in the Onshape software: using “named positions” or “configurations.”  The “named positions” is an older method, covered in the 2024 video below along with the basics such as importing a robot and troubleshooting.  The “configurations” is new in the 2025 release of Onshape and is covered in the subsequent video.

Video: Onshape Robot Reach Check 2024 (named positions method)

Video: Onshape Robot Reach Check 2025 (configurations method)

Quick Quiz