Robot

In practical usage, a robot is an autonomous or semi-autonomous device which performs its tasks either by direct human control, partial control with human supervision, or completely autonomously. Robots are typically used to do tasks that are too dull, dirty, or dangerous for humans. Industrial robots used in manufacturing lines used to be the most common form of robots, but that has recently been replaced by consumer robots cleaning floors and mowing lawns. Other applications include toxic waste cleanup, underwater and space exploration, surgery, mining, search and rescue, and mine finding. Robots are also finding their way into entertainment and home health care.

Overview

A robot includes a feedback-driven connection between sense and action. The action may take the form of motors or actuators (also called effectors) that move an arm, open and close gripperss, or propel the robot. The step by step control and feedback is provided by a computer program run on either an external or embedded computer or a microcontroller. By this definition, a robot may include nearly all automated devices.

Related Topics:
Feedback - Effector - Embedded computer - Microcontroller

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Two basic ways of using effectors are to move the robot around (locomotion) or to move other objects around (manipulation). This distinction divides robotics into two mostly separate categories: mobile robotics (moving) and manipulator robotics (grabbing).

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Joints connect parts of manipulators. The most common joint types are:

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• rotary (rotation around a fixed axis)
• prismatic (linear movement)

A parallel robot is one whose arms (primary axes) have three concurrent prismatic joints or both prismatic and rotary joints.

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Degrees of freedom (DOF) means axes of movement. The human arm has seven Degrees of Freedom. A "6 DOF" arm is highly flexible.

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