Robot Industry Glossary

A voltage generated by a spinning motor that opposes the applied voltage; used for sensorless speed estimation in robotic motors.

The ability of a robot joint or mechanism to be moved by external forces when unpowered, important for safe human-robot interaction.

Mechanical play or lost motion in gear systems caused by gaps between gear teeth, reducing precision and introducing vibration.

The frequency range over which a robot’s control system can accurately respond to commands, affecting speed and precision of motion.

The fixed reference coordinate system attached to the robot’s base, from which all other frames and positions are calculated.

An energy storage device used to power mobile or untethered robots.

Electronics that monitor and control battery charging, discharging, temperature, and health in mobile robots and drones.

A probabilistic algorithm that estimates a robot’s state by combining predictions with sensor measurements, including Kalman and particle filters.

An architecture where robot behaviors are layered and compete or cooperate to produce actions.

A teleoperation control scheme where both the master (human) and slave (robot) devices exchange force and position information.

A comprehensive list of parts, sub-assemblies, and components required to build a product.

A robotic application involving the random grasping of parts from a container using 3D vision and motion planning.

Robotics drawing design principles from biological systems.

Systems integrating living biological tissues (muscle, neural cells) with synthetic components for self-repair and adaptive energy use.

The study of the mechanics of living organisms, often applied to human-robot interaction or prosthetics.

A robot designed by imitating biological organisms, such as robotic insects, fish, snakes, or cheetahs.

The application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems.

A two-legged walking robot, such as ASIMO or Atlas, requiring complex balance control and dynamic locomotion.

A short-range wireless communication protocol used in small robots, wearables, and IoT-connected robotic devices.

A coordinate system fixed to the robot’s body or link, used for local measurements and control calculations.

A path planning pattern (alternating left-to-right and right-to-left rows, like plowing a field) used in coverage and lawn-mowing robots.

A mechanical device that holds a robot joint in place when power is removed, critical for safety in vertical or loaded configurations.

An efficient, low-maintenance electric motor used in robotics, lacking brushes and using electronic commutation instead.

A category of modular robot kits that allow users to assemble and program custom robots for education and prototyping.

The management of a robot’s buoyancy in underwater applications, enabling depth changes without excessive thruster use.