Robot Industry Glossary

An energy-based formulation of robot dynamics using kinetic and potential energy, providing an elegant method for computing equations of motion.

A sensor that measures distances by emitting laser beams and detecting reflections, creating 2D or 3D point clouds for mapping and navigation.

Relating to the side-to-side direction of a robot; lateral motion is perpendicular to the forward direction.

A multi-robot architecture where one robot (leader) is guided by a human or algorithm, and other robots (followers) maintain formation.

A systematic method for minimizing waste without sacrificing productivity.

A robot that moves using articulated legs, offering superior terrain adaptability compared to wheeled or tracked platforms.

A scale measuring the degree of robot independence, from full human control (teleoperation) to fully autonomous operation.

Light Detection and Ranging; a remote sensing method using laser pulses to measure distances and create 3D maps.

The study of how humans and robots communicate, collaborate, and interact.

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping using LiDAR data, enabling robots to build maps and localize within unknown environments.

The systematic management of a robot from design and deployment through operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning.

Procedures to ensure a production line is properly set up and cleared of previous products.

An actuator that produces straight-line motion, including electric linear motors, ball screws, and pneumatic cylinders.

The approximation of a nonlinear robot model with a linear one around an operating point, simplifying control design.

A rigid body segment in a robot’s kinematic chain, connecting two joints and defining the robot’s geometry and reach.

The distance between consecutive joint axes in a robot arm, a fundamental parameter in the kinematic model.

A geometric curve generated by combining perpendicular sinusoidal motions, used in robot trajectory generation and calibration.

A transducer that converts force into an electrical signal for measurement.

The process of determining a robot’s position and orientation within its environment using sensors, maps, and estimation algorithms.

The method by which a robot moves through its environment, including wheeled, legged, tracked, flying, swimming, and crawling.

A robot used in warehouses, distribution centers, and supply chains for sorting, transporting, and managing goods and inventory.

The recognition that a robot has returned to a previously visited location, used in SLAM to correct accumulated drift in the map.

The fast, real-time control layer directly commanding robot actuators (motor current, velocity loops), typically running at 1 kHz or higher.

An optimal control method that minimizes a quadratic cost function for state and control effort, applied in robot stabilization and trajectory tracking.

A type of recurrent neural network used in robotics for time-series prediction, gesture recognition, and sequential decision-making.

A simplified robot model that represents distributed physical properties (mass, stiffness) as concentrated elements at discrete points.