Robot Industry Glossary

The ability of a robot to identify and locate objects in sensor data (images, point clouds), a core perception capability.

CV tasks that localize objects (YOLO, Faster R-CNN) or classify every pixel (Mask R-CNN, DeepLab) for scene understanding.

The process of identifying what objects are in a robot’s environment using computer vision and machine learning.

Algorithms and mechanisms enabling a robot to detect and navigate around obstacles in its path during operation.

A 2D or 3D probabilistic map representation where cells are marked as occupied, free, or unknown based on sensor data.

The estimation of a robot’s position by integrating wheel encoder data over time, subject to cumulative drift errors.

A metric measuring manufacturing productivity (availability, performance, quality).

A company that produces parts or equipment used in another company’s end product.

Creating robot programs using simulation software without needing physical access to the robot, reducing downtime.

A robot capable of moving in any direction without changing orientation, using omniwheels, Mecanum wheels, or swerve drives.

Wheels, such as mecanum and omni, that allow a vehicle to move in any direction without turning.

A wheel with small passive rollers around its circumference, enabling lateral sliding motion when used in multi-wheel configurations.

A platform-independent, service-oriented architecture for industrial communication.

A kinematic structure where links are connected in series without forming closed loops, as in most serial robot arms.

A control system without sensor feedback, where the robot executes commands based solely on the input signal.

An open-source computer vision library widely used in robotics for image processing, feature detection, camera calibration, and object tracking.

Software managing a robot’s hardware resources and providing services for application programs, including ROS, VxWorks, and Linux-based systems.

See Task Space. The space in which the robot’s task is naturally described, typically Cartesian coordinates.

Ongoing costs for running a business, such as maintenance, utilities, and labor.

An encoder using light and a coded disc to measure rotary or linear position, offering high resolution and accuracy.

A motion capture system using infrared cameras and reflective markers for high-precision tracking of robots in indoor environments.

The angular pose of a robot or its end-effector, typically represented using Euler angles, rotation matrices, or quaternions.

An open-source framework for robot control providing real-time components for motion control and sensor interfacing.

A wearable device that supports, aligns, or corrects body movement; powered orthoses are a type of rehabilitation robot.

A robot with more actuators than necessary degrees of freedom, allowing force distribution and redundancy for reliability.

Safety circuits that detect excessive current draw in robot motors and electronics, preventing damage from overload or stall conditions.