Parts of a Robot
Controller – The computer or “brain” of the robot, tells the robot what to do through programs (sets of instructions written in code). Almost all robots are pre-programmed and can only do what they were programmed to do, but a few can do a lot more, and can learn new functions.
Arm – Many (but not all) resemble human arms, and have shoulders, elbows, wrists, even fingers. This gives the robot a lot of ways to position itself in its environment. Each joint is said to give the robot 1 degree of freedom.
So, a simple robot arm with 3 joints would have 3 degrees of freedom, and could move in 3 ways: up and down, left and right, forward and backward.
Drive – The drive is the “engine” that moves the links (the sections between the joints) into their desired position. Without a drive, a robot would just sit there, motionless. Most drives are powered by air, water pressure, or electricity.
End-Effecter – The end-effecter is the “hand” connected to the robot’s arm. It is often different from a human hand – it could be a tool such as a gripper, a vacuum pump, tweezers, scalpel, blowtorch or just about anything that helps it do its job. Some robot’s end-effectors can be changed, and be reprogrammed for a different set of tasks.
Sensor – Sensors provide feedback to a robot to let it do its job properly. Compared to the senses and abilities of even the simplest living things, robots have a very long way to go.
The sensor sends information, in the form of electronic signals back to the controller. Sensors also give the robot information about its surroundings and allows it to know the exact position of the arm, or its surroundings, which may influence its task in hand.
The 6 degrees of freedom
Horizontal
Vertical
Depth
Pitch
Yaw
Roll
ASIMO »« Types of Robots
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