History of Robotics
What 1920 science fiction play by Karel Čapek first introduced and popularized the word "robot"?
R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)
What structural mechanical component is used to transfer rotational power and change torque or speed between rotating shafts?
Gear
What central hardware component acts as the "brain" of the robot, executing programmed instructions?
Microcontroller (or CPU)
What type of basic tactile sensor detects physical contact or boundaries by closing an electrical circuit upon impact?
Limit switch (or Bumper sensor)
What basic structural code loop allows a robot to repeat a set of actions indefinitely?
While loop (or Infinite loop)
Patented in 1954 by George Devol, what is widely considered the world's first digitally programmable industrial robot?
Unimate
What specific robotic component acts as the "hand" or tool at the very end of a robotic arm?
End effector (or Manipulator)
What type of fluid power system uses compressed gas or air to drive its mechanical actuators?
Pneumatic system
What sensor maps distance by emitting high-frequency sound waves and timing how long they take to bounce back?
Ultrasonic sensor (or Sonar)
What programming conditional statement forces a robot to make a binary decision based on a sensor reading?
If-Else statement
Coined by author Isaac Asimov, what term describes the study, design, and use of robot systems?
Isaac Asimov
What mechanical component converts stored electrical, hydraulic, or pneumatic energy into physical movement?
Actuator
What specific type of motor rotates to a precise, designated angle based on a pulse-width modulation signal?
Servo Motor
What light-dependent component drops its electrical resistance when exposed to brightness, helping a robot find light sources?
Photoresistor (or Light sensor)
What step-by-step mathematical procedure or set of rules is written into code to solve a specific problem?
Algorithm
Developed by SRI International in the late 1960s, what was the name of the first mobile robot able to reason about its surroundings?
Shakey
In a robotic arm, what term describes the independent directions or axes in which a joint can move?
Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
What control system mechanism continuously adjusts an actuator's output by comparing sensor feedback against a target goal?
Closed-loop system (or Feedback control)
What sensor calculates a robot's orientation, rotational velocity, and angular momentum using the earth's gravity?
Gyroscope
What type of mathematical variable can only hold one of two potential values: True or False?
Boolean
According to Asimov’s First Law of Robotics, a robot may not injure a human being or, through what, allow a human being to come to harm?
Inaction
What type of mechanical linkage or joint allows for purely linear sliding motion between two bodies?
Prismatic joint (or Linear actuator)
What does the robotics acronym "PWM" stand for, which is used to control the speed of DC motors?
Pulse-Width Modulation
What rotational sensor tracks the precise distance a wheel travels by counting increments or slots on a spinning disk?
Optical encoder
What navigation methodology allows an autonomous robot to build a map of an unknown environment while simultaneously keeping track of its own location?
SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping)