A
- Accuracy
- The ability of a robot to move to a commanded position. Typically lower than repeatability.
- Agricultural Robot
- A robot for farming tasks such as planting, weeding, harvesting, and crop monitoring. View companies →
- AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle)
- A mobile robot that follows fixed paths using magnetic tape, wires, or markers. Simpler but less flexible than AMRs. View companies →
- AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot)
- A mobile robot that navigates dynamically using sensors and AI, without requiring fixed infrastructure like tracks or markers. View companies →
- Articulated Robot
- A robot arm with rotary joints, typically 4-7 axes. The most common type of industrial robot. View companies →
- Automation
- Using technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention.
- AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle)
- A self-propelled underwater robot that operates without real-time human control. View companies →
B
- Backlash
- The amount of play or looseness in a gear train. Must be minimized in precision robots.
- Behavior Cloning
- Imitation learning that directly copies demonstrated actions.
- Bin Picking
- Picking objects from an unstructured pile. Challenging due to recognition and grasp planning.
C
- Cartesian Robot
- A robot that moves in straight lines along X, Y, and Z axes. Also called gantry robots when mounted overhead. View companies →
- Cobot (Collaborative Robot)
- A robot designed to work safely alongside humans without safety cages. Cobots feature force-limiting technology and built-in safety systems. View companies →
- Compliance
- The ability of a robot to yield to external forces. Essential for safe human-robot interaction.
- Computer Vision
- Enabling computers to interpret visual information from cameras. Core robot perception technology. View companies →
- Cycle Time
- The time required for a robot to complete one full operation cycle.
D
- DDS
- Data Distribution Service. Middleware standard for real-time data exchange.
- Degrees of Freedom (DOF)
- The number of independent parameters that define a robot's configuration.
- Delta Robot
- A parallel robot with three arms connected to a common base. Known for extremely high speed in pick-and-place. View companies →
- Depth Camera
- A camera that captures distance information for each pixel, creating a 3D scene representation.
- Dexterous Hand
- A multi-fingered robotic hand capable of complex manipulation. Typically 15+ degrees of freedom.
- Dexterous Manipulation
- Manipulating objects with human-like dexterity using multi-fingered hands.
- Diffusion Policy
- A control policy based on diffusion models that generates action sequences by denoising random noise.
- Digital Twin
- A virtual replica of a physical robot that mirrors its behavior in real-time.
- Domain Randomization
- Varying simulation parameters during training to produce policies robust to real-world variation.
- Drone / UAV
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. An aircraft operated without a human pilot aboard. View companies →
E
- E-Stop (Emergency Stop)
- A safety device that immediately halts robot motion when activated.
- Embodied AI
- AI systems learning through physical interaction with the world. Robots are the primary platform.
- Encoder
- A sensor that measures position or speed of a rotating shaft. Essential for robot joint feedback.
- End Effector
- The device attached to a robot arm's end that interacts with the environment.
- Exoskeleton
- A wearable robotic device that augments human strength, endurance, or mobility.
F
- Fleet Learning
- Multiple robots sharing experiences and learning collectively across deployed systems.
- Force/Torque Sensor
- Measures forces and torques, typically between robot wrist and end effector.
- Forward Kinematics
- Calculating end effector position and orientation given joint angles.
- Foundation Model
- A large AI model trained on broad data adaptable to various tasks. Emerging for general-purpose robots. View companies →
- Functional Safety
- Safety depending on systems functioning correctly, including safety-related control systems.
G
- Gazebo
- Open-source 3D robot simulator. Provides physics simulation and environment modeling. View companies →
- Gripper
- An end effector designed to grasp and hold objects. Types include parallel jaw, vacuum, and soft.
H
- Harmonic Drive
- A compact, high-ratio gear system commonly used in robot joints. Zero backlash.
- Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)
- The study of interactions between humans and robots: communication, collaboration, and safety.
- Humanoid Robot
- A robot designed to resemble the human body in form, typically featuring bipedal locomotion, two arms, a torso, and a head. View companies →
I
- Imitation Learning
- Training robots by demonstrating desired behaviors. Also called learning from demonstration (LfD).
- IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)
- A sensor combining accelerometers and gyroscopes to measure acceleration and rotation.
- Industrial Robot
- A programmable, automatically controlled manipulator designed for manufacturing applications. Typically operates in caged areas. View companies →
- Industry 4.0
- The fourth industrial revolution: smart factories, IoT, AI, and cyber-physical systems.
- Inverse Kinematics (IK)
- Calculating joint angles needed to achieve a desired end effector position.
- ISO 10218
- International standard specifying safety requirements for industrial robots.
- ISO/TS 15066
- Technical specification for collaborative robot safety, defining power and force limits.
L
- Large Language Model (LLM)
- An AI model trained on vast text data for understanding and generating language.
- LiDAR
- Light Detection and Ranging. Measures distance by illuminating targets with laser light. View companies →
- Lights-Out Manufacturing
- Fully automated production operating without human presence or lighting.
M
- Model Predictive Control (MPC)
- Uses a model to predict future behavior and optimizes control actions over a time horizon.
- Motion Planning
- The broader problem of planning robot movements including path planning and obstacle avoidance.
- MoveIt
- Open-source motion planning framework for ROS. Manipulation, planning, and collision checking. View companies →
O
- Object Detection
- Locating and classifying objects within an image. Foundation for robot perception.
- Odometry
- Using motion sensor data to estimate position change over time. Subject to cumulative drift.
- OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)
- Metric combining availability, performance, and quality to measure productivity.
- OPC UA
- Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture. Industrial communication standard.
P
- Path Planning
- Computing a collision-free trajectory for a robot to move between configurations.
- Payload
- The maximum weight a robot can carry at its end effector while maintaining specified performance.
- Pick and Place
- Picking up an object from one location and placing it at another. Core manufacturing operation.
- PID Control
- Proportional-Integral-Derivative control. A fundamental feedback control algorithm in robotics.
- Point Cloud
- A set of 3D points representing external surface of objects, from LiDAR or depth cameras.
Q
- Quadruped Robot
- A four-legged robot designed for locomotion across varied terrain. Examples include Boston Dynamics' Spot.
- Quick-Change System
- Mechanism for rapid, automatic exchange of end effectors.
R
- Reach
- The maximum distance from the robot's base to its end effector.
- Reinforcement Learning (RL)
- Learning optimal behaviors through trial and error with rewards. Increasingly used for robot control. View companies →
- Repeatability
- The ability of a robot to return to the same position repeatedly. Measured in millimeters (e.g., ±0.01mm).
- Risk Assessment
- Systematic process of identifying hazards and evaluating risks for robot applications.
- Robot Density
- Industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees. Key automation adoption metric.
- ROI (Return on Investment)
- Profitability measure comparing cost savings against purchase and operating costs.
- ROS (Robot Operating System)
- Open-source middleware framework for robot software development. Not actually an OS. View companies →
- ROS 2
- Second generation ROS, redesigned for real-time performance, security, and production use. View companies →
- ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle)
- An underwater robot controlled by an operator on the surface via a tether. View companies →
S
- Safety Scanner
- A laser-based device monitoring an area and triggering safety actions on intrusion.
- SCARA Robot
- Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm. Has parallel rotary joints providing compliance in X-Y while rigid in Z-axis. View companies →
- Semantic Segmentation
- Classifying each pixel in an image into categories. Enables robots to understand scenes.
- Service Robot
- A robot that performs useful tasks outside of industrial manufacturing, including cleaning, delivery, and hospitality. View companies →
- Servo
- A motor with feedback control that can accurately maintain position, velocity, or torque.
- Sim-to-Real
- Training robot controllers in simulation and transferring to physical robots.
- Simulation
- Virtual environments for testing robot software without physical hardware. View companies →
- Singularity
- A robot configuration where two or more axes align, causing loss of degrees of freedom.
- SLAM
- Simultaneous Localization and Mapping. Builds a map while tracking the robot's location within it.
- Smart Factory
- A manufacturing facility using connected systems and automation to optimize production.
- Space Robot
- A robotic system for space environments: planetary rovers, satellite servicing, orbital assembly. View companies →
- Surgical Robot
- A robotic system that assists surgeons in performing minimally invasive procedures with enhanced precision. View companies →
- System Integrator
- A company that designs, builds, and installs complete robot systems.
T
- Tactile Sensor
- Detects physical contact, pressure, or texture. Enables robots to 'feel' objects.
- TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)
- Complete cost over a robot system's lifetime including purchase, installation, and maintenance.
- Teach Pendant
- A handheld device for manually controlling and programming industrial robots.
- Teleoperation
- Remote control of a robot by a human operator. Used for dangerous tasks and data collection.
- Tool Center Point (TCP)
- A reference point at the end effector used for programming and control.
- Trajectory
- A time-parameterized path specifying position, velocity, and acceleration at each point.
U
- UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle)
- A vehicle that operates on the ground without a human operator aboard. View companies →
- URDF
- Unified Robot Description Format. XML format for representing robot models in ROS.
V
- Vision-Language Model (VLM)
- An AI model understanding both images and text. Enables robots to follow natural language instructions.
- VLA (Vision-Language-Action Model)
- Takes visual observations and language instructions, directly outputs robot actions.
W
- Warehouse Robot
- A robot for logistics and fulfillment including picking, packing, sorting, and transporting goods. View companies →
- Work Envelope
- The three-dimensional space within which a robot can position its end effector.
- World Model
- An internal model predicting environment changes from actions. Enables planning by simulation.
Z
- Zero-Shot Transfer
- Performing a task never explicitly trained on, leveraging general knowledge from pretraining.