Non-Glossary

Following is a list of related keywords. It would be a glossary except there are no definitions. :)

general robotics terms

locomotion
manipulation
vision
navigation and localization
human-robot interaction
control theory
machine learning
planning
artificial intelligence

soft robotics terms

morphological computation
compliance
Young’s modulus
elastomer
McKibben actuator
continuum deformation
piecewise constant curvature (PCC)
pneumatic network
granular jamming
electrorheological fluid

biology and robotics

biomimetic
biorobotics
proprioception
grasp
non-prehensile
closure
primitive
behavior

control theory

system
state
velocity
trajectory
open-loop
closed-loop
feedback
sensor
model
stability
passive stability

mechanism

degree of freedom
kinematics
underactuation
pneumatic actuator
DC motor
servomotor
hobby servo
stepper motor
encoder
compliant
series-elastic
holonomic and non-holonomic

kinematics

An rigid body unconstrained in space can be described as a ‘free joint’ which imposes no constraints. It has six degrees of freedom: three translational freedoms, and three spatial rotational freedoms. There are several common numerical representations of the rotational freedoms:

Euler angles
Quaternion
Rotation matrix

A pair of rigid bodies may be constrained by physical contact (e.g. a joint bearing) to form a Kinematic pair.

In particular, a ‘lower pair’ is an idealized joint between two rigid bodies. Following are all the lower pairs:

DOF

joint

1

wheel, hinge, pivot, “revolute pair”

1

slider, “prismatic joint”

1

screw

2

cylindrical

3

planar

3

ball and socket, “spherical”