Glossary of Robotics - A

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• Actuator, a motor that translates control signals into mechanical movement. The control signals are usually electrical but may, more rarely, be pneumatic or hydraulic. The power supply may likewise be any of these. It is common for electrical control to be used to modulate a high-power pneumatic or hydraulic motor.

• Aerobot a robot capable of independent flight on other planets.

• Android a humanoid robot.

• Arduino The current platform of choice for small-scale robotic experimentation and physical computing.

• Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it.

• Aura (satellite) a robotic spacecraft launched by NASA in 2004 which collects atmospheric data from Earth.

• Automaton, an early self-operating robot, performing exactly the same actions, over and over.

• Autonomous vehicle a vehicle equipped with an autopilot system, which is capable of driving from one point to another without input from a human operator.