Page 295 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

SELSYN
A selsyn is an indicating device that shows the direction in which an
object is pointing. It consists of a position sensor and a transmitting unit
at the location of the movable device, and a receiving unit and indicator
located in a convenient place. A common application of the selsyn is as a
direction indicator for a rotatable sensor, as shown in the illustration.
Directional antenna
pointed east Semantic Network
Transmitting
unit
North

Receiving 0°
unit

270° 90°

180°
Selsyn
In a selsyn, the indicator usually rotates through the same number of
angular degrees as the moving device. A selsyn for azimuth bearings nor-
mally rotates 360°; a selsyn for elevation bearings turns through 90°.
Compare SERVOMECHANISM, STEPPER MOTOR, and SYNCHRO.
SEMANTIC NETWORK
A semantic network is a reasoning scheme that can be used in artificial
intelligence (AI). In a semantic network, the objects, locations, actions,

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