Page 193 - Modern Robotics Building Versatile Macines

GLOSSARY 173

navigation system the facility in a mobile robot responsible for
determining destinations and plotting safe paths to them
neural implant an electronic device (such as a small chip with
electrodes) that is directly connected to the nervous system. It can
detect and relay nerve signals as well as introduce outside signals
into the nervous system
neural network a large array of processing nodes that can be
“trained” to perform a task by reinforcing those that are success-
ful. Applications include facial recognition and image processing
occupancy grid a navigation method where surrounding space is
divided into numerous three-dimensional cells and sensor data are
analyzed to determine a probability that a given cell is occupied by
something. Paths can then be plotted to avoid possible obstructions
odometery a relatively primitive form of navigation where a robot’s
position is updated by recording direction and displacement (dis-
tance traveled)
prosthesis an artificial limb intended to replace a lost leg or arm
and to replicate as much of its natural function as possible.
Advanced prostheses use much of the same technology as robot
arms, along with sophisticated muscular or possibly neural con-
nections to the body
RFID (radio frequency identification) an embetted chip that broad-
casts identifying information in response to a radio signal
robot a machine that is capable of carrying out complex tasks and
responding to its environment. From a Czech word meaning serf,
or “forced laborer”
robotics the discipline concerned with the design and operation
of robots. It is actually an interdisciplinary pursuit drawing from
computer science, electronic and mechanical engineering, and
even biology
robot swarm a group of relatively small and simple robots that can
cooperate to carry out tasks such as finding mines
rover a mobile robot that can explore hard-to-reach areas such as
the surface of other planets. The robot receives remote commands
but has some autonomous functions
saccade a rapid movement of the eyes to lock onto an object of
interest
sensor anything that gathers data from the environment, such as a
camera or a sonar. In biology, sensors are often called receptors