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Robotics *(view comments)
A **robot** is a machine that can perform physical tasks with little or no outside help.


 * Robotics ** is the study of robots. It involves the design, programming and testing of robots and automated systems.


 * Industrial ** robots represent the most common use of robots in the real world, and are used mostly in manufacturing processes.**

Domestic ** robots are designed specifically for use in the home or for entertainment. The automated washing machine is a common example.

A **controlled system** is where a robot is manually controlled by a human, whereas an **automated system** does the control all by itself. A light switch and a surgery robot are control system and a fire alarm, autopilot and a reverse cycle air conditioner are automated.

The **control system**, **actuators** and **sensors** are 3 of the main features of a robot.

The **control system** makes the decisions and tells different parts of the robot to do different things, they are often microprocessors (small computer chips). The **control system** in a robot is like a humans brain, it makes decisions based on what it sees and feels and reacts accordingly.

An **actuator** is what makes different components of a robot move. They are like the muscles in the human body, moving the parts. The **control system** determines how when and how they work. Some examples are hydraulic pumps and electric motors.


 * Sensors** are the parts of a robot responsible for detecting different forces acting on it. They are like the sensory organs of the body that detect smell, noise, temperature, light (seeing), and force (touch). There are sensors available to detect all these.


 * Degrees of Freedom** are the directions which a robot can move. For example, a robot arm with 6 **Degrees of Freedom** (up, down, left, right, clockwise and anti-clockwise) can reach all the space within its reach.


 * Feedback** is the data which is received from a robots **sensors** and sent to its **control system** so that the system can make a decision on what to do next.