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Glossary of Terms 3-­‐D space movement in all three directions: up and down, left to right, and backwards and forwards Accuracy in engineering, the closeness to the actual or true value of a measurement or location of movement Actuator a mechanical device that take energy, such as electrical energy, and converts it into motion Analog a signal that is continuous in nature with many variations as in temperature, wind, or pressure; might be thought of as a playground slide where readings could be taken at and point along the slide with almost unlimited possibilities Arm Robot manipulator connected by joints allowing for motion Autonomy (Autonomous) independence, self-­‐government; an autonomous robot can make decisions within the limits of its programming without human intervention Axle a central shaft for a rotating gear or wheel Balance an ability to maintain the center of gravity Battery a device that stores chemical energy and converts it into electrical energy when used Build formed by fitting or joining components together CAD computer-­‐aided design (CAD) is a technology that helps engineers develop and test detailed drawings and prototypes of their ideas Cam a rotating piece in a drive train used to transfer rotary motion into linear motion Cartesian coordinates a system to indicate the location of a point on a surface using two axis lines (X,Y) that can locate a point in three-­‐dimensional space by adding a third axis line (Z) Circuit a closed path that an electric current flows through, made of electronic components (typically, a power source (battery), a load (bulb), and an on/off switch) Compound gear two gears fixed together so they rotate on the same shaft at the same speed Constraints restrictions on a design, such as performance requirements, material availability, cost, and scheduling limits Construct put together by combining materials and parts Continuous path motion programming a robotic arm in very fine movements so that the hand can follow a specific path, such as next to a curved, flowing surface Debugging the methodical process of finding and reducing problems, or bugs, in a program Design (noun) the planning process that precedes the construction of a product Design (verb) to make or work out a plan, often in graphic form; invent Design Objective the goal or purpose of a design; it may be a solution to a challenge or a problem Digital a signal that has specific levels or steps; might be thought of as a set of stairs with readings that can only be taken at the steps, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. Double pole double throw switch a switch that can control two circuits in two positions; can be easily wired to reverse the electrical flow Double pole single throw switch a switch that operates two circuits at the same time Drive train a group of gears connected to control speed, direction, and power from a motor to outputs such as axles, wheels, pulleys, and cams Electricity a fundamental force consisting of positive and negative charges that provide electric current and power Electro-­‐magnet a piece of iron wrapped in a coil of electrical wire acting with magnetic force when electricity is turned on in the coil Electron a negatively charged particle located on the outside of an atom; electric current is electrons moving from atom to atom End effector (hand, gripper, or tool) device at the end of an arm designed to do something with a robot’s surroundings Energy capacity of a system to perform work (Energy exists in several forms including kinetic (movement), thermal (heat), sound, light, and others.) Engineer a person who is trained in engineering Engineering the application of science to designing solutions to challenges Engineering Design Process the process used by engineers to develop new or better products Fabricate make, build, or construct from raw materials by assembling parts or manufacturing Flowchart a diagram that represents a process, showing steps as boxes and their order with connected arrows Force a push or a pull that results in a change of an object’s speed or direction Form the basic structure or shape of an object; the look, the feel, or the beauty of an object Friction surface resistance to motion; a force that decreases velocity between two moving objects (Sliding, rolling, and fluid friction have different impacts on objects.) Fulcrum the point that a lever (or other rotating device) rotates around Function the use or need filled by an object Gear a component within a drive train/transmission that uses teeth to transmit mechanical force to another gear or device Hydraulics machines that use fluid power to do work (Fluid is controlled by valves and distributed through hoses.) Ion an atom or a molecule with a positive or negative charge because it has uneven numbers of electrons and protons Joint location at which two or more levers or parts contact, allowing movement between those parts Kinetic motion energy that an object possesses Lever a simple machine that uses a beam (rigid object) and a fulcrum (pivot point) to multiply mechanical forces Leverage using a lever and pivot point to adjust the force in an application Linkage rods, levers, or parts connected with joints to allow motion in one place to be transmitted to another location Load (electrical) a resistance to the current in an electrical circuit (Resistance is necessary to use energy, so motors, light bulbs, etc. are all loads.) Load (mechanical) the required force output of a mechanical device (This could be the weight a lever is required to lift.) Machine a device that does work or uses energy Make to create by a manufacturing process Manufacture the change of raw materials into finished goods Mass the quantity of matter (The mass remains constant, but the weight of an object will vary depending on gravity.) Movement a change in position, measured with velocity Optimization the process of balancing conflicting factors and choosing one or more to maximize (Choosing the best solution often requires trade-­‐offs. Often, two desirable aspects cannot be maximized at the same time.) Parallel circuit a circuit containing multiple paths for the electricity to flow Pitch the distance between points on two teeth on a gear Pneumatics using pressurized gas to produce mechanical motion Point to point motion programming a robotic arm with the main focus on the locations of the beginning and ending points Portability the range of hardware an operating system platforms on which the source code of a program can be interpreted and run Precision in engineering, the degree of similarity between the results of a repeated action Pressure the effect of a force being uniformly applied over a surface, calculated by dividing force by area Processor a device in a robot that is made up of many electrical circuits and that can execute a program and send and receive all electrical signals that go along with the program Produce to create or manufacture a man-­‐made product Program a set of instructions for a particular task, written in a language , or source code, that the computer can read Programmable able to respond to a list of commands; able to be given a new task without requiring reassembly Proton a positively charged particle typically located in the nucleus of an atom Prototype an early attempt at a working model for an idea Pseudocode a description of a program that bridges the gap between human language and programming languages Purpose in robotics, the way in which the robot will help humans Remote-­‐Operated Vehicle (ROV) a vehicle that receives and responds to commands sent by a controller that is not attached to the vehicle (A ROV cannot be completely autonomous because it receives real-­‐time commands.) Resistance opposition to the flow of current in a circuit Robot an electrical and mechanical device that is autonomous, or semi-­‐
autonomous, and programmable Sensitivity the ability to detect and respond to small amounts of information Sensor a device that measures a physical quantity, such as heat, light, motion, or barriers, and converts that quantity into a signal that can be used by an instrument Series circuit one continuous loop from a battery through the load and back to the battery Simple machine a mechanical device that is used to change the magnitude or direction of one force Single pole double throw switch a switch that operates two circuits, one at a time Single pole single throw switch simplest switch that opens and closes one circuit Source code programming language used in a computer program, such as C, C++, Pascal, python, etc. Specifications the details of what a design is supposed to accomplish Speed how fast an object is moving (To calculate speed, divide the distance traveled by the time it took to travel that distance: speed = distance ÷ time.) Switch a device for opening or closing a circuit Terminal one of two electrical contacts on a battery that allow a device to draw current from the battery Voltage electrical potential (Potential can be though of as an electrical force that drives current from one point to another.) Weight the force that gravity exerts upon an object Wheel a circular disk that revolves on an axis