A little context goes a long way
Speak robot sport.
The terms you’ll hear in the arena, on the pitch and in the workshop. Explained in plain English.
A
- Actuator
- A component that creates movement, such as a motor driving a wheel or moving a joint.
- Alliance
- A group of teams cooperating during a match in competitions that use shared scoring or objectives.
- Autonomous
- Operating through programmed decisions during a task rather than a person directly commanding each movement. The permitted level of human involvement depends on the event.
C
- Control loop
- A repeating process that measures what a robot is doing, compares it with the intended behaviour and adjusts the commands.
D
- Dohyo
- The ring used for a sumo contest. Its dimensions, surface and boundary requirements depend on the class and organiser.
- Drivetrain
- The motors, gearing, wheels or other mechanisms that move the robot around its environment.
F
- Fail-safe
- A designed response to a fault or loss of control signal, such as stopping motion. Required behaviour is defined by the applicable safety rules.
I
- Inspection
- An organiser’s check that a robot and its equipment meet the competition’s technical and safety requirements.
L
- Localisation
- Estimating where a robot is and which way it faces relative to a map, field or other reference.
P
- Perception
- Turning sensor readings into useful information about the robot’s surroundings, such as the position of a ball or obstacle.
- Pit
- The area where a team prepares, maintains and repairs its robot between matches. Access and permitted work are controlled by the event.
S
- Simulation
- A software model used to test robot behaviour in a virtual environment. Its results depend on how accurately it represents the real task.
T
- Teleoperation
- A person operating a robot from a separate position using a controller or other interface.
- Time trial
- A format in which a competitor’s valid performance is measured against the clock, subject to the event’s completion and penalty rules.
- Traction
- The grip that allows a robot to accelerate, turn, brake or push without simply slipping.
W
- Weight class
- A competition category defined by a robot’s permitted mass. Always check the exact limit and units because class names can differ between regions.