Category: Robot Building

A robot is structured very much like a living organism. There are parts of a robot that have a parallel to the parts of a sentient being. The following are the anatomy of a typical robot.

1. The frame. The sketetal structure of a robot. It can be made of aluminium, steel, plastic, carbon composite and even titanium.

2.  Actuator. This is the equivalent of muscles of the robot. Actuator encompases the following systems: motor/gears, pneumatic cyclinders, shape memory alloy, hydraulics.

3. Outer casing. This part corresponds to the skin of the robot.

4. Drive train. This part corresponds the the limbs. This can be in the form of wheels, legs or tracks.

5. Controller. This part corresponds to the brain and central nervous system. The most common form is the microcontroller. The microcontroller is usually a computer that is embedded as a chip It usually consist of a CPU, RAM and Erasable memory space.

6. Sensors. This part corresponds to the sensory organs of the robot. They interact with the external environment. Typical sensors includes light sensors, sound sensosr and pressure sensors.

7. Manipulator. This part corresponds to the fingers and hands. This is an optional component.

8. Communication system. This corresponds to the speech. This is another optional aspect of a robot.

9. Power system. The part that powers the robot. This include batteries. Common batteries include alkaline, nickel, lithion ion and battery packs. Some robots also employ solar cells and other power sources.

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