Automated guided vehicle that follows predefined paths using wires, magnets, optical lines, or markers rather than free navigation.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Autonomous mobile robot that navigates dynamically with onboard sensing and mapping, adapting paths around people and obstacles.
Watch: Often contrasted with AGVs that follow fixed guidance (tape, magnets, QR grids).
Feeds into Mobility
Maximum mass a manipulator can hold at a stated reach and orientation.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Torque available at arm joints, often the limit on dynamic payload and acceleration.
Application programming interface used to command motion, read state, and integrate the robot with WMS, MES, or custom apps.
Feeds into Developer Experience
How close the robot gets to a commanded absolute pose, typically stated in centimetres or millimetres.
Charge capacity of the battery pack in ampere-hours (Ah). Compare with voltage or prefer Wh for cross-model energy.
Stored electrical energy of the pack in Wh or kWh.
Watch: Ah alone is incomplete without voltage; prefer Wh/kWh for comparisons.
Feeds into Maintainability
Nominal voltage of the battery pack.
Number of cameras mounted on the robot for vision and teleoperation.
Onboard compute and perception stack description from the vendor datasheet.
Conformity mark indicating a product meets applicable EU directives (machinery, EMC, etc.) for placement on the European market.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Collaborative robot designed to share a workspace with people, typically with force/torque limiting, rounded covers, and ISO/TS 15066 risk assessment.
Watch: “Cobot” is not automatic permission for unguarded use—application risk assessment still decides.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Network or fieldbus protocols the robot exposes for control and telemetry.
Physical and protocol links used to talk to the robot—Ethernet, Wi-Fi, CAN, EtherCAT, Modbus, proprietary buses, and cloud APIs.
Feeds into Expandability
Ingress protection rating of the control cabinet or sealed electronics enclosure.
Time to recharge the battery with the recommended charger.
Feeds into Maintainability
Steepest incline the robot can ascend or descend under rated traction and payload.
Feeds into Mobility
Whether the platform includes a depth (RGB-D / ToF / stereo) camera.
Feeds into Research Friendliness
Independent actuated joints that define how the robot can move in space.
Feeds into Expandability
Envelope size of the robot (length × width × height) in a stated posture.
Gap distance a robot can clear in a single jump, often as a min–max range.
Feeds into Mobility
Fraction of time the robot is actively working versus idle or charging; datasheet numbers often assume a lighter cycle than production.
Watch: Ask vendors which duty cycle their runtime and MTBF figures assume.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Tool mounted at the end of a manipulator—gripper, suction cup, welder, camera, or custom fixture—that interacts with the work.
Feeds into Expandability
Emergency stop circuit that immediately removes motive power or brings actuators to a safe stop when pressed.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Physical connectors and I/O available for tools, sensors, and integration.
Angular extent a sensor can observe, critical for blind-spot size and how many sensors a platform needs.
Sensor that measures forces and moments, enabling compliant assembly, polishing, and collaborative stopping behaviour.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Software that assigns missions, balances traffic, monitors health, and coordinates many mobile robots in one facility.
Feeds into Ecosystem
Force a fingertip or soft contact can apply, in newtons.
Force a gripper can apply to secure an object, often as a min–max range.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Maximum mass held under form-closure (geometry locks the object).
Maximum mass held under friction-closure alone.
Smallest object diameter the gripper can securely close on.
Robot with a roughly human body plan—bipedal locomotion and arm-like manipulators—aimed at environments built for people.
Feeds into Research Friendliness
Overall vertical dimension of the robot in a stated posture.
Whether batteries can be exchanged with minimal downtime.
Feeds into Maintainability
Whether the platform includes an inertial measurement unit.
Feeds into Mobility
Engineering work to install the robot, fixtures, safety, PLC/WMS interfaces, and process logic so it performs a real task.
Feeds into Ecosystem
Ingress protection code (IEC 60529) for dust and water resistance.
Watch: IP54 is common for indoor mobile robots; wash-down cells usually need IP65+ on exposed assemblies.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Peak or continuous torque an actuated joint can produce, often the limiting factor for payload and dynamic motion.
Feeds into Mobility
Series of rigid links connected by joints from base to end effector that determines reachable workspace and singularities.
Peak or continuous torque at the knee joint of a legged robot.
Whether the platform includes a LiDAR sensor for ranging and mapping.
Feeds into Mobility
Estimating the robot’s pose relative to a map or landmark set using sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, wheel odometry, and IMU.
Feeds into Mobility
Calendar time from order to delivery of a configured robot, often the binding constraint for project schedules.
Feeds into Ecosystem
Peak or continuous torque available in the leg actuators.
Mean time between failures—average operating time between breakdowns, used to compare reliability and service planning.
Watch: Definitions vary (field vs lab); ask what failures are counted.
Feeds into Maintainability
Highest torque any joint on the platform can produce.
Highest translational speed the platform can sustain under rated conditions.
Watch: Safety-limited site speed is often far below the datasheet maximum.
Feeds into Mobility
Peak torque at driven wheels for acceleration and climbing.
Distance a mobile robot can travel on a charge under defined load conditions.
Feeds into Mobility
Distance ahead of the robot where sensors have limited or no coverage.
Real-time behaviour that slows, stops, or re-routes the robot when sensors detect people, racks, or other obstacles in the path.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Ambient temperature range in which the robot is rated to run.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Computing a collision-free route from start to goal given a map, robot footprint, and kinematic constraints.
Feeds into Mobility
Software pipeline that turns sensor data into detections, maps, and scene understanding for navigation and manipulation.
Feeds into Research Friendliness
Collaborative design approach that keeps contact forces and energy below injury thresholds so incidental contact is tolerable.
Watch: Still requires application-level risk assessment; not a blanket “safe around people” claim.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Maximum mass the robot can carry or manipulate while maintaining rated performance.
Watch: Vendors sometimes quote peak or static payload that is not usable at full speed—confirm the duty cycle and arm pose.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Smallest position increment the control system can command or report.
Electrical power consumption under a stated load, in watts.
Four-legged robot optimized for rough terrain, stairs, and outdoor mobility where wheels struggle.
Feeds into Mobility
RobotVersus multi-dimension score covering developer experience, industrial readiness, research friendliness, ecosystem, maintainability, mobility, and expandability.
Maximum distance from base (or arm mount) to the tool center point when fully extended.
Watch: Quoted reach is rarely usable at rated payload—check the payload–reach curve.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
How closely the robot returns to the same taught pose over many cycles.
Watch: Repeatability is not absolute accuracy; calibration and thermal drift still matter.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Structured analysis of hazards, exposure, and severity for a robot application, required before collaborative or industrial deployment.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Robot Operating System—an open middleware ecosystem (ROS 1 / ROS 2) of packages, messages, and tools for building robot software.
Feeds into Developer Experience
Continuous operating time on a single charge under a stated load and duty cycle.
Watch: Loaded vs unloaded figures can differ by 30–50%. Prefer the duty cycle that matches your use case.
Feeds into Maintainability
Simultaneous localization and mapping: building or updating a map of an unknown environment while tracking the robot’s pose inside it.
Feeds into Mobility
Angular coverage of a scanning sensor such as LiDAR.
Maximum useful detection distance of a primary sensor such as LiDAR.
Vendor list of onboard sensors used for navigation and perception.
Collaborative mode where the robot holds position under safety monitoring and may resume when the protective stop is cleared (ISO 10218 / TS 15066).
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Software development kit exposing APIs, samples, and tools so developers can control the robot, stream sensors, and integrate applications.
Feeds into Developer Experience
Physics or kinematics models used to test software, train policies, and validate cells before hardware is available.
Feeds into Research Friendliness
Ability to ascend or descend stairs of a stated riser height under rated payload.
Feeds into Mobility
Payload capacity while the robot is in a standing posture.
Tallest single obstacle or curb the robot can negotiate without assistance.
Feeds into Mobility
Travel distance of a linear actuator or gripper jaw.
Nominal electrical bus or system voltage of the platform.
Total cost of ownership across purchase, integration, training, energy, spare parts, downtime, and end-of-life—not just sticker price.
Feeds into Ecosystem
Reference point on the end effector used for path teaching and Cartesian control; offsets define where the tool actually works.
Remote human control of a robot via joysticks, VR, or tablet interfaces, often used for teaching, recovery, or hazardous tasks.
Feeds into Developer Experience
Number of tactile sensing elements on a hand or contact surface.
Safety certification from Underwriters Laboratories commonly requested for North American industrial electrical equipment.
Feeds into Industrial Readiness
Manufacturer’s commitment to repair or replace covered defects for a stated period and duty cycle.
Watch: Duty-hour caps and misuse exclusions matter as much as the year count.
Feeds into Maintainability
Mass of the robot in its standard configuration, excluding removable payloads and optional tools.
Watch: Shipping weight and operating weight differ when batteries or arms are optional.
Feeds into Mobility
Diameter of the drive or support wheels.
Hybrid leg design with wheels at the feet for rolling and walking modes.