concept

Robotics

Robotics is the field involving the design, construction, and use of machines to perform tasks autonomously or with guidance.
9 related articles

Description

A robot does not have to be humanoid. It is any device capable of acting on the physical world according to a program. A food processor is a simple robot: it has a motor (actuator) and a button (command). A modern robotic system is an orchestra conducted by a processor-conductor: each joint-musician plays its part with perfect timing.

History

The word 'robot' was coined by Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. (1920). The engineering field began with teleoperated manipulators for handling radioactive materials in the 1940s. The turning point was George Devol's Unimate – the first programmable manipulator, patented in 1954 and installed on a GM factory floor in 1961. In the 1970s, microprocessors enabled control along complex trajectories. Today, robotics is rapidly merging with artificial intelligence, giving rise to self-learning robots.

How it works

Robot control is hierarchical: the strategic level plans a task (e.g., pick a part from a table), the tactical level breaks it into a sequence of movements, and the executive level generates control signals for actuators. A key tool is the closed feedback loop: sensors (encoders, torque sensors, cameras) continuously report position and forces, and the controller compares actual values with setpoints and adjusts motor currents. For complex tasks like walking, Model Predictive Control is used, which computes the system's behavior several steps ahead.

In practice

Robotic arms on assembly lines, da Vinci surgical assistants, rovers on Mars.

Fun fact

The fastest industrial robot packs up to 200 candies per minute in three shifts without a break, and its positioning repeatability is thinner than a human hair.

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Related articles · 11

Robotics2026-07-161 minarXiv:2607.14853express
How Robots Negotiate the Noisy Airwaves
Wireless communication for robots is like a conversation in a noisy workshop, where every word can get lost in the din or arrive too late. In this mess, entropy of the channel, robots fail to yield in time, and coordination breaks down.
Robotics2026-07-161 minarXiv:2607.15129express
Robot Juggler: Synchronized Play with a Human
The robot juggler catches and throws balls in precise rhythm with a human, like two пульсара sending pulses in unison. Juggling three balls is a classic cascade, governed by a steady beat, like the uniform rotation of a cosmic lighthouse. Break the rhythm and the pattern crumbles.
Robotics2026-07-151 minarXiv:2607.13553express
How a Robot Learns to Swim in Turbulent Flows
In calm water, the route is clear. But in turbulent flows, a robot needs a different strategy. Typical approaches demand an accurate map of currents, but in reality, you can't get one. Nature does it differently: fish feel pressure and vortices right against their bodies.
cs.CY2026-07-151 minarXiv:2607.14353express
Why artificial intelligence repeats old mistakes
Technological disasters like Chernobyl rarely strike without warning. They gestate for years: organizations ignore warnings, their complexity mirroring the rise of entropy — a measure of relentless chaos that builds up unnoticed until it avalanches.
eess.SY2026-07-141 minarXiv:2607.12562express
No Rudder Needed: This Boat Steers by Shifting Weight
A person in a boat turns by shifting their body weight. An unmanned vessel uses the same trick: a sliding weight inside the hull does the steering. Its movement is controlled by a neural network, anticipating the chaos of waves and gusts of wind. The propeller pushes the boat forward, while the weight shifts balance — like moving from one foot to the other.
math.OC2026-07-131 minarXiv:2607.11344express
Taming Chaos: How Algorithms Predict the Future
Complex machinery, from drones to surgical robots, sometimes behaves like a wild mustang: full of disorder and whims, where the slightest touch triggers a storm. Instead of rote memorization of formulas, the new method observes the system like a horse breaker.
Medical Physics2026-05-231 minarXiv:2605.26151express
Muscle Fatigue Visible Without a Touch
Your arm lifts a cup from the shelf — a familiar motion you don't notice until muscles tire. Then the trajectory changes: the elbow shifts slightly, the hand trembles. A doctor usually catches these changes by hand, feeling the patient's muscles.
Materials2026-04-261 minarXiv:2604.23821express
Neutrons under AI supervision
A neutron spectrometer is like a blind geologist who taps on rock and guesses what's inside by the sound. It sends a beam of neutrons into a crystal and watches how they scatter. From this pattern, you can deduce how atomic magnets, spins, oscillate. But where exactly to dig and how long to listen used to be decided by a human. Now, the TAS-AI algorithm has taken the helm.
Machine Learning2026-04-131 minarXiv:2604.11773express
The Crystal Finds Its Own Axis
In a lab where crystals are studied, a technician stares at a screen covered in bright spots and slowly rotates the sample, trying to get the spots to form a symmetric pattern. It's like tuning an old radio: you turn the knob until the static gives way to a clear signal. Now, a machine can turn that knob. Scientists have created a program that learns to align crystals without any knowledge of how those spots work.
Physics and Society2025-11-261 minarXiv:2511.20976express
How Artificial Intelligence Becomes a Scientist's Partner
Science is a vast kitchen where scientist-cooks seek new recipes. Once, they sifted ingredients by hand; now artificial intelligence, a seasoned chef, lends a hand. AI memorizes millions of flavors and suggests surprising pairings: through information search, the algorithm uncovers hidden patterns.
cs.PL2011-09-053 minarXiv:1109.0786
Properties as a Compass: Precise Programming
Fog thickens over the line "def max(a: Int, b: Int): Int". What does it do? It returns the larger of two numbers, but how can you verify that? You could write a dozen tests with specific pairs: max(2,3)=3, max(5,5)=5, max(-1,0)=0. Still, a nagging doubt remains: what if it breaks for, say, a million and minus a million?