Introduction Robotics summary 2026 Miller Verheij
Robotics lecture 1: Introduction to course
Computer origin
• The word originated in the 17th century.
• Earliest recording of the word in 1613 by Richard Braithwaite in his book.
• It referred to a person, performing calculations.
• Used for persons performing calculations right until the middle of the 20th century.
What makes a robot?
• Classical definition: “A robot is a machine that senses, plans, and acts.”
This is outdated, as this makes every appliance nowadays a robot.
• There has to be a back-and-forth communication between man and machine for it
to qualify as a robot.
Types of robots
• Robot manipulator
• Mobile robot
• Drone
• Humanoid
• Robots
o Industrial robots
§ Manipulators
• Physical manipulators
• Social manipulators
§ Fulfillment
o Service robots
§ Professional service robots
• Industrial cleaning
• Data acquisition
• Medical/healthcare
• Mars exploration
• Demolition/delivery
§ Personal/domestic/consumer service robots
1
,Introduction Robotics summary 2026 Miller Verheij
• Home care, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowing
• Home security/assistance
How to build an autonomous robot
• The robot is given a kind of framework that allows it to solve any task that is within its
intended abilities.
• In general, this should/can not be fully hard-coded
o Hard-coded systems break easily, for example, when something unexpected
happens.
o In some environments that are well defined, this might be suXicient.
• To develop such a framework, we need an architecture that contains diXerent
functionalities in the form of modules.
• There are many kinds of architectures available
Modules/functionalities for robots
• Perception, gripping/manipulation, modeling, decision making and planning.
• Essential modules, relations between them, and essential algorithmic and
representational details in each module.
• Example architecture (SOAR v9):
2
, Introduction Robotics summary 2026 Miller Verheij
Di?erent software levels in Robotics
• Host
o User interface layer
§ Video or Image Display
§ Tele-operation
§ Robot health display
§ Sensor Data Display
• Embedded hardware
o Algorithm layer
§ Path Planning
§ Obstacle Avoidance
§ Mapping & Localization
§ Task Definition
o Platform layer
§ Steering
§ Sensor Fusion
§ Image Processing
§ Kinematics
o Driver Layer
§ Sensor Interface
§ Actuator Interface
Low level control
• Open loop control system
o Control input à Controlled system à output
• Closed loop control system
o Control input à error signal à controlled system (feedback loop) à output
3
Robotics lecture 1: Introduction to course
Computer origin
• The word originated in the 17th century.
• Earliest recording of the word in 1613 by Richard Braithwaite in his book.
• It referred to a person, performing calculations.
• Used for persons performing calculations right until the middle of the 20th century.
What makes a robot?
• Classical definition: “A robot is a machine that senses, plans, and acts.”
This is outdated, as this makes every appliance nowadays a robot.
• There has to be a back-and-forth communication between man and machine for it
to qualify as a robot.
Types of robots
• Robot manipulator
• Mobile robot
• Drone
• Humanoid
• Robots
o Industrial robots
§ Manipulators
• Physical manipulators
• Social manipulators
§ Fulfillment
o Service robots
§ Professional service robots
• Industrial cleaning
• Data acquisition
• Medical/healthcare
• Mars exploration
• Demolition/delivery
§ Personal/domestic/consumer service robots
1
,Introduction Robotics summary 2026 Miller Verheij
• Home care, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowing
• Home security/assistance
How to build an autonomous robot
• The robot is given a kind of framework that allows it to solve any task that is within its
intended abilities.
• In general, this should/can not be fully hard-coded
o Hard-coded systems break easily, for example, when something unexpected
happens.
o In some environments that are well defined, this might be suXicient.
• To develop such a framework, we need an architecture that contains diXerent
functionalities in the form of modules.
• There are many kinds of architectures available
Modules/functionalities for robots
• Perception, gripping/manipulation, modeling, decision making and planning.
• Essential modules, relations between them, and essential algorithmic and
representational details in each module.
• Example architecture (SOAR v9):
2
, Introduction Robotics summary 2026 Miller Verheij
Di?erent software levels in Robotics
• Host
o User interface layer
§ Video or Image Display
§ Tele-operation
§ Robot health display
§ Sensor Data Display
• Embedded hardware
o Algorithm layer
§ Path Planning
§ Obstacle Avoidance
§ Mapping & Localization
§ Task Definition
o Platform layer
§ Steering
§ Sensor Fusion
§ Image Processing
§ Kinematics
o Driver Layer
§ Sensor Interface
§ Actuator Interface
Low level control
• Open loop control system
o Control input à Controlled system à output
• Closed loop control system
o Control input à error signal à controlled system (feedback loop) à output
3
