Glossary

Advisory

A message that informs the user of an operator error or anything that may cause a job to pause or halt and may require the user to intervene.

App

An abbreviation for software application. A computer program on a mobile device that performs one or more tasks. Also called application or mobile app.

Autonomous

Automated machine functions that operate in autonomous mode during all the operating cycles of the machine.

Boundary

Something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent. For a robot, it is the outside, no-cross line of an operating area, transit path or zone, or exclusion area. Also called perimeter.

Bump Sensor

An electronic sensor used in detecting and recording physical touch. Also called tactile sensor or touch sensor.

Charging Station

An automatic battery-charging facility located on or within the working area.

Computer Vision

The way a robot “sees” the world around it, putting together the sensor data and the pictures it creates to respond to its environment.

Exclusion Zone

An area recorded by the operator that the robot shall not enter.

Fault

The result of a mechanical, sensor, or software error, which requires service or correction of the machine, sensor, or software code.

Job

The work being performed by a robot at one time inside an operating area.

Localization

The process of determining where a mobile robot is with respect to its environment. Localization is a most fundamental competency required by a robot as the knowledge of its location is necessary for making decisions about future actions.

Mowing Zone

An area in which the robot can run autonomously. The area inside a boundary. Operating may be interchangeable with adjectives that describe the work, such as mowing, clearing, and trenching.

Navigation

The ability of a robot to determine its own position in its frame of reference and then to plan a path toward some goal location.

Obstacle

An object or ground condition which can cause harm, or is harmed, if it comes into contact or collision with the machinery.

Obstacle Avoidance

The process of avoiding a collision with an obstacle in the path of a robot by maneuvering around the obstacle.

Obstacle Detection

The process of detecting objects or terrain types that impede the motion of a robot. A robot may use obstacle avoidance to maneuver around an obstacle.

Obstacle Sensor

A device that senses when the machine contacts a person or an obstruction.

Path

A route that a robot is programmed to travel. As part of a job, a path can connect multiple fields or paths.

Robot

A machine designed to execute one or more tasks automatically. For example, a robot can sense, compute, and act. It must be able to have sensors that provide it with input and insights about the physical space around them. It must be able to compute to make decisions based on its programming and inputs. To be defined as a robot, it must be able to move in or change the physical world in some manner.

Sensing

The feedback from the environment of the robot, which enables the robot to react to its environment. Sensory inputs may come from a variety of sensor types.

Sensor

A device that responds to physical stimuli (including, but not limited to, heat, light, sound, pressure, magnetism, and motion) and transmits the resulting signal or data providing a measurement, operating a control, or both. For example, a sensor can estimate the condition of a robot and its environment. This information is sent to a controller to enable the appropriate behavior. A robot requires extensive information about its environment to function effectively.

Transit Path

A non-mowing autonomous lane used only for the robot to travel from one mowing zone to another. An autonomous, exact path that passes through, across, or connects to another transit path, transit area, or operating area.

Working Area

Any defined area in which the machine can function automatically.