In robotics, an actuator is the part that does what?

Converts a control signal into physical movement

Measures the distance to nearby objects

Supplies power to the control board

A robot arm's "degrees of freedom" describes what?

The number of independent ways it can move

Lidar measures distance by doing what?

Timing pulses of laser light reflected from surfaces

Detecting changes in magnetic field strength

Listening for echoes of audible sound

Comparing two camera images for parallax

A feedback loop in a control system does what?

Uses measurements of the output to adjust the input

Doubles the power supplied to a motor

Records movements for later playback

Blocks new instructions while one is running

In robotics, SLAM stands for what?

Simultaneous localisation and mapping

Sequential linear actuator movement

Standard laser alignment method

Sensor-linked autonomous motion

Why are conventional industrial robot arms kept behind cages or light curtains?

A fast, powerful arm cannot tell that a person is in its path

Their motors interfere with radio equipment

The paint they apply is flammable

They must be held at a constant temperature

A servo motor differs from an ordinary motor because it does what?

Reports and controls its own shaft position

Runs only on alternating current

What does the term "uncanny valley" describe?

Humanlike figures becoming unsettling as they approach realism

A loss of radio signal in deep terrain

Battery failure in extreme cold

A walking robot is described as "statically stable" when what is true?

It stays upright even if it stops in mid-stride

It can walk faster than a person

It needs no recharging between tasks

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Robotics & AI Medium ⚡ 10 Questions ⏱️ ~7 Mins +100 XP

Robots, Sensors and Motion

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A robot is a loop: sense the world, decide something, move. These ten questions are about the sensing and the moving.

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About this topic

Most of what makes robotics hard has nothing to do with intelligence. A machine has to know where its own limbs are, where the floor is, and what will happen if it pushes. Every one of those facts arrives through a sensor with noise in it, and every response goes out through an actuator that lags behind the command. The discipline that grew up around closing that gap, control theory, is older than the computer. The questions here cover the physical vocabulary: what an actuator is, why an arm is described by its degrees of freedom, how a machine builds a map of a room it has never seen. The explanations note where a neat-sounding term hides a genuinely unsolved problem, which in robotics is often.

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Robots, Sensors and Motion: all 10 questions and answers

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1In robotics, an actuator is the part that does what?
- A Stores the robot's program
- B Measures the distance to nearby objects
- C Supplies power to the control board
- D Converts a control signal into physical movement Correct
Answer: D. Converts a control signal into physical movement

Why: Electric motors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic pistons are all actuators. Sensors run the other way, turning a physical quantity into a signal.
2A robot arm's "degrees of freedom" describes what?
- A How many programs it can store
- B How fast its joints can rotate
- C The number of independent ways it can move Correct
- D The maximum weight it can lift
Answer: C. The number of independent ways it can move

Why: A human arm from shoulder to wrist has seven. Six is the minimum needed to place a tool at any position and any angle within reach.
3The tool fitted to the end of a robot arm is generally called what?
- A The gantry
- B The end effector Correct
- C The manipulator base
- D The payload mount
Answer: B. The end effector

Why: Grippers, welding torches and paint sprayers are all end effectors. Being able to swap them is what lets one arm cover several jobs on a line.
4Lidar measures distance by doing what?
- A Timing pulses of laser light reflected from surfaces Correct
- B Detecting changes in magnetic field strength
- C Listening for echoes of audible sound
- D Comparing two camera images for parallax
Answer: A. Timing pulses of laser light reflected from surfaces

Why: The word is usually expanded as light detection and ranging. Sonar does the same job with sound and radar with radio waves.
5A feedback loop in a control system does what?
- A Doubles the power supplied to a motor
- B Records movements for later playback
- C Blocks new instructions while one is running
- D Uses measurements of the output to adjust the input Correct
Answer: D. Uses measurements of the output to adjust the input

Why: A thermostat is the everyday example, switching heating against a measured temperature. Control theory grew out of steam governors, long before electronics.
6In robotics, SLAM stands for what?
- A Standard laser alignment method
- B Sensor-linked autonomous motion
- C Simultaneous localisation and mapping Correct
- D Sequential linear actuator movement
Answer: C. Simultaneous localisation and mapping

Why: The machine builds a map of an unknown space while working out its own position within it. Robot vacuum cleaners run simplified versions of the same idea.
7Why are conventional industrial robot arms kept behind cages or light curtains?
- A They must be held at a constant temperature
- B A fast, powerful arm cannot tell that a person is in its path Correct
- C Their motors interfere with radio equipment
- D The paint they apply is flammable
Answer: B. A fast, powerful arm cannot tell that a person is in its path

Why: They move to fixed positions at speed regardless of what is there. Collaborative robots run slower and stop on contact so they can share floor space with people.
8A servo motor differs from an ordinary motor because it does what?
- A Reports and controls its own shaft position Correct
- B Runs only on alternating current
- C Cannot be run in reverse
- D Produces no waste heat
Answer: A. Reports and controls its own shaft position

Why: A position sensor and a small controller are built into it, so the shaft turns to a commanded angle and holds there. Stepper motors reach similar precision by moving in fixed increments instead.
9What does the term "uncanny valley" describe?
- A A loss of radio signal in deep terrain
- B Battery failure in extreme cold
- C False sensor readings in fog
- D Humanlike figures becoming unsettling as they approach realism Correct
Answer: D. Humanlike figures becoming unsettling as they approach realism

Why: Masahiro Mori proposed the idea in 1970. It is now applied as often to animated characters as to physical robots.
10A walking robot is described as "statically stable" when what is true?
- A It needs no recharging between tasks
- B Its joints contain no springs
- C It stays upright even if it stops in mid-stride Correct
- D It can walk faster than a person
Answer: C. It stays upright even if it stops in mid-stride

Why: That requires keeping its centre of mass above the area covered by its feet. Human walking is closer to controlled falling, with balance recovered at each step.

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