Space, Mobility & Robotics terms
23 Space, Mobility & Robotics terms explained in plain English.
- ActuatorAn actuator is the component that makes a machine move.
- Automotive radarAutomotive radar is a sensor in cars that sends out radio waves and measures their reflections to detect other vehicles, pedestrians, and obstacles, along with their distance and speed.
- Autonomous mobile robot (AMR)An autonomous mobile robot (AMR) is a wheeled robot that navigates on its own, using sensors and onboard maps to move materials around warehouses, factories, hospitals, and stores.
- CubeSatA CubeSat is a small satellite built to a standard size: units of 10 by 10 by 10 centimetres, called '1U,' which can be combined into larger sizes such as 3U or 6U.
- Direct-to-cell satelliteDirect-to-cell satellite service lets ordinary smartphones connect straight to satellites when they're out of range of cell towers, with no special phone or dish.
- Drive-by-wireDrive-by-wire means a vehicle's controls, such as the accelerator, brakes, and steering, send electronic signals to motors and actuators instead of moving parts through mechanical cables, rods, or hydraulics.
- Earth observation satelliteAn Earth observation satellite is a spacecraft that collects images or measurements of the Earth's surface, oceans, and atmosphere from orbit.
- eVTOLAn eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft uses electric motors and multiple rotors or tilting propellers to rise straight up, fly forward like a small plane, and land vertically.
- Geostationary orbit (GEO)A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a circular orbit about 35,786 kilometres above the equator where a satellite takes exactly one day to circle the Earth, so it appears fixed in the sky.
- Humanoid robotA humanoid robot is a robot shaped roughly like a person, with a torso, two arms, hands, a head, and usually two legs.
- Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellationA low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation is a large network of satellites orbiting a few hundred to about 2,000 kilometres above Earth, working together to provide services such as internet access.
- MicromobilityMicromobility refers to small, lightweight vehicles, usually under about 25 km/h and designed for one person, such as bicycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters, used for short trips.
- Reusable rocketA reusable rocket is a launch vehicle, or part of one, designed to return safely after launch so it can be refurbished and flown again, instead of falling into the ocean.
- Robot Operating System (ROS)The Robot Operating System (ROS) is a free, open-source set of software libraries and tools for building robots.
- RobotaxiA robotaxi is a driverless vehicle that carries paying passengers on demand, usually booked through an app like a ride-hailing service.
- SAE levels of driving automationThe SAE levels of driving automation are a six-step scale, from Level 0 to Level 5, defined by the engineering group SAE International to describe how much of the driving a car does.
- Sim-to-real transferSim-to-real transfer is the process of training a robot's skills in a computer simulation and then making them work on a real robot.
- SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping)SLAM, short for simultaneous localization and mapping, is the technique that lets a robot, drone, headset, or phone build a map of a place it has never seen while working out where it is inside that map at the same time.
- Software-defined vehicle (SDV)A software-defined vehicle (SDV) is a car whose features, from driver assistance to battery management and infotainment, are controlled mainly by software running on a few powerful central computers rather than dozens of separate fixed-function modules.
- Space debrisSpace debris, or space junk, is human-made material left in orbit that no longer serves a purpose: dead satellites, discarded rocket stages, and fragments from collisions and explosions.
- Synthetic aperture radar (SAR)Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an imaging technique where a radar on a moving satellite or aircraft sends microwave pulses to the ground and combines the echoes to act like a much larger antenna.
- TeleoperationTeleoperation is controlling a machine remotely, with a person watching live video and sensor data and sending commands over a network or radio link.
- Vision-language-action model (VLA)A vision-language-action model (VLA) is an AI model that combines what a robot sees (vision), instructions in plain language, and the movements needed to act (actions) in one system.