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The body or the structure of a robot is related to its
design purpose. For example, industrial robots often take
the shape of an arm - commonly know as Robotics Arm. This
is because many tasks require to perform in the industrial
requires the flexibility of human hands and it usually remains
stationary relative to its task.
Space robots, on the other hand, have many different
body shapes such as a sphere, a platform with wheels or
legs and so on. One typical example is the free-flying rover,
Sprint Aercam, designed as a sphere to minimize damage
if it were to bump into the shuttle or an astronaut.
When robot needs mobility to perform its tasks, the robot's
body takes in many forms depending on the environment it
operate in. For under water operation, conventional unmanned,
submersible robot, alias, Automated Underwater Vehicle is
used. To get around, AUV use propellers and rudders to control
their direction of travel. Whereas, for land traveling,
robot moves around with legs, tracks or wheels. Mars Exploration
Rover is one example. Not surprisingly, robots that operate
in the air use engines and thrusters to get around. One
example is the
Cassini, an orbiter on its way to Saturn.
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