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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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