robotics//actuator

An actuator converts a control signal into physical work: torque, displacement, pressure, heat, light, or flow. It is the outward half of a robot; a sensor measures the world, while the actuator changes it.

An actuator converts a control signal into physical work: torque, displacement, pressure, heat, light, or flow. It is the outward half of a robot; a sensor measures the world, while the actuator changes it.

Motors, solenoids, hydraulic cylinders, valves, and heaters are all actuators. The useful classification is usually by energy domain and failure mode, not by shape.

The command is not the motion. Backlash, saturation, dead zones, friction, and latency sit between requested and actual output. This is why open-loop demos look easy and reliable control does not.

An actuator plus a sensor closes the loop. Without feedback, software is issuing wishes to physics.

Control : : Actuator limits and dynamics determine what a controller can physically achieve