Glossary: FIRST® Robotics Engineering Terms

This glossary contains key terms and definitions for the FIRST® Robotics Program.

Vocabulary Word	Definition
Acceleration	An object’s ability to gain speed over a relatively short amount of time.
Accessibility	The design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities.
Accuracy	The degree to which the result of a measurement, calculation, or specification conforms to the correct value or a standard.
Actuator	A component of a machine that is responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism or system.
Agile Project Management	An iterative approach to managing software development projects that focuses on continuous releases and incorporates customer feedback with every iteration.
Algorithm	A procedure or formula, used for solving a problem, that conducts a sequence of specified actions performed exactly that way every time.
Alliance	A cooperative of two robots and their drive teams during a match.
Alliance Station	The designated red or blue alliance area next to the playing field.
Alternating Current (AC)	An electric current which periodically reverses direction.
Angular Velocity	The rate of change of angular position of a rotating object.
Animatronics	The technique of making and operating lifelike robots, typically for use in film or other entertainment.
Autonomous	Operational without direct human control.
Autonomous Period	A timed period during the match in which robots operate and react only to sensor inputs and commands pre-programmed by the team onto its onboard control system.
Axle	A rod or spindle (either fixed or rotating) passing through the center of a wheel or group of wheels.
Battery	One or more cells connected together that provide power to the robot so it can move.
Binary	A mathematical language where only “1” or “0” exist.
Boolean	A binary variable that can be used to create either “true” or “false” statements.
Chassis	See frame.
Circumference	The distance around a circle.
Command	An instruction or signal that causes a computer to perform basic functions.
Computational Thinking	A set of problem-solving methods that involve expressing problems and their solutions in ways that a computer could execute.
Condition	Something that must be true in order for something to happen.
Configure	To arrange or order a computer system or its element(s) for a designated task.
Constraint	A limitation or restriction.
Control System	A computer that controls various parts of the robot.
Controller	The device used to operate the robot.
Coopertition	Collaboration between competitors, in the hope of mutually beneficial results.
Core Values	Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, Fun.
Dead Reckoning	The calculation of one’s current position by using a previously determined position, or fix, and advancing that position based upon known or estimated speeds over elapsed time and course.
Debug	To find and resolve defects or problems within a computer program that prevent correct operation of your code.
Disable/Disabled	To deactivate a robot/a robot that is no longer active.
Driver Station/Dashboard	The designated operator responsible for sending signals to the robot’s control system so you can operate the robot.
Driver-Controlled Period	The time during the match/gameplay when humans operate the robot using the gamepad.
Electrostatic Discharge	The release of static electricity when two objects come into contact.
Encoder	A device that converts physical information to another type of data for the purpose of standardization, speed, or compression.
End Effector	The last link on a robot’s arm where it makes contact with an object.
End Game	The time after the driver-controlled period prior to the end of the match.
End of the Period/Match	The moment when the match timer reaches 0:00.
Engineering Design Process	Identify the Problem, Brainstorm and Explore, Design and Prototype, Test and Improve.
Engineering Notebook	A place to document, in chronological order, all work, designs, and ideas that are associated with a specific design project.
Frame	The main supporting structure of a vehicle; all other components attach to it.
Function	A named section of a program that performs a specific task.
Game Element	Any item a robot interacts with to play the game.
Gamepad	A handheld controller.
Gearbox	A set of gears and their casing.
Gracious Professionalism	Doing your best work while treating others with respect and kindness; it’s what makes FIRST, first.
Hardware	Any element of a piece of technology that’s physical.
If-then statements	A type of conditional statement; a statement with a hypothesis followed by a conclusion.
Inadvertent	An outcome that is not a planned strategy and not the predictable result of persistent or repeated actions.
Initialize	To put in the condition appropriate to the start of an operation.
Innovation	The practical implementation of ideas that results in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services.
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)	A software application that provides comprehensive facilities for software development, normally consisting of at least a source-code editor, build automation tools, and a debugger.
Invert	To flip a value from true to false or vice versa; often used in programming Boolean variables.
Iteration	The process of doing something again and again, usually for improvement.
Light-Emitting Diode (LED)	A semiconductor light source that emits light when a current flow through it.
Loop	A sequence of instructions that is continually repeated until a certain condition is reached; if an exit condition is not defined, the program will never end.
Match	A head-to-head competition between two alliances.
Mobility	The ability to move or be moved freely and easily.
OpMode	A block programing term that is the equivalent of a function.
Pairing	A process that helps set up an initial linkage between computing devices to allow communication between them.
Parameter	A numerical or other measurable factor that defines a system or sets the conditions of its operation.
Precision	The quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate.
Program	A set of instructions that a computer follows in order to perform a particular task.
Prototype	A first or preliminary model of something, especially a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied.
Pseudocode	A description of the steps in an algorithm using a mix of conventions of code with informal, usually self-explanatory, notation of actions and conditions.
Quality Assurance (QA)	A way of preventing mistakes and defects in manufactured products and avoiding problems before the final product is delivered.
Revolutions per Minute (RPM)	A measure of how fast motor spins.
RGB	Red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors that can be sensed by a robot’s color sensor.
Robot Initialization Routine	A set of programming instructions that runs after a robot’s Init button is pressed but before the driver-controlled or autonomous periods begin in a robot match.
Sensor	A device that can detect and send information to the “brain” of the robot.
Software	A set of instructions or programs used to operate computers and execute tasks.
Stall Torque	The torque produced by a device whose output rotational speed is zero.
Subsystem	A collection of robot hardware and/or software that operates together as a unit inside the robot.
Telemetry	An automated communications process where measurements and other data are collected at remote or inaccessible points and transmitted to receiving equipment for monitoring.
Torque	A measure of the force that can cause an object to rotate about an axis.
Troubleshoot	To anticipate or correct observed problems.
Variable	A value that can change depending on conditions or information passed to the program.
Wiring Diagram	A simplified conventional pictorial representation of an electrical circuit that shows the circuit’s components as simplified shapes and connections.