What is a Robot Effector?

From RobotCurwikilums

A robot effector is a robot controllable device that produces or causes a change in the surrounding environment for the means of accomplishing the programmed goals and tasks. Actuators (motors, servos, pneumatics that move wheels, arms, and grippers) are effectors. But effectors are a broader class of environment-effecting devices. For example, a convential vacuum cleaner contains an input port, a rotating brush, an electric fan, a dust collector, and an exhaust port. A vacuum cleaner integrated into a floor cleaning robot is an effector.

A philosophical discussion (or When is a hill a mountain, and a creek a river?)

The basic principle of sonar is to emit sound pulses and then measure the return echoes. Is the sonar emitter an effector? Does it cause an effect on the environment? Insects react to a bat's ultrasonic chirps (the emitter) and take evasive action to avoid being eaten. So a sonar emitter can definitely effect the environment. But in order for sonar to work, the emitter is packaged with a receiver. And the purpose the sonar device is to measure objects in the environment. So is it a robot effector? No, it is an ultrasonic sensor.

Is an on/off switchable headlight attached to a robot a robot effector? A headlight cannot read the environment so it is not a sensor. But it can illuminate a dark lab. So is it an effector? Possibly.

The electronics associated with today's robots generate heat. Heat effects the immediate environment. So are all of the electronic components of a modern robot effectors? Not likely.

What about a Wi-Fi (or other RF) communication channel? Consider an RF signal sent from a robot to a host computer to simply report status information. Or consider a signal sent to a remote actuator to move it. Or a control RF signal sent to an attached wireless gripper. Typically none of these RF scenarios are considered roles for an effector. Communication channels are separate entities from robot effectors (and sensors). Otherwise, each transitor on a 1,000,000 transistor chip is a robot effector and the value of the 'robot effector' classification is greatly attenuated.

Example of Effectors using the Khepera Robot

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