Stage 00 · Robotics Orientation · Lesson 2 · 35–45 min
Anatomy of a Robot
When you order parts, wire servos or ask for help on a forum, everyone uses the same words: base, link, joint, DOF, end-effector, frame. Mixing them up leads to wrong wiring, wrong code and wrong maths later (especially in Stage 8, kinematics).
Why do serious arms have 6 DOF? To place a tool anywhere in 3D space you need 3 numbers for position (x, y, z) and 3 for orientation (roll, pitch, yaw: which way the tool points and how it is twisted). 3 + 3 = 6. With fewer joints, some positions or angles are simply impossible.