As a result, it takes a large interdisciplinary effort to move from a working prototype to a mass-produced robot in the market.
There is no consensus on the definition of a robot. Researchers do agree that, at the very least, robots are human-made physical entities with ways of sensing themselves or the world around them and the ability to create physical effects on that world. Importantly, robots must integrate many different component technologies to combine perception of their environment with action. Component technologies include actuators (e.g., motors, arms, gears), sensors, control systems, materials, power sources, and real-time programming. As a result, it takes a large interdisciplinary effort to move from a working prototype to a mass-produced robot in the market. The key engineering challenges in robotics are the design of individual components and the integration of components to perform tasks.