A robot is essentially a computer hooked up to inputs and outputs. It receives information from its inputs, processes it, and then issues commands to its outputs. The hallmark of a robot is the awareness of both its environment and its own state and the automation of its response to this awareness. Therefore, robotic design is concerned with analyzing inputs, making decisions, and controlling outputs.
This chapter is concerned with the question of input and output, specifically sensors and motors. Motors, in particular, are closely identified with robots and are what distinguishes them from automated systems in general. For example, the thermostat in your building has room temperature as its input, makes decisions based on the value of this input, and controls the air conditioning system as output—but you would not be inclined to call it a robot. Locomotion is an essential quality of a robot, at least in public imagination, and EV3 does not disappoint in this...