Anna consists of ten segments containing angle sensors, two valves, and two motors each -- rotating around orthogonal axes and wrapped in a tough steel exoskeleton -- that are controlled by a computer to help her maneuver over numerous types of terrain.

ENGADGET: Anna Konda: the firefighting snakebot

Ford's prototype system aims to lessen distraction by taking readouts from biometric sensors and combining the data with information from the car, including speed, steering-wheel angle, and data from radar sensors or cameras used in blind-spot obstacle detection or cruise control.

WSJ: Designing a Car That Takes Your Pulse, Senses If You're Ill

Angle's next progeny, Attila, had 150 sensors and 12 microprocessors.

FORBES: Fights Wars, Lint

Colin Angle, CEO of iRobot says a robot is something that uses sensors to perceive information to understand the world and then uses artificial intelligence to process what it saw, then applies some kind of physical actuation in its environment.

FORBES: Is It Really A Robot?

Sensors at the midway point of the table detect the angle, speed, and trajectory of the not-exactly-oncoming puck, and instructs the mechanism how and where to fire the disc -- you slap it back, and the same sequence happens on your compadre's end.

ENGADGET: Airhockey Over a Distance

Angle adds, the whole freight train that has moved robotics forward has come from gaming and includes the sensors from Primesense.

FORBES: Is It Really A Robot?