The Springer Reference Work Encyclopedia of Robotics addresses the existing need for an easily accessible yet authoritative and granular knowledge resource in robotic science and engineering. The encyclopedia is a work that comprehensively explains the scientific, application-based, interactive, and socio-ethical parameters of robotics. It is the first work that explains at the concept and fact level the state of the field of robotics and its future directions. The encyclopedia is a complement to Springer’s highly successful Handbook of Robotics that has analyzed the state of robotics through the medium of descriptive essays. Organized in an A-Z format for quick and easy understanding of both the basic and advanced topics across a broad spectrum of areas in a self-contained form. The entries in this encyclopedia will be a comprehensive description of terms used in robotics science and technology. Each term, when useful, is described concisely with online illustrations.