What is a feedback loop?

But although robots vary in how they sense, compute, and act, they all operate in a similar way: Their
sensors feed measurements to a controller or computer, which processes them and then sends
control signals to motors and actuators. A robot is constantly repeating this sensing-computing-
acting cycle, in what roboticists call a "feedback loop." So you could say that feedback is the
technique that makes machines "smart," and almost every robot uses feedback.

To make things more concrete, consider BigDog, a rough-terrain quadruped robot developed by
Boston Dynamics. BigDog uses sensors to measure the position of its leg joints and the forces applied
on them. It also uses gyroscopes and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to keep track of its position
in relation to the ground. Based on that information, BigDog's computer calculates which hydraulic
actuators it should activate to move the robotic legs.

As BigDog takes a step, it's continually (several thousand times per second) updating its sensor,
computer, and actuator information in a feedback loop that allows the robot to autonomously walk,
trot, climb hills, and step over obstacles. Its creators have even kicked BigDog while it was walking
and the robot didn't fall down.