Robotics
Perception–Plan–Control Loop
ActivePublished: 29 September 2026Updated: 29 September 2026Published
Key
innovation
The canonical robot loop: perceive the environment, plan an action, execute it via control — repeated at the rate the task requires.
Category
Robotics
Abstraction level
Pattern
Operation level
Robot controlSystemInference
Use cases
Mobile navigation and autonomous drivingManipulation and graspingHumanoid locomotionEmbodied-AI / VLA systemsIndustrial arm control
How it works
Each iteration: (1) perception fuses sensor signals into a state estimate; (2) a planner (classical or a learned policy) selects an action/trajectory against the goal and constraints; (3) a controller (e.g. PID, MPC, impedance control) generates actuator commands and measures the effect. The result closes the loop back to perception. Layers are often hierarchical and asynchronous.
Problem solved
A robot in a changing world cannot blindly execute a one-off plan — it needs a continuous cycle of sensing state, replanning and correcting control.
Components
PerceptionInput
Sensor fusion and state/world estimation.
PlanningDecision
Computing an action or trajectory achieving the goal.
ControlExecution
Turning the plan into actuator commands with feedback.