In a typical autonomous robotic system, the sensor does the job of gathering data. Based on the data, the controller initially processes it and then performs an action that results in an action by the use of actuators:

We can also have a dashboard that may just display what exactly is happening, or sometimes can provide some commands to the robot. Different models exist of the architecture. The preceding architecture is such that the components of a robot are said to be horizontally organized. The information gathered through sensors goes through multiple steps before getting executed as an action. Beside the horizontal flow, there can be vertical flow, where the control may shift to the actuator at any time without completion of the entire process. It's like a queue of cars moving on a highway, and then a single car takes a exit ramp...