The state of a robotic mechanism can be described by specifying the current value of each variable parameter (particularly rotating or sliding elements) of robot systems. A robot that could move up/down, left/right, and in/out would have 3 degrees of freedom. The human arm (not counting the hand) has 7 degrees of freedom.

In other words, it is the number of independent parameters required to specify the position and orientation of an object. Often used to classify robot arms. For example, an arm with six degrees of freedom could reach any position close enough and could orient it’s end effector (grip or tool etc.) at any angle about the three perpendicular axes.