A World of Robots
You made it! You have traveled through nine lessons all about robots — what they are, how they work, what shapes they come in, where they live, and how to tell them apart from plain machines. Now it is time for your victory lap. In this final lesson, we are going to look at the big picture: robots are everywhere in our world, they help people every single day, and the most exciting robots of all have not even been invented yet. You might be the one to invent them!
Key Words From This Module
Before the review, let us make sure all the important ideas from this module are fresh in your memory. These are the building blocks of everything we covered.
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
Robots Are Everywhere — and Growing
When your grandparents were young, robots mostly existed in science fiction stories and movies. Today, there are millions of real robots in the world. There are robots in the factories that made your clothes, toys, and food packaging. There are robots in the warehouses that sorted and packed the boxes delivered to your door. There are robots on the operating tables of hospitals, helping surgeons save lives. There are robots on the surface of another planet right now, driving across Martian dust and sending back pictures. And robots are getting better every year. New sensors make them smarter at seeing and feeling the world. New materials make them lighter and stronger. New programs make them better at making decisions. The robots of ten years from now will be able to do things no robot can do today.
You are part of the first generation that will grow up with robots as normal everyday tools. Understanding what robots are and how they work puts you ahead — you can think clearly about them, use them wisely, and maybe even build the next great one.
Here is the most important thing to remember from this whole module. Robots are tools built by people, for people. They are not magic. They are not alive. They do not have feelings. They are incredibly clever machines — but every robot in the world was designed, built, programmed, and cared for by a human being. That means people are still at the center of the robot world. Every great robot started as a question in someone's mind: what if a machine could do this job? Then that person learned the skills to make it real. You already have the most important tool for becoming a robot builder: curiosity. And now you have the vocabulary to go with it.
Every robot in the world exists because a human being thought it up, built it, and put it to work. Robots are our tools — amazing, powerful, helpful tools — and people are still very much in charge.
Match each robot from this module to where you would most likely find it.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
What are the three things every robot must be able to do?
Why is a toaster NOT a robot but a robot vacuum IS a robot?
Robots are used in dangerous places like volcanoes and the deep ocean. Why?
Which of the following best describes the relationship between robots and people at work?
Design the Robot of the Future
- This is your final project for the Meet the Robots module!
- Think of a problem in the world that a robot could help solve. It can be something at home, at school, in a hospital, on a farm, in the ocean, or anywhere in space.
- Design your robot by writing or drawing answers to these questions:
- What is the problem your robot solves?
- What does its body look like? Why did you choose that shape?
- What can it sense? Name at least two sensors.
- What decisions does it make?
- What does it do — how does it act?
- Is there anything a human needs to do that the robot cannot do on its own?
- Give your robot a great name.
- Present your robot to a friend or family member. Tell them: this robot senses ___, thinks ___, and acts ___. Then explain why the world needs it.
- Congratulations — you have finished Meet the Robots!