An Introduction To Robots

The Parts of a Robot

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Introduction To Robots

Working With Robots

History of Robots

Sensing the Real World

Think about the following jobs. If you were going to program a robot to do each job, do you think your program would involve ordinary computing (or processing) or artificial intelligence? Explain the difference. For each case, write either a C for computing or processing or AI for intelligence.

a) add a column of numbers

b)retrieve underwater treasure

c) write a poem

d) put a list in alphabetical order

e) go to the refrigerator and pour a glass of milk

f) figure the amount of income tax you owe

g) follow a white line painted on the floor

h) drive a car

i) search through a list of people to find all those with a last name of "Smith"

You may have seen a robot in a mall or shopping center moving around, shaking hands, and talking with people. These "showbots" are not real robots at all, but rather remote-controlled toys used to advertise and attract attention. The robot's voice is really that of the human operator who is standing somewhere on the sidelines and speaking into a small microphone. What parts of a real robot does a showbot have and what parts are missing?

Make a drawing of a robot and label the five parts of a typical robot.