Objectives
• Understand what robots are
• Describe the characteristics of robots
• Understand the roles that robots perform along with
their advantages and disadvantages
• Understand the roles of robots in the following areas:
• Industry
• Transport
• Agriculture
• Medicine
• Domestic
• Entertainment
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Starter
• Robots have many uses today
• Name at least three different
areas where robots are
used
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Starter
• Name at least three different areas where robots
are used
• Industry – e.g. manufacturing of food and products
• Transport – e.g. self driving trains and cars
• Agriculture – e.g. sowing, fertilising, harvest and picking
• Medicine – e.g. testing and surgery
• Domestic – e.g. robot vacuum cleaner and lawn mowers
• Entertainment – e.g. toys, robot servers
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Robotics
• A robot is a type of automated machine that
can execute specific tasks with little or no
human intervention
• Robotics is a branch of Computer Science
that incorporates the design,
construction and operation of robots
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Electrical components of robots
• Sensors
• Two HD cameras
• 10 tactile sensors (head x3, chest x1, hand x2, foot x4)
• Four microphones
• Microprocessors
• At least one will be required for
processing instructions
• Actuators
• 13 actuators control the head,
arms, hands, legs and feet
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Roles robots perform
1 Industry
• Robots have many uses in
industry including making
and packing products
• Industrial robots are used in
car manufacture
• They are more accurate
• They are able to work without breaks
• They can work in hazardous environments
FANUC Industrial Robots at AUDI
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
2 Agriculture
• Robots have many uses in agriculture
• They may be used in sowing seeds, applying fertiliser
or harvesting crops
• GPS helps in navigation of tractors
• Drones may be used to survey fields
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
3. Medicine
• Robots are increasingly being used in medicine
• Robotic arms are able to make incisions, remove
tissue and stitch patients
• Where they are currently used they
are monitored by a human surgeon
• Robots are used
as they are more
accurate and don’t
have slight tremors
like humans do
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
4. Automated transport systems
• Transport systems are automated to the degree that they
can be considered as robots
• Planes have sophisticated auto-pilot systems that are
able to take-off, fly and land the plane
• Many trains, especially light rail networks, (at airports or
Docklands Light Railway) do not have drivers
• Self-driving cars are currently in development and
already available in some cities
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
5. Domestic robots
• Domestic robots are able to carry out many
household tasks
• Robot vacuum cleaners may be programmed
to clean certain areas of a house
• Robot lawn mowers are able
to cut allocated areas
of lawn in a garden
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
6. Robots in entertainment
• Robot toys mimic animals and pets
• The dog shown is Aibo
• It has camera sensors on its
nose and above its tail
• Other sensors detect stroking
• Actuators control legs
and movement
• It has facial recognition
and interacts differently
with each person it
plays with
[Link]
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Advantages of Robots
• The advantages and disadvantages will be different for every
robot, but common advantages include:
• Reduces the cost / need for humans to do the task as no salary.
• Works faster
• Is more accurate / efficient
• Is able to work in dangerous environments / reduces the risks to
humans
• Is able to work 24 x 7 / works without a break
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Disadvantages of robots.
• Disadvantages may include:
• The cost of purchasing the robot (or replacing it if it
breaks)
• The robot being unreliable / less reliable than a
human
• The robot not doing as good a job as a human
• Jobs being lost as a result of the robot
• A loss of contact with real people
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Worksheet 2
• Complete Tasks Worksheet 2
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Plenary
• Give three electrical components
of robots
• Give two advantages and
two disadvantages of using
robots as company for
lonely elderly people
Robotics
Unit 7 Automated and emerging technologies
Plenary
• Three characteristics of robots
• Electrical components, such as sensors, microprocessors
and actuators
• Examples of advantages and disadvantages
• + Work 24 hours a day without breaks; + If programmed
correctly, can be highly accurate and give consistent results;
cheaper than employing humans
• - Not as good as humans; - people lose touch with real
human contact and may still feel lonely