Robotics: thinking, sensing and acting

If you think robots are mainly the stuff of space movies, think again. Right
now, all over the world, robots are on the move. Theyre painting cars at Ford
plants, assembling Milano cookies for Pepperidge Farms, walking into live
volcanoes, driving trains in Paris, and defusing bombs in Northern Ireland. As
they grow tougher, nimbler, and smarter, todays robots are doing more and
more things we cant or dont want todo.
Robots have been with us for less than 50 years, but the idea of inanimate
creations to do our bidding is much, much older. The ancient Greek poet
Homer described maidens of gold, metallic helpers for the Hephaistos, the
Greek god of the forge. The golems of medieval Jewish legend were robot-like
servants made of clay, brought to life by a spoken charm. Leonardo da Vinci
drew plans for a mechanical man in 1495.
But real robots wouldnt become possible until the 1950s and 60s, with the
invention of transistors and integrated circuits. Compact, reliable electronics
and a growing computer industry added brains to the brawn of already existing
machines. In 1959, researchers demonstrated the possibility of robotic
manufacturing when they unveiled a computer-controlled milling machine. Its
first product: ashtrays.
Whats a Robot?
Theres no precise definition, but by general agreement a robot is a
programmable machine that imitates the actions or appearance of an
intelligent creatureusually a human. To qualify as a robot, a machine has to
be able to do two things: 1) get information from its surroundings, and 2) do
something physicalsuch as move or manipulate objects.
The word robot comes from the Czech wordrobota,meaning drudgery or slavelike labor. It was first used to describe fabricated workers in a fictional 1920s
play by Czech author Karel Capek calledRossums Universal Robots. In the story,
a scientist invents robots to help people by performing simple, repetitive tasks.
However, once the robots are used to fight wars, they turn on their human
owners and take over the world.

TIPS: Read the questions first. When reading the text underline the unknowned words.

Find evidence in the text for the following:

- Today, robots are used for various purposes.
_______________________________________________________________
- People thought of programmable machines many years ago.
_______________________________________________________________
- The idea of creating mechanical helpers dates back to the Greeks.
_______________________________________________________________
- Robots were the first to build in the 20th century.
_______________________________________________________________
Give complete answers to the following questions:
- Why are todays robots doing more and more things humans used to do?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
- People thought of inventing inanimate creations many years ago. Why were
robots first built in the 20th century?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
- How important is 1959 to the history of robotics?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
- What are the advantages and the disadvantagens of having a robot on your
daily routine?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

VOCABULARY
Match the words in the left with their equivalent on the right:
a

on the move

putting together

assembling

people who make metal utensils,

ornaments

maidens

moving

metalsmiths

designed

drew plans

girls or unmarried women

reliable

increasing

growing

machine for processing materials of

a certain kind

milling machine

consistently good in quality or

perfomance, and so deserving trust

Build questions for the following answers

1. _____________________________________________________________
Vinton Cerf was the father of the net.
2. _____________________________________________________________
The first robots were created in the 1960s.
3. _____________________________________________________________
The word robot cames from the Czech word robota.