Karen Latchana Kenney - Cutting-Edge Robotics

Lerner Publications Minneapolis

Karen Latchana Kenney

Cutting-Edge STEM

Cutting-Edge

Robotics

Copyright 2019 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

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A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

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Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com .

Main body text set in Adrianna Regular 14/20. Typeface provided by Chank.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kenney, Karen Latchana, author.

Title: Cutting-edge robotics / by Karen Latchana Kenney.

Description: Minneapolis, MN : Lerner Publications, [2019] | Series: Searchlight books. Cutting-edge STEM | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Ages | Audience: Grades to

Identifiers: LCCN 2017059615 (print) | LCCN 2017058727 (ebook) | ISBN 9781541525399 (eb pdf) | ISBN 9781541523449 (lb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781541527768 (pb : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: RoboticsJuvenile literature.

Classification: LCC TJ211.2 (print) | LCC TJ211.2 .K44 2019 (ebook) | DDC 629.8/92dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017059615

Manufactured in the United States of America

1-44417-34676-3/9/2018

Contents

Chapter

What Is Robotics?

A tiny object the width of a human hair motors through a mouses stomach acid. It uses bubbles to push itself forward. Then it delivers medicine to heal sores in the mouses stomach. This tiny object is a robot.

This illustration shows a tiny robot attaching to a red blood cell.

A robot that looks like a person is called a humanoid robot.

Big and Small Robots

Robots are machines that can sense and react to the world around them. Humans build and program robots. Humans control some robots. Others can perform tasks on their own. Some robots look a lot like people. Others are simply giant arms used in factories. Tiny robots called nanorobots can move in very small spaces. Many robots do work that is too dangerous or difficult for people to do.

Robot Makers

People who make robots are roboticists. They design robots using computers. Roboticists create a robots brain, the central computer that tells it what to do. Roboticists figure out how the brain will control the rest of the robot with electrical signals. Roboticists also design parts such as sensors, so the robot can see and touch things.

A roboticist may have to try several different designs before finding one that works.

Science Fact or Science Fiction?

Robots can walk just like humans.

Thats falsebut roboticists are working on it.

Walking on two legs may seem simple to us, but it requires a lot of coordination. Most robots on two legs lose their balance and fall over. But a robot named Cassie is almost there. This robot can walk and stay balanced on two legs, even on uneven ground.