Anna Claybourne - I Can Be a Robot Engineer

When you think of a robot, what does it look like? Many people think of a robot as a humanoid (human-shaped) machine that can walk, talk, and think, like the robots in sci-fi movies. Robots can move, sense things around them, and interact with things or people. Most robots are computer-controlled, and can be programmed to do different tasks. In fact, there are hundreds of types of robots, some human-like, and some not at all. Youll find out about them in this book! Scientists and engineers have been making robot-like machines for centuries. This mechanical writing boy robot dates from the 1770s.

As electronics and computer science have developed, weve invented more and more robots to do all kinds of jobs. AIBO, a robotic toy dog Humanoid robot Industrial robot building a car Robot engineers design, build, test, and fix robots. Its an exciting, creative job thats a mixture of being a scientist, computer technician, inventor, and artist.

Get started by testing your robot-spotting skills with this activity. Can you guess which three of these machines count as robots and which three dont? You can divide robots into different types depending on how they work or move, or what jobs they do. When robot engineers start designing a robot, they have to think about how it will move, in order to do tasks and get around. If a robot is going to move around on a flat surface, engineers often give it wheels. Robots with walking legs are harder to design, but they have improved a lot in the 21st century. Robots with walking legs are harder to design, but they have improved a lot in the 21st century.

Some can climb up and down stairs. There are even swimming and flying robots! Robot engineers have invented thousands of different robots which can carry out all sorts of different tasks. Here are just a few of them ... Search and rescue robots find people and save them from danger. Some robots help with daily life like this robot thats designed to help you sleep.

What do you need a robot to help you with? Making your bed, scoring goals, scaring away spidersor something else entirely? Design and draw a robot that youd love to have around. To do useful jobs, robots need moving parts. To do useful jobs, robots need moving parts.

A big part of robot engineering is designing and building arms, legs, claws, wheels and other parts to make the robot work. There are three basic methods for making a robot arm move: 1. With a motor system, the motor is a rotating part, usually powered by electricity. 2. A hydraulic system releases fluid into tubes to push and pull on moving parts. 3.

In a cord or tendon system, strings or wires pull on the moving parts to control them. Imagine you need your robot to have a moving arm. How do you make the movements happen? A typical robot has multiple moving parts. Engineers have to work out how to make moving parts strong, but also small and light, so they dont get in the way of the movements or make the robot too heavy.

This simple robot arm demonstrates one type of arm joint and movement. If you can make this, youre on the way to building a robot! Stiff card Scissors A split pin or noticeboard pin A drinking straw A wooden skewer Elastic bands 1.

Cut out two pieces of stiff card, roughly the size and shape of a 15 cm (6 in) ruler.

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