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Exploring how robots get information from the world around them using sensors.
Have you ever wondered how a robot vacuum knows it hit a chair, or how a smart speaker knows you are talking to it? It’s almost like they have secret superpowers!
Imagine you are playing a game of 'Simon Says.' When your friend says, 'Touch your nose,' your brain gets a message. In the world of robots, we call this message input. Input is any information or signal that is sent to a robot from the world around it. Without input, a robot wouldn't know what to do! It would be like trying to play a game with your eyes closed and your ears plugged. Robots use input to decide when to move, when to stop, and how to help us.
Quick Check
If you press a 'Start' button on a toy robot, is that information called input or output?
Answer
It is called input because you are giving information to the robot.
Humans have main senses to explore the world: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Robots don't have biological eyes or ears, so they use special tools called sensors. A camera acts like a robot's eye, letting it 'see' shapes and colors. A microphone acts like a robot's ear, letting it 'hear' sounds or your voice. Just like your senses tell your brain what is happening, sensors send input to the robot's computer brain.
Let's look at how a robot vacuum uses sensors: 1. The vacuum moves across the floor. 2. Its touch sensor (a bumper) hits a table leg. 3. This 'hit' is an input signal sent to the robot. 4. The robot's brain says, 'Oops! Turn around!'
Quick Check
Which robot sensor is most like a human eye?
Answer
A camera.
Two of the most common ways we give robots input are through buttons and microphones. A button is a simple switch. When you push it, you complete a circuit and send a signal that says 'Yes' or 'Go!' A microphone is more complex. It picks up sound waves from your voice and turns them into digital patterns. This is how smart assistants like Siri or Alexa know you are asking for a song or a joke. They are 'listening' for specific voice input!
How a smart speaker processes your voice: 1. You say 'Hey Robot!' 2. The microphone picks up the sound waves. 3. The sound is turned into input data. 4. The robot checks if the data matches its 'wake word.' 5. If it matches, the robot wakes up to help you!
Imagine a robot that only opens a box if you give it two types of input at the same time: 1. You must press a button on its head. 2. You must clap your hands so the microphone hears you. 3. The robot's brain checks: Is Button = Pressed AND Sound = Loud? 4. If both are true, the box opens!
What do we call the information given to a robot?
Which of these is a robot sensor used for hearing?
A robot can use a touch sensor to know if it has bumped into a wall.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, try to find three things in your house that take 'input' (like a microwave button or a TV remote).
Practice Activity
Draw a picture of a new robot. Label its 'eyes' (cameras), its 'ears' (microphones), and its 'skin' (touch sensors)!