Look out! We are surrounded.
If you think robots exist only in space exploration, high tech laboratories, or science fiction novels and movies, this course will surprise you. In fact, robots are everywhere. They are all around us, performing many tasks that we find very useful in our every day lives.
 This course will give you a closer look at “robotics” which means the study and use of robots. When we use the term “robotic system,” we refer to the different components that make up a robot.
We will explain what robots are and how they help us. In addition, we will look at some of the simplest and most common examples of robots, as well as some that are very complex and unusual. Last but not least, we will share some interesting facts and stories about the fascinating world of robots…the very world we live in today.
A robot by any other name… Will still have a job to do.
We interact with robots every day without even realizing it. They are in our homes, our schools, our stores, our cars…they are everywhere we go. Robots answer our telephone, open doors for us, turn on our lights, make sure we are warm or cool enough, sell us food and beverages, dispense money, and even make sure we do not miss our favorite television shows.
Often, these robots do not look anything like those portrayed in movies and books, so we don’t realize that they are, indeed robots.
A traffic light, and electric door, the VCR that tapes a movie for you, the microwave that heats your dinner…these are all robots. The more you know about robots, the easier it is to spot robots around us, and how they make our lives more convenient. |
The world of robotics is a fascinating place, with roots dating back to well before the 20th century.
