How robots work: sense, think, act
Big idea: a robot senses, thinks and acts, again and again. Machines can lift heavy things, but people must stay in charge.
The story in short
Priya didi, an engineer from the agricultural university, brought a mango-picking robot called Dabba to Dadi’s orchard. The mango pickers, like Ramesh bhaiya, were worried about their jobs. On the third day Dabba saw something round and green in a tree and began to reach for it. It was Mitthu, napping! Bunny slammed the big red stop button just in time. When it rained, Dabba’s wheels sank in the mud and its camera fogged up, and it could not reach the best mangoes at the top. In the end, Ramesh bhaiya got a new job: running Dabba.
The idea
- Sensor: a part that collects information: cameras, distance sensors, touch sensors.
- Controller: the computer that decides what to do.
- Actuator: a part that moves, like a motor, or a gripper (a robot “hand”).
- Feedback loop: sense, think, act, then check, and do it again.
- Emergency stop: a button that stops the robot at once.
Machines and people
| Job | Robot | People |
|---|---|---|
| The same careful task all day | Very good | Needs rest |
| Heavy baskets | Very good | Hard work |
| Rain, mud and surprises | Struggles, stops | Very good |
| Deciding what is fair and safe | Can’t | Only people |
Remember: use machines to help one another, not to leave one another behind.
Check yourself
A robot vacuum bumps into a wall and turns around. Which part noticed the wall?
Why did Dabba reach for Mitthu?
According to the chapter, which job can only people do?
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