Deciding whether a device is a robot

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Date:

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A remote-control toy car has a body and motors, but a person steers it. It has no stored program. Is it a robot?

A No, because it has no program

B Yes, because it has a body and motors

2. An automatic washing machine has a metal frame and drum, sensors, a microprocessor, motors and a stored wash program. What does the robot test show?

A It passes all three characteristics

B It fails because it is not shaped like a person

3. A robot vacuum cleaner has wheels and a casing, sensors, a microprocessor, motors and a cleaning program. Which answer is correct?

A It is a robot because it cleans the floor

B It is a robot because it has a structure, electrical parts and a program

4. A computer program can plan routes and make decisions, but it has no body. Is it a robot?

A No, because it has no mechanical structure

B Yes, because it is programmable

5. How many of the three characteristics must a device have to be a robot?

A Any one of them

B All three

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Remote-control toy car: no program		AOnly one characteristic is checked. Having a motor (electrical component) is not enough; the answer must also check the structure and the program.
2Robot vacuum cleaner: senses, decides, moves		BIt is a robot because it has a body, electrical parts and a program
3A computer program with no body is not a robot because it has no mechanical structure		CNot a robot, because it has a body and electrical parts but no program; a person controls every move
4A good answer gives a verdict, then 'because' and evidence from the description		DIF device has no mechanical structure THEN not a robot
5A washing machine is a robot because it has a motor		EA robot, because it has a mechanical structure, electrical parts (sensors, microprocessor, motors) and a program
6A toy car is a robot because it moves		FMoving does not make a device a robot. The car is controlled by a person and has no program, so it fails the test.

Definitions

robot test

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

IF hasProgram = _____ THEN OUTPUT "Toy car: not a robot" ENDIF

IF hasBody _ FALSE THEN OUTPUT "Software only: not a robot" ENDIF

IF body ___ circuits AND program THEN OUTPUT "Washing machine is a robot" ENDIF

IF body AND circuits AND program THEN ______ "Robot vacuum is a robot" ENDIF

OUTPUT "Not a robot _______ it has no program"

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A device = "robot vacuum"

B has_body = TRUE

C has_electrics = TRUE

D has_program = FALSE

E OUTPUT "robot"

Question 2

A device = "chess program"

B has_program = TRUE

C has_body = TRUE

D OUTPUT "no body, not a robot"

Question 3

A device = "washing machine"

B has_body = FALSE

C has_electrics = TRUE

D has_program = TRUE

E OUTPUT "robot"

Question 4

A device = "remote toy car"

B has_body = TRUE

C has_program = TRUE

D OUTPUT "no program, not robot"

Question 5

A device = "robot vacuum"

B has_all_three = TRUE

C IF has_all_three = FALSE THEN

D OUTPUT "it is a robot"

E ENDIF

Answer Key

Deciding whether a device is a robot

Section A: Quick Questions

A — No, because it has no program

A — It passes all three characteristics

B — It is a robot because it has a structure, electrical parts and a program

A — No, because it has no mechanical structure

B — All three

Section B: Match the Pairs

Remote-control toy car: no program → Not a robot, because it has a body and electrical parts but no program; a person controls every move

Robot vacuum cleaner: senses, decides, moves → A robot, because it has a mechanical structure, electrical parts (sensors, microprocessor, motors) and a program

A computer program with no body is not a robot because it has no mechanical structure → IF device has no mechanical structure THEN not a robot

A good answer gives a verdict, then 'because' and evidence from the description → It is a robot because it has a body, electrical parts and a program

A washing machine is a robot because it has a motor → Only one characteristic is checked. Having a motor (electrical component) is not enough; the answer must also check the structure and the program.

A toy car is a robot because it moves → Moving does not make a device a robot. The car is controlled by a person and has no program, so it fails the test.

Section C: Definitions

robot test — Check a device for all three robot characteristics: mechanical structure, electrical components and a program. Then justify with 'because' and evidence from the description.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

IF hasProgram = FALSE THEN
  OUTPUT "Toy car: not a robot"
ENDIF

IF hasBody = FALSE THEN
  OUTPUT "Software only: not a robot"
ENDIF

IF body AND circuits AND program THEN
  OUTPUT "Washing machine is a robot"
ENDIF

IF body AND circuits AND program THEN
  OUTPUT "Robot vacuum is a robot"
ENDIF

OUTPUT "Not a robot because
 it has no program"

Section E: Spot the Error

D — A robot vacuum cleaner follows a program to decide where to clean, so has_program should be TRUE. With FALSE, the program would wrongly output 'robot'.

C — A computer program with no body has no mechanical structure, so has_body must be FALSE. That missing body is the evidence that it is not a robot.

B — An automatic washing machine has a mechanical structure (a casing, a drum and moving parts), so has_body should be TRUE.

C — A remote-control toy car is driven by a person and has no program of its own, so has_program should be FALSE. That is why it fails the robot test.

C — A device passes the robot test only when it has all three characteristics. The test should check has_all_three = TRUE, not FALSE.