← IGCSE Computer Science Paper 1

Disadvantage of robots: limits and breakdowns

A robot can only do what it is programmed to do, cannot use human judgement, and stops working if it breaks down or loses power. It is less flexible than a person.

Part of: IGCSE Computer Science 0478 — 6.2 Robotics — Module 27

Understanding Disadvantage of robots: limits and breakdowns in IGCSE Computer Science Paper 1

What it does: The wrong value x + 5 is run in every loop, so all 100 welds are wrong because the robot follows the code exactly. The robot has only one programmed task and no instructions for a new one, whereas a person can adapt to a new task. A robot can only follow its program. It cannot use human judgement to deal with unexpected situations. Robots need electrical power. If the power fails, the actuators stop and production stops too. A robot repeats its instructions exactly, so a programming error causes the same mistake again and again until the program is fixed.

Common mistakes: A robot stops working when it loses power. The condition should test for power = 'OFF', not 'ON'. A fault stops production. The test should be fault = TRUE, otherwise production stops when nothing is wrong.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 642–651) and word search (Modules 632–651).

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Learning

Duo

A car factory robot meets a part that is a different shape from normal. What is most likely to happen?

It uses judgement and works out a new way to handle the partIt cannot cope because it was not programmed for this situation

Matches

Robot sees a worker's dropped tool on the line and decides to stop to avoid damage, using its own judgement.

↓

Robots cannot use human judgement. They only act on programmed instructions, so a robot would not decide this unless it was programmed to.

Applying

Meanings

Term

robot limitations

Meaning

A robot can only do what it is programmed to do, cannot use human judgement, and stops working if it breaks down or loses power. It is less flexible than a person.

Practice

WHILE power = ON AND fault = FALSE

Testing

Gaps

power = "ON"

Check Answer

Spots

1IF power = 'ON' THEN

2 robot ← 'stopped'

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Quick Questions

1. A car factory robot meets a part that is a different shape from normal. What is most likely to happen?

A. It uses judgement and works out a new way to handle the part

B. It cannot cope because it was not programmed for this situation ✓

A robot can only follow its program. It cannot use human judgement to deal with unexpected situations.

2. Which statement about a robot is correct?

A. It keeps working normally during a power failure

B. It stops working if there is a power failure ✓

Robots need electrical power. If the power fails, the actuators stop and production stops too.

3. A robot welder has a programming error that places every weld 2 mm too far left. What is the result?

A. The same mistake is repeated on every product ✓

B. The robot notices the error and fixes it by itself

A robot repeats its instructions exactly, so a programming error causes the same mistake again and again until the program is fixed.

4. Which is a limitation of using robots compared with people?

A. Robots are less flexible and can only do tasks they are programmed for ✓

B. Robots can easily switch to any new task without being reprogrammed

A person can adapt quickly to a new task. A robot needs to be reprogrammed first.

5. A robot on a production line breaks down. What is the effect on the factory?

A. Production may stop until the fault is repaired ✓

B. Production always carries on as normal without it

If a robot develops a fault, the work it does stops until it is repaired, which can be costly.

Match the Pairs

if obstacle_detected: stop() → The robot only reacts to situations it was programmed for, so it cannot cope with a new, unexpected problem.

power_level = 0 → A power failure or breakdown makes the robot stop working, so production stops until it is fixed.

A programming error makes a robot repeat the same mistake every time it runs the program. → for i in range(100): weld(x + 5)

A robot is less flexible than a person because it only follows its programmed instructions. → task = "paint car"; new_task = ""

Robot sees a worker's dropped tool on the line and decides to stop to avoid damage, using its own judgement. → Robots cannot use human judgement. They only act on programmed instructions, so a robot would not decide this unless it was programmed to.

The factory loses power, but the robots keep working and production carries on as normal. → Robots need power to work. If power fails or they break down, they stop and production stops.

Key Term

robot limitations

A robot can only do what it is programmed to do, cannot use human judgement, and stops working if it breaks down or loses power. It is less flexible than a person.

Fill in the Blanks

1. WHILE power = "ON" weld_joint() ENDWHILE

Hint: Type the keyword that keeps repeating the task only while the power condition is true, so the robot stops when power is lost.

2. IF part = "door" THEN weld() ELSE stop_and_wait()

Hint: Type the keyword that covers every case the programmer did not list, where the robot cannot use judgement.

3. FOR count ← 1 TO 500 drill(5) NEXT count

Hint: Type the keyword that starts a count-controlled loop, which repeats a programming error every time it runs.

4. IF fault = TRUE THEN halt_line() ENDIF

Hint: Type the Boolean value that means a fault has been detected and production must stop.

5. IF task = "weld" THEN weld() ENDIF

Hint: Type the comparison operator that checks the task matches the only one the robot was programmed to do.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A IF power = 'ON' THEN

B robot ← 'stopped'

C ELSE

D robot ← 'working'

Line A — A robot stops working when it loses power. The condition should test for power = 'OFF', not 'ON'.

Question 2

A WHILE power = 'ON'

B IF fault = FALSE THEN

C STOP_PRODUCTION()

D ENDIF

E ENDWHILE

Line B — A fault stops production. The test should be fault = TRUE, otherwise production stops when nothing is wrong.

Question 3

A item ← SCAN()

B IF item = 'bottle' THEN

C IMPROVISE(item)

D ELSE

E ALERT_HUMAN()

Line C — A robot cannot use human judgement or improvise. It can only do what it is programmed to do, so for an unexpected item it should alert a human, e.g. ALERT_HUMAN().

Question 4

A count ← 0

B WHILE count < 100

C count ← count - 1

D PAINT(car)

E ENDWHILE

Line C — A programming error is repeated every time. Here count goes down, so the loop never ends and the robot keeps repeating the same action. It should be count ← count + 1.

Question 5

A task ← GET_TASK()

B IF task = 'any job' THEN

C WELD(part)

D ELSE

E OUTPUT 'Cannot do task'

Line B — A robot is less flexible than a person and can only do tasks it is programmed for. It cannot do 'any job'. The test should be for a specific programmed task such as 'weld'.

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