← IGCSE Computer Science Paper 1

Role of robots in industry

A robot used in factories to do repetitive or dangerous jobs such as welding, spray painting, assembling and packing, often on car assembly lines or in hot, hazardous places.

Part of: IGCSE Computer Science 0478 — 6.2 Robotics — Module 15

Understanding Role of robots in industry in IGCSE Computer Science Paper 1

What it does: Lifting heavy loads is a sub-theme of industrial robot work. The robot never tires, so it can repeat the lift all day. A hot, hazardous place such as a furnace room is dangerous for people, so a robot does the manufacturing task instead. Industrial robots do repetitive manufacturing tasks such as welding, painting, assembling and packing. They do not make business decisions. Robots are well suited to repetitive, physically heavy work. Judging design needs human opinion. An industrial robot is programmable, with sensors, a microprocessor and actuators. A hand drill has none of these and is controlled directly by a person.

Common mistakes: A FOR loop needs the keyword TO between the start and end values. It should be FOR panel ← 1 TO 4, so the welding robot repeats the weld on each of the 4 panels. The closing bracket is missing from the spray painting command. It should be robot.spray_paint(red) so the painting robot can run the instruction.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 632–641) and word search (Modules 632–651).

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Learning

Duo

Which job is a typical role for a robot in industry?

Deciding which new car design to sellWelding car body parts on an assembly line

Matches

Industrial robots are only used to serve food in restaurants.

↓

Industrial robots work in factories on repetitive or dangerous manufacturing tasks such as welding, painting, assembling and packing, not serving food.

Applying

Meanings

Term

industrial robot

Meaning

A robot used in factories to do repetitive or dangerous jobs such as welding, spray painting, assembling and packing, often on car assembly lines or in hot, hazardous places.

Practice

WHILE CarOnLine = TRUE DO

Testing

Gaps

lineRunning = TRUE

Check Answer

Spots

1FOR panel ← 1 4

2 robot.weld(panel)

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Quick Questions

1. Which job is a typical role for a robot in industry?

A. Welding car body parts on an assembly line ✓

B. Deciding which new car design to sell

Industrial robots do repetitive manufacturing tasks such as welding, painting, assembling and packing. They do not make business decisions.

2. Why are robots used for spray painting car bodies?

A. The fumes are harmful to humans, and the robot paints every car the same way ✓

B. Robots are paid less than humans, so they never need maintenance

Spray paint fumes are hazardous to people. A robot can work safely in that place and repeat the same movements every time. Robots still need maintenance.

3. Which task is a robot in a factory most suited to?

A. Lifting heavy loads again and again all day ✓

B. Judging whether a new product design looks attractive

Robots are well suited to repetitive, physically heavy work. Judging design needs human opinion.

4. Which place is best suited to a robot rather than a human worker?

A. A quiet, safe office with no dangers

B. A hot, hazardous area such as a furnace room ✓

Robots can work in hot or hazardous places where people could be hurt. A safe office does not need a robot for safety reasons.

5. True or false: On a car assembly line, robots can assemble parts repeatedly in the same way.

A. False

B. True ✓

Repetitive tasks such as assembling parts are a key industrial role for robots, because the program repeats the same steps each time.

Match the Pairs

robot.weld(car_body) → A factory robot joins metal parts of a car together, a repetitive and dangerous job done safely by a machine

robot.spray_paint(car_door) → A factory robot paints a car part evenly, so humans avoid breathing in harmful paint fumes

Industrial robots can lift heavy loads again and again without getting tired or injured → robot.lift(heavy_engine)

Industrial robots can work in hot or hazardous places where it is unsafe for humans → robot.work_in(furnace_room)

Industrial robots are only used to serve food in restaurants. → Industrial robots work in factories on repetitive or dangerous manufacturing tasks such as welding, painting, assembling and packing, not serving food.

A car assembly line uses robots because they are paid wages and need rest breaks. → Robots are used because they do repetitive or dangerous tasks safely and without tiredness, and they do not need wages or rest breaks.

Key Term

industrial robot

A robot used in factories to do repetitive or dangerous jobs such as welding, spray painting, assembling and packing, often on car assembly lines or in hot, hazardous places.

Fill in the Blanks

1. WHILE lineRunning = TRUE robot.weld(carDoor) ENDWHILE

Hint: Type the keyword that starts a loop which repeats as long as the assembly line is running.

2. robot.spray(carBody, "red")

Hint: Type the task name for covering a car body with paint using a nozzle.

3. FOR n ← 1 TO 500 robot.pack(box) NEXT n

Hint: Type the keyword that joins the start and end values of a count-controlled loop.

4. IF hazardous = TRUE THEN robot.enter() ENDIF

Hint: Type the keyword that follows the condition and starts the code that runs when it is true.

5. robot.lift(heavyLoad)

Hint: Type the task name for raising a heavy part that would be hard for a person to move.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A FOR panel ← 1 4

B robot.weld(panel)

C NEXT panel

Line A — A FOR loop needs the keyword TO between the start and end values. It should be FOR panel ← 1 TO 4, so the welding robot repeats the weld on each of the 4 panels.

Question 2

A robot.move_to(car_body)

B robot.spray_paint(red

C robot.return_home()

Line B — The closing bracket is missing from the spray painting command. It should be robot.spray_paint(red) so the painting robot can run the instruction.

Question 3

A furnace_temp ← 450

B IF furnace_temp > 400 THEN

C human.lift(casting)

D ENDIF

Line C — Industrial robots are used in hot, hazardous places so that people are not put at risk. The lifting should be done by robot.lift(casting), not by a human.

Question 4

A WHILE car_on_line = TRUE

B robot.weld(seam)

C ENDWHILE

Line A — A WHILE loop needs the keyword DO at the end of the first line. It should be WHILE car_on_line = TRUE DO, so the welding robot repeats the task on every car on the line.

Question 5

A items ← 0

B REPEAT

C items ← items - 1

D robot.pack(items)

E UNTIL items = 10

Line C — The counter goes down instead of up, so it never reaches 10 and the packing robot would never stop. It should be items ← items + 1.

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