USP Palmers College - Robotics & Coding taster day quiz

What is a robot?

• A robot is a machine, often controlled by a computer, that can perform a series of complex tasks automatically.

• A robot is a living organism created from metal that evolves like animals do.

• A robot is any electronic device that can connect to the internet.

• A robot is a type of computer program that only exists in virtual environments.

What was the first robot?

• Flying wooden pigeon using steam - 420BC

• Mechanical knight - 1495

• Mechanical Turk - 1770

• Unimate - 1995

Answer explanation

A robot is a machine, often controlled by a computer, that can perform a series of complex tasks automatically.

The robot does not need to be programmed or controlled by computers as is today, but they are just machines that can complete tasks. The wooden bird is a robot because it is not controlled by humans (it is steam-powered) and it completes the task of flying. But programming is used today to make sure that the tasks the robot is meant to complete is done as expected.

Name a robot that you know of - either real or fake. And what you think makes that robot special.

Answer explanation

Robots are very complex and the amount of tasks, designs and programming they have means that robots can be extremely varied.

What can robots be used for?

Answer explanation

Robots today are used for:

Factories (packing, loading, selecting, etc)

Car production

Electronics

Automatic/self-driving vehicles

Dirty jobs (such as cleaning)

Dangerous jobs (such as mine clearning and high-up lifting and warfare spying)

Space probes

Drones and military vehicles

Pharmicies

Home bots (for elderly and disabled people)

Biology and hospitals (scanning pacients, wheelchairs, surgery, lasers, etc)

nanobots

swarm bots (bug swarms and drone swarms)

Translation

Testing and demolition tests

Why are robots used by people for performing jobs instead of people?

• Robots are more creative and can think independently.
• Robots require less maintenance than human workers.
• Robots can easily adapt to any job without training.
• Robots are more social and can work better in teams.
• Robots are more efficient, precise, and can work in hazardous conditions.

Why shouldn't too many jobs be replaced by robots but instead keep people?

• Robots can work 24/7 without breaks.
• Too many jobs shouldn't be replaced by robots to ensure economic stability, creativity, and social equity.

• Robots can perform tasks more accurately than humans.
• Automation reduces the need for human creativity.
• Replacing jobs with robots increases productivity.

Answer explanation

Whilst replacing all jobs with robots seems fine, there are many issues.

1. 1. Robots may not make mistakes since it 100% follows it programming, it will make mistakes constantly if the coding is flawed - which almost every code for robots will have some level of incorrection, which is more likely if the robot's tasks are more complex and varied. If the robot repeatedly does its job wrong, then there will be no one to complete the tasks when it is done wrong and the robot will take a while to fix

2. 2. Having jobs for people means that more people earn money. If all the jobs are done by robots, then no one earns money.

3. 3. Having people work at the company means that other people have more positive feelings and trust in the organisation

4. 4. Some tasks are too complex for robots to perform (such as therapist)

What is your opinion of robots? And would you want to work with robots (ie in your job, learning, etc) in the future?

Is AI the same as Robotics?

• YES

• NO

Answer explanation

Here's the key difference:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the software or algorithmic intelligence — it allows machines or systems to "think," "learn," or make decisions based on data. It can exist purely in code, running on a computer, phone, or even in the cloud. For example, ChatGPT is AI, but it’s not part of a robot.

• Robotics is the field focused on building physical machines (robots) that can move, interact with the environment, or perform tasks. These machines might not have any intelligence on their own — some just follow simple, pre-programmed instructions.

They come together in AI-powered robots, where:

• Robotics provides the body, and

• AI provides the brain.

For example, a warehouse robot that can navigate shelves and avoid obstacles likely uses AI, but the robot itself (its sensors, motors, and physical frame) is built through robotics.

So yes, you’re thinking along the right lines: AI ≠ robotics, but they can work together.

-ChatGPT

What one of these coding languages can be used for programming robots

• HTML

• SQL

• Python

Answer explanation

Python's user-friendly syntax and extensive libraries, especially those for machine learning (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch) and robotics (e.g., ROS, OpenCV), make it a popular choice for both beginners and experienced roboticists.

Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability with the use of significant indentation.

Fill in the gap to complete the Python Code to make the words "Hello, world" appear on the console:

_____("Hello, world")

Answer explanation

Print("Hello, world") will print the text#

Hello, world

to the console.

Python is a very basic coding language, though also very diverse in usage. This makes it a good coding language for beginners, and for basic robots