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Joan Cartan-Hansen, Host: A 
robot is a machine designed to

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automatically perform a complex 
series of actions.

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How much do you know about 
robots?

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[MUSIC]

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Student 1: Thank you MiP. 
What's our assignment for

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science this week? 
Student 2: We're supposed to

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learn about robots. 
Student 1: Great.

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Can you help us learn about 
robots?

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Cartan-Hansen: Robots are 
human-made machines that perform

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work and other actions. 
Some work automatically.

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Some by remote control. 
Robot comes from the Czech word,

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Robotta. 
It was first used in a play in

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the 1920s. 
Inventors have been building

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self-operating machines for 
centuries.

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These automata were run by 
clocks, or moving water.

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The first electronic robots were 
created in England in the 1940s.

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By the 1960s, robots were used 
to move things around, like in a

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car plant. 
Robots generally have three main

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parts. 
A controller or a brain, this is

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the part that tells the robot 
what to do, or where to go.

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Next are the mechanical parts. 
These are the motors, wheels,

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gears, grabbers, whatever, that 
make the robot do its work to

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grab or turn or to lift. 
The third are the sensors.

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These are the devices that allow 
the robot to figure out size and

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space, where to go or how 
tightly to grip.

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Together, these three basic 
parts make up a robot.

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Robots are sometimes used where 
work is repetitive, that is, the

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same task being done over and 
over again.

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They are also used in places 
that would be dangerous for

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people. 
NASA uses all sorts of different

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robots to help us explore space. 
Rovers on Mars are mini

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laboratories helping humans 
learn about the Martian soil.

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These robots at the Johnson 
Space Center help teach new

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astronauts how to do things in 
space.

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Robots come in all shapes and 
sizes.

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Some are as small as insects. 
These are called nano-bots or

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kilobots. 
Some scientists are designing

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robots that show emotion, and 
some are working on robots that

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think. 
Scientists are just starting to

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figure out all the different 
things robots can do.

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So whether they are helping us 
out at home or traveling deep

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into space, robots are changing 
our lives.

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Student 1: Well, that was very 
interesting.

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MiP, stop bothering the Roomba, 
you know that can't dance.

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Cartan-Hansen: If you want to 
learn more about robotics, check

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out the science trek website. 
You'll find it at science trek

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dot org.

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[MUSIC]

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