Robotics

The syllabus lists six application areas of robotics. For each you should know the typical role and the trade-offs.

Industry

Robots are widely used on factory floors for tasks that are repetitive, dangerous, or require very precise motion.

• Roles: welding car bodies, painting, assembling electronics, quality inspection with vision systems, packaging finished goods.
• Advantages: faster than humans, consistent quality, work 24/7, do not get tired, can handle heavy parts.
• Disadvantages: very high upfront cost, can miss subtle defects that need human judgement, replaces manual jobs.

Transport

Logistics and warehousing now use robots extensively.

• Roles: warehouse robots that find, move and pack goods (e.g. in Amazon fulfilment centres); autonomous trucks; self-driving cars; automated trains.
• Advantages: efficient picking and packing, less reliance on manual labour, work in 24/7 shifts.
• Disadvantages: high infrastructure cost, safety concerns when robots and humans share the same space, dependence on reliable software.

Agriculture

Modern farms increasingly use robots for precision agriculture.

• Roles: planting and seeding machines that place seeds at exact depths and spacings; harvesting robots; robotic weed sprayers; automated milking.
• Advantages: precise planting and chemical use, less labour, larger yields, work overnight.
• Disadvantages: very expensive to buy, may struggle with uneven terrain or unpredictable weather, smaller farms cannot afford them.

Medicine

Robots are used in hospitals for surgery, rehabilitation and laboratory work.

• Roles: surgical robots that assist surgeons with delicate procedures (e.g. da Vinci); rehabilitation robots that guide patients through repetitive physical-therapy movements; lab robots handling samples.
• Advantages: extreme precision, less invasive surgery (smaller incisions, shorter recovery), tireless repetition during therapy.
• Disadvantages: very high cost, requires specialist training, cannot provide emotional support the way a human therapist can.

Domestic

Robots in the home are still mostly limited but growing.

• Roles: robotic vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, window cleaners; smart kitchen helpers that chop, measure and stir; companion robots for the elderly.
• Advantages: free up the user's time, help people with limited mobility, work consistently.
• Disadvantages: limited capabilities (cannot handle every situation), can be expensive, may struggle in cluttered or unusual environments.

Entertainment

Robots appear in education, theme parks and animatronic shows.

• Roles: educational robots that teach programming, animatronic figures in theme parks, performance robots, interactive museum exhibits.
• Advantages: engaging and interactive for children, can be reprogrammed for new lessons, available 24/7 in attractions.
• Disadvantages: high cost, cannot replace the guidance of a human teacher, may break and need expensive repair.