Robotics
Automated and Emerging Technologies
The syllabus expects you to remember three characteristics that every robot has:
| Characteristic | What it means |
|---|---|
| Mechanical structure | A physical body built from parts (arms, joints, wheels, tracks, grippers) that can move and interact with the environment |
| Electrical components | The internal sensors, microprocessors and actuators that read the world and drive the body |
| Programmable | Designed to follow a precise set of instructions (a program); the same hardware can usually be reprogrammed to do different tasks |
A device that has only one or two of these is not a robot:
- A computer has electrical components and is programmable, but no mechanical structure that moves, so it is not a robot.
- A toy car has a mechanical structure but is not programmable, so it is not a robot.
- A robotic vacuum cleaner has all three: a mechanical body, sensors and motors inside, and a program that decides how to clean. It therefore counts as a robot.
Exam tip
Giving the reason a machine counts as a robot
When a question names a machine and asks why it is a robot, the credited answers are the three characteristics: it has a mechanical structure or framework, it has electrical components (sensors, a microprocessor, actuators) and it is programmable. Naming one electrical component is enough, so "it has sensors" earns that point. Read the stem first: it may state one characteristic itself and ask for one other, and then only the remaining two are credited. Describe what the machine is, not what it does: sowing seeds or driving itself is a task, not a characteristic.