Book 3, Question 97
Why Do Robots Follow Instructions?
A robot is a machine with sensors, motors, and a computer that works like a brain. It only follows its program's list of steps, unless a human changes that list. Code is like a recipe of commands, such as, roll forward until the bumper hits.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 3
More fun facts
- The word robot was first used in a Russian play in 1920.
- Real robots began in the 1950s with mechanical arms built to handle dangerous radioactive materials.
- The first industrial robot went on sale in 1959.
- The Unimate was the first mass-produced robot arm for factories. Its instructions were stored on a magnetic drum.
- The Unimate arm weighed 4,000 pounds and cost $25,000.
- Machines followed programmed instructions long before robots. Weaving machines used punch cards as early as the 1800s.
- Car maker General Motors soon had 450 robots working in its factories.
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, NIST
Questions kids ask
How does a robot know what to do?
A robot follows instructions that people program into it. The first factory robot stored its instructions on a magnetic drum.