Lesson 5: Machines That Think: Intro to Robotics
A robot is a machine that can sense its environment, process information, and take action. From factory arms to Mars rovers to the Roomba in your house — robots combine engineering and programming.
Key Concepts
Sense, Think, Act
Every robot follows this cycle: Sense (gather data from sensors), Think (process the data using a program), Act (control motors or other outputs based on the decision). Self-driving cars do this thousands of times per second.
Feedback Loops
A feedback loop means the robot checks the result of its action and adjusts. A thermostat is a simple feedback loop: sense temperature, compare to target, turn heater on or off, repeat. Without feedback, robots cannot adapt.
Degrees of Freedom
Degrees of freedom (DOF) describes how many independent ways a robot can move. A door hinge has 1 DOF. A human arm has 7 DOF. More degrees of freedom means more flexible movement but more complex control.
🆕 Robot Arm Simulator
Control a 2-joint robot arm. Adjust the angles to reach the target!
✅ Check Your Understanding
1. What is the Sense-Think-Act cycle?
2. What is a feedback loop?
3. What do degrees of freedom describe?