Play at being a robot
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone did exactly what you said? Well, robotskind of do that. Now it’s your turn to write a program and turn someone else into a robot for a while. You can instruct them to make you a sandwich or get them to clean up your room!
Get started
Step 1
Make a headband or other robotic headgear out of aluminium foil. Write ‘robot’ on a Post-it note or a piece of paper and stick it on the headband. You can also choose a name for your robot, if you wish!
Step 2
Use the sheet of paper to write or draw a computer program to tell the ‘robot’ what to do. It can look however you imagine, but it should always begin with START at the top and end with STOP at the bottom.
Step 3
Decide what you want the robot to do. Write down each instruction as a short step on a Post-it note. Important! The robot must follow your program exactly as written. No additional explanations allowed. Your robot needs super-clear instructions, so be as precise as possible with every step!
Step 4
Here’s an example to get you started: Ask the robot to make you a peanut butter sandwich.
For example, write: 1. Take two slices of bread, 2. Take a knife, 3. Stick the knife into the jar of peanut butter (but you can’t because the lid is still on!).
What did you discover?
It might seem easy, but writing clear instructions can be tricky. You can’t leave out any steps. People can guess your meaning, but robots can’t – they only do exactly what’s written. If an instruction is missing or unclear, the robot won’t know what to do.
You probably noticed that the steps can be written simply or with added detail. For example, instead of writing ‘Take two slices of bread’, you could be more specific: 1. Raise your right arm, 2. Move your right arm to the right, 3. Lower your right arm, 4. Open your right hand. A robot needs all these steps to do what you want it to.
