BRUSH UP YOUR ENGINEERING SKILLS (Robotics, Mechatronics, Automation). Учебное пособие

Text 12: Myths Featuring Ancient Robots

A roman counterpart of Hephaestus is called Vulcan. Vulcan was also regarded as the god of craftsmen and technology. The roman mythology states that Vulcan made slave-girls of gold for himself.

Also there are ancient stories of Chinese origin that features ancient robots. Usually these stories suggest that told events actually took place at some time in past in the real world. Creations vary by their application but they all are stated to be created artificially. Also their possibilities are quite stunning – dancing, singing, recognition of environment.

The most famous Chinese story of this kind can be found in Lie Zi text. The text itself is written in 3rd century BC but the tale takes place in 10th century BC.

The story is about an encounter between an artificer called Yan Shi and a king Mu of Zhou.

It is said that Yan Shi demonstrated an artificial man to the king. The man could walk, sing and dance and it was indistinguishable from a real human. Moreover, it is said that it had bones and realistic organs that functioned the way Chinese traditional medicine suggests a human body functions.

Whether there are some bits of truth in these stories we can’t tell for sure.

Supposedly, these stories are fiction. In either case, stories like that demonstrate our fascination about artificially made beings that was with us also in antiquity.

Real ancient robots

Again, by saying ancient robots I am stretching a definition of a robot. Maybe it would be more correct to call them ancient automated devices or something like that. Either way you probably know what I mean.

Yes there were real automated devices in the antiquity. At that time those would be treated like something magic or supernatural. And that is the most common way how they supposedly were used. It seems that ancient Greeks used that kind of devices in temples to impress people and in theatres for amusement.

Of course, there weren’t any electronics or stuff like that incolved. Ancient people used mechanical principles they already knew about. To get a grasp on

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Extra Reading Texts

the idea you can watch a video by New Scientist where they demonstrate a recreated programmable cart that was designed by Heron of Alexandria.

As you can see, this is a real AGV (automated guided vehicle). It is automated because you can program it to move in the pattern you like. Of course, it does not respond to the environment, but the idea is still pretty ingenious. If a different automaton, that can move its arms and that wears a long dress, is stacked upon this cart, you get a robot that dances.

Whether you believe in ancient myths about very advanced artificial beings or not is your choice. However,what we know for sure is that there were automated puppets and stuff like that in the antiquity. On the other hand, it is impossible to know for sure the magnitude at which these devices were used. It is possible that they were more common than we think.

In either case, the myths about artificial beings that ancient people wrote, as well as the existence of actual ancient robots points in one direction. These facts point out our interest in creating artificial life that still drives us today.(19)

1.Divide the text into semantic parts and title each one.

2.In each part, find and write out sentences that convey the main idea.

3.Find more information on the topic of the text and present it.

Text 13: Ancient Robots

Most probably there were no ancient robots in the antiquity. At least not in the way we understand it. Nevertheless, there is considerable amount of myths and tales that talk about artificial, yet “living”, beings. Also, there is evidence that devices with some level of automation existed throughout the antique world.

The main idea these facts point to is that people have always been interested in creating “living” things. It is the same interest and curiosity that drives us today. While there are robots that are designed to use them practically, there are also many that are made just to show that it can be done. (20)

1.Divide the text into semantic parts and title each one.

2.In each part, find and write out sentences that convey the main idea.

3.Find more information on the topic of the text and present it.

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Text 14: Do you know that……?

Text 14: Do you know that……?

Use the appropriate form of the following words to match the text:

1.A robot is a special kind of machine that follows the instructions coming from a computer. A robot … (not / make) mistakes and it never gets tired.

2.Robots are all around … (we). Robots make cars, explore dangerous places, clean things, answer telephone calls.

3.Some of them can even take care of … (child) and elderly people.

4.If we didn’t have robots, our life … (be) less comfortable and more dan-

gerous.

5.According to the dictionary, the word ‘robot’ … (mean) ‘compulsory labour’.

6.The word ‘robot’ … (use) for the first time in a science fiction play in 1920.

7.The robot from that play was a destructive machine that finally … (destroy) the human race.

8.However, in real life, robots are still obedient to people. As for robots, the most enthusiastic nation is the Japanese. By now they … (create) a quarter of the world's robots. And they have very ambitious plans for the future.

9.The Japanese engineers think that soon robots … (replace) 3,5 million workers in their country. (21)

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Test 1: Mechatronics and Robotics Questions

c)Zenith Moment Point

d)Zenith Measurement Point

8.Which is the first country to give citizenship to any humanoid robot?

a)Saudi Arabia

b)USA

c)India

d)Africa

9.Which organization is developing “Asimo”?

a)Google

b)Honda

c)Space X

d)Boston Dynamics

10.What is the root word of “robot”, which is derived from Slavic lan-

guage?

a)Robot

b)Robota

c)Roboto

d)Robust

11.How many legs do the “Athlete” space robot has?

a)2

b)4

c)6

d)8

12.How many legs do the “RASSOR” space robot has?

a)2

b)4

c)6

13.Which among the following robot is made by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) for space exploration purpose?

a)Eskimo

b)Zenbo

c)Athlete

d)Pepper

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Tests

14.Which among the following is an Indian robot, made by ISRO (Indian space research organization) for space exploration purpose?

a)Valkyrie

b)Sita

c)Athlete

d)Vyommitra

15.Which among the following is a home robot?

a)Vyommitra

b)Zenbo

c)Athlete

d)Valkyrie

Test 2: Robotics

1.Gears may be used to

f)Change rotational speed

g)Increase torque

h)Decrease torque

i)Change rotational direction

j)All of the above

2.This electrical symbol show represents a

a)Resistor

b)Capacitor

c)Battery

d)LED

e)Switch

3.A battery would most likely be rated with the following information:

a)1.5 VAC

b)1.5 VDC

c)120 Ω

d)0.5 A

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Test 2: Robotics

4.This electrical symbol show represents a

a)Resistor

b)Capacitor

c)Battery

d)LED

e)Switch

5.An LED is

a)A Light Excited Device

b)A Light Emitting Diode

c)Dependent on the direction of current flow

d)Answers ‘a’ and ‘c’

e)Answers ‘b’ and ‘c’

6.This electrical symbol show represents a

a)Resistor

b)Capacitor

c)Battery

d)LED

e)Switch

7.The smallest gear in a gearbox is called

a)Rack gear

b)Wheel gear

c)Pinion gear

d)Wormgear

e)Spur gear

8.This electrical symbol show represents a

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Tests

a)Resistor

b)Capacitor

c)Battery

d)LED

e)Switch

9.The largest gear in a gearbox is called

a)Rack gear

b)Wheel gear

c)Pinion gear

d)Wormgear

e)Spur gear

10.This electrical symbol show represents a

a)Resistor

b)Capacitor

c)Battery

d)LED

e)Switch

11.This simple circuit shown is an example ofa

a)Series-circuit

b)Amplifier circuit

c)Parallel-circuit

d)Logic circuit

e)Voltage-current circuit

12.A gear with radial teeth that meshes with a similar gear having a parallel axis is called

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Test 2: Robotics

a)Rack gear

b)Wheel gear

c)Pinion gear

d)Wormgear

e)Spur gear

13.This simple circuit shown is an example of a

a)Series circuit

b)Amplifier circuit

c)Parallel circuit

d)Logic circuit

e)Voltage-current circuit

14.A gear with angled teeth transmitting torque between non-parallel and non-intersecting axes is called a

a)Rack gear

b)Wheel gear

c)Pinion gear

d)Wormgear

e)Spur gear

15.If gear one (G1) drives gear two (G2), gear two will have a

a)Faster speed in opposite rotational direction

b)Slower speed in same rotational direction

c)Same speed in opposite rotational direction

d)Slower speed in opposite rotational direction

e)Faster speed in same rotational direction

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Tests

16.A student uses a multimeter to measure a battery’s voltage and obtains the value

a)VDC

b)120 VAC

c)470 Ω

d)1.5 A

e)300 µf

17.A student uses a multimeter to measure current and obtains the value

a)VDC

b)120 VAC

c)470 Ω

d)1.5 A

e)300 µf

18.A robot has an average speed of 4.0 in/s. How long will it take the robot to travel 60 in?

a)64s

b)240s

c)60s

d)15s

e)30s

19.If a resistor has color bands yellow-violet-brown-gold (see chart below), its rated value would be

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