Question: how do you get robots to function the way they do?

Huma Shah answered on 17 Nov 2016:

Hello Lucy,

It depends what function you want the robot to have.

For example, a robotic crane at a seaport will be designed to carry heavy containers that are packed with goods, for example iPhones made in China shipped all around the world. This robot crane will function differently from other types robots.

Think of other robots, such as a robot designed to defuse a bomb in a war zone, or another type of robot that could be developed to seek out humans buried beneath rubble following an earthquake. And then social robots that are designed to interact with humans, caring for the elderly or the sick.

Each of these different types of robots require teams of people with different skills to think about the purpose of the robot and how it needs to move and behave.

The different skilled people, the artists, designers, engineers, computer scientists, psychologists and more will work together to make the robot function for whatever the purpose is of building the robot.

Hope this helps to explain.

Huma