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Robotics Essay | Essay on Robotics for Students and Children in English

February 14, 2024 by sastry

Robotics Essay:  What do you think of when you think about ‘robots’? If you think they are only the stuff of space movies and science fiction novels, then think again. Robots are the largest growing technological device in the world. They perform many functions ranging from space exploration to entertainment. Robotics technology is increasing at a fast rate, providing us with new technology that can assist with home chores, automobile assembly and many other tasks. Robotic technology has changed the world around us and is continuing to impact the way we do things. Robotic technology transformation from the past to present surrounds almost everyone in today’s society and it affects both our work and leisure activities.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Robotics for Kids and Students in English

Given below are two essays in English for students and children about the topic of ‘Robotics’ in both long and short form. The first essay is a long essay on Robotics of 400-500 words. This long essay about Robotics is suitable for students of class 7, 8, 9 and 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants. The second essay is a short essay on Robotics of 150-200 words. These are suitable for students and children in class 6 and below.

Long Essay on Robotics 500 Words in English

Below we have given a long essay on Robotics of 500 words is helpful for classes 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Competitive Exam Aspirants. This long essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 7 to class 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants.

Robotics is the branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, as well as computer systems for, their coptrol and processing. These technologies deal with automated machines that can take’the place of a human in various kinds of work, activities, environments and processes.

The definition of the word robot has a different meaning to many people. According to the Robot Institute of America, 1979, a robot is a re-programmable, multi-functional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialised devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks. The use of robots continues to change numerous aspect of our everyday life, such as health care, education and job satisfaction. Robots are going to be a major part of the world economy, they help ways to make our daily life easier and assist in producing more products.

Robotic technology is becoming one of the leading technologies in the world. They can perform many functions. They are used in many different ways in today’s society. The use of robotic technology has made an immediate impact on the world in several ways. As technological advances continue, research design and building new robots serve various practical purposes, whether domestic, commercial or military. Many robots even do the jobs that are hazardous to people such as defusing bombs, mining and exploring shipwrecks.

There are numerous uses of robots which not only give better results but also help in saving money as well as time. The robots can provide high quality components and finished products, and do so reliably and repeatedly even in hazardous or unpleasant environments. There are various industry segments which are making use of robotics to improve their production capabilities.

Much of the research in robotics focuses not on specific industrial tasks, but on investigations into new types of robots, alternative ways to think about or design robots, and new ways to manufacture them.

Recently, Apollo Hospital group installed the world’s most advanced CyberKnife robotic radio surgery system at the cancer speciality centre in Chennai, India. Although it meant substantial price for the hospital, Apollo decided to go ahead with the project due to the new-found enthusiasm for robotics in India.

From the Chandrayaan I project for sending robots to moon, to biomedical engineering and the auto industry, India has been using robotics on a wide scale. In an increasingly technology-driven country, robotics has fast assumed significance not only for industrial applications, but also in various day-to-day human activities.

Presently, robotics is the pinnacle of technical development. Though robotics in India is at a nascent stage, but industrial automation in India has opened up huge potential for robotics. Innovation coupled with consolidated research and development has catapulted India’s scientific position in robotic technology.

The country is soon to become a major hub for the production of robots. The global market for robots is projected to rise by an average of about 4%, while in India, the industry is expected to grow at a rate 2.5 times that of the global average.

In medical field, the importance of robotics has been growing. Robotics is increasingly being used in a variety of clinical and surgical settings for increasing surgical accuracy and decreasing operating time and often to create better healthcare outcomes than standard current approaches. These medical robots are used to train surgeons, assist in difficult and precise surgical procedures, and to assist patients in recovery. The automobile industry is equally dominated by robots.

There are multiple number of industrial robots functioning on fully automated production lines especially the high and efficient luxury and sports cars. The use of industrial robots has helped to increase productivity rate, efficiency and quality of distribution. Another major area where the use of robots is extensive is the packaging section. The packaging done using real robots is of very high quality as there is almost no chances of any human error. Another example where robotics is used is the electronic field. These are mainly in the mass-production with full accuracy and reliability. With these varied usages of robots Bill Gates has said

“Robots will be the Next World-Changing Technology”

Robotic has spread like an infection to an extent that so many movies and serials are also based on its theme. Some popular movies include Star Wars, Robocop, Ra one, Transformers etc. With such acclaimed popularity India too has come up with the Robotics Society of India (RSI). It is an academic society founded on 10th July, 2011, which aims at promoting Indian robotics and automation activities. The society hopes to serve as a bridge between researchers in institutes, government research centres and industry.

Short Essay on Robotics 200 Words in English

Below we have given a short essay on Robotics is for Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This short essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 6 and below.

India has also come up with specialised programmes in robotics field in IITs and other universities. Also, it has moved beyond the traditional areas and entered newer domains of education, rehabilitation, entertainment etc. Robotics has helped handicapped people by replacing their (damaged) limbs with artificial parts that can duplicate the natural movements.

Like a coin has two sides, robotics too has a flip side to it. The biggest barrier in the development of robots has been the high costs of its hardware such as sensors, motors etc. The customisation and updation is also an added problem.

With new advancements taking place each passing day, new product introduction is a problem for the existing users. Robots cut down labour, thereby reducing the opportunities of employment for many. In many developed countries, scientists are making robotic military force that can prove dangerous to others. As the power and capacity of computers continues to expand, revolution is being created in the field of robotics. Imagination is coupled with technology. It would not be wrong to say that in near future there will be a time when robots will become smarter than the human race.

Robotics Essay Word Meanings for Simple Understanding

• Shipwreck – the destruction or loss of a ship, the remains of a ruined ship.
• Defuse – the act of deactivating, terminating or making ineffective
• Substantial- of ample or considerable amount, significant
• Pinnacle – the highest or culminating point, as of success, power, etc
• Nascent – developing, beginning, budding
• Consolidated – united, combined
• Catapulted – to move quickly, suddenly or forcibly
• Reliability – dependability
• Domain – field, area, sphere
• Flip side – opposite side, reverse side
• Customisation – modification, alteration
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The robots are coming. And that’s a good thing.

MIT's Daniela Rus isn’t worried that robots will take over the world. Instead, she envisions robots and humans teaming up to achieve things that neither could do alone. 

• Daniela Rus archive page
• Gregory Mone archive page

In this excerpt from the new book, The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots , CSAIL Director Daniela Rus explores how robots can extend the reach of human capabilities.

Years ago, I befriended the biologist Roger Payne at a meeting of MacArthur Foundation fellows. Roger, who died in 2023, was best known for discovering that humpback whales sing and that the sounds of certain whales can be heard across the oceans. I’ve always been fascinated by whales and the undersea world in general; I’m an avid scuba diver and snorkeler. So it was no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed Roger’s lecture. As it turned out, he found my talk on robots equally fascinating.

“How can I help you?” I asked him. “Can I build you a robot?”

A robot would be great, Roger replied, but what he really wanted was a capsule that could attach to a whale so he could dive with these wonderful creatures and truly experience what it was like to be one of them. I suggested something simpler, and Roger and I began exploring how a robot might aid him in his work.

When we first met, Roger had been studying whales for decades. One project was a long-term study on the behavior of a large group of southern right whales. These majestic mammals are 15 meters in length, with long, curving mouths and heads covered with growths called callosities. Roger had built a lab on the shores of Argentina’s Peninsula Valdés, an area that is cold, windy, and inhospitable to humans. The southern right whales love it, though. Every August they gather near the coast to have babies and mate. In 2009, Roger invited me to join him down at his lab. It was one of those invitations you just don’t decline.

Roger had been going to Peninsula Valdés for more than 40 years. Each season, he’d sit atop a cliff with binoculars and paper and pencil, and note which of his aquatic friends were passing by. Roger could identify each of the returning mammals by the unique callosities on their heads. He monitored their behavior, but his primary goal was to conduct the first long-term census of the population. He hoped to quantify the life span of these magnificent creatures, which are believed to live for a century or more.

As we started planning the trip, I suggested using a drone to observe the whales. Two of my former students had recently finished their degrees and were eager for an adventure. Plus, they had a robot that, with some minor adjustments, would be perfect for the task. After much discussion, reengineering, and planning, we brought along Falcon, the first eight-rotor drone that could hold a camera between its thrusters. Today such drones can be bought off the shelf, but in 2009, it was a breakthrough.

Roger was besotted with his new research assistant, which offered a clear view of the whales for several miles without prompting behavioral changes.

The clifftop vantage point from which Roger and his researchers had been observing the whales was better than being in the water with the great creatures, as the sight of divers would alter the whales’ behavior. Helicopters and planes, meanwhile, flew too high and their images were low resolution. The only problem with the cliff was that it was finite. The whales would eventually swim away and out of view.

Falcon removed these limitations and provided close-up images. The drone could fly for 20 to 30 minutes before its batteries ran down, and was capable of autonomous flight, though we kept a human at the controls. Immediately, Roger was besotted with his new research assistant, which offered him and his team a clear view of the whales for several miles without prompting any behavioral changes. In effect, they were throwing their eyes out over the ocean.

It’s far from the only way to use drones to extend the range of human eyes. After the whale project, we lent a drone to Céline Cousteau, the documentary film producer and granddaughter of the celebrated marine scientist Jacques Cousteau. She was studying uncontacted tribes in the Amazon and wanted to observe them without the risk of bringing germs like the cold virus to people who had not developed immunity. 

In my lab, we also built a drone that launched from a self-driving car, flew ahead of the vehicle and around corners to scan the crowded confines of our subterranean parking garage, and relayed its video back to the car’s navigation system—similar to the tech that appears in the 2017 movie Spider-Man: Homecoming , when the superhero, clinging to the side of the Washington Monument, dispatches a miniature flying robot to scan the building. NASA pushed this application even further with Ingenuity, the drone that launched from the Perseverance rover to complete the first autonomous flight on Mars. Ingenuity extended the visual reach of the rover, rising into the thin sky and searching for ideal routes and interesting places to explore.

Other human capabilities could be extended robotically as well. Powered exoskeletons with extendable arms could help factory workers reach items on high shelves—a robotic version of the stretchy physicist Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four comics. At home, a simple, extendable robotic arm could be stashed in the closet and put to use to retrieve things that are hard to reach. This would be especially helpful for older individuals, letting them pick up items off the floor without having to strain their backs or test their balance.

The robotic arm is a somewhat obvious idea; other reach-extending devices could have unexpected shapes and forms. For instance, the relatively simple FLX Bot from FLX Solutions has a modular, snake-like body that’s only an inch thick, allowing it to access tight spaces, such as gaps behind walls; a vision system and intelligence enable it to choose its own path. The end of the robot can be equipped with a camera for inspecting impossible-to-reach places or a drill to make a hole for electrical wiring. The snakebot puts an intelligent spin on hammers and drills and functions as an extension of the human. 

We can already pilot our eyes around corners and send them soaring off cliffs. But what if we could extend all of our senses to previously unreachable places? What if we could throw our sight, hearing, touch, and even sense of smell to distant locales and experience these places in a more visceral way? We could visit distant cities or far-off planets, and perhaps even infiltrate animal communities to learn more about their social organization and behavior.

For instance, I love to travel and experience the sights, sounds, and smells of a foreign city or landscape. I’d visit Paris once a week if I could, to walk the Champs-Elysées or the Jardins des Tuileries or enjoy the smells wafting out of a Parisian bakery. Nothing is ever as good as being there, of course, but we could use robots to approximate the experience of strolling through the famed city like a flâneur. Instead of merely donning a virtual-reality headset to immerse yourself in a digital world, you could use one of these devices, or something similar, to inhabit a distant robot in the actual world and experience that faraway place in an entirely new way.

Imagine mobile robots stationed throughout a city, like shareable motorized scooters or Citi Bikes. On a dreary day in Boston, I could switch on my headset, rent one of these robots, and remotely guide it through the Parisian neighborhood of my choice. The robot would have cameras to provide visual feedback and high-definition bidirectional microphones to capture sound. A much bigger challenge would be giving the robot the ability to smell its surroundings, perhaps taste the local food, and pass these sensations back to me. The human olfactory system uses 400 different types of smell receptors. A given scent might contain hundreds of chemical compounds and, when it passes through the nose, activate roughly 10% of these receptors. Our brains map this information onto a stored database of smells, and we can identify, say, a freshly baked croissant. Various research groups are using machine learning and advanced materials like graphene to replicate this approach in artificial systems. But maybe we should skip smell; the sights and sounds of Paris may suffice.

Extending our perceptual reach through intelligent robots also has more practical applications. One idea we explored in my lab is a robotic Mechanical Turk for physical work. Developed by an innovative Hungarian in the late 18th century, the original Mechanical Turk was a contraption that appeared to play chess. In reality, a human chess player disguised inside the so-called machine manipulated the pieces. In 2005, Amazon launched its own variation on the concept through a service that lets businesses hire remote individuals to carry out tasks that computers can’t yet do. We envisioned a combination of the two ideas, in which a human remotely (but not secretly) operates a robot, guiding the machine through tasks that it could not complete on its own—and jobs that are too dangerous or unhealthy for humans to do themselves.

The inspiration for this project stemmed in part from my visit to a cold storage facility outside Philadelphia. I donned all the clothing that warehouse workers wear, which made the temperature manageable in the main room. But in the deep freezer room, where temperatures can be -30 °C or even colder, I barely lasted 10 minutes. I was still chilled to the bone many hours later, after several car rides and a flight, and had to take a hot bath to return my core temperature to normal. People should not have to operate in such extreme environments. Yet robots cannot handle all the needed tasks on their own without making mistakes—there are too many different sizes and shapes in the environment, and too many items packed closely together.

What if we could throw our sight, hearing, touch, and even sense of smell to distant locales and experience these places in a more visceral way?

So we wondered what would happen if we were to tap into the worldwide community of gamers and use their skills in new ways. With a robot working inside the deep freezer room, or in a standard manufacturing or warehouse facility, remote operators could remain on call, waiting for it to ask for assistance if it made an error, got stuck, or otherwise found itself incapable of completing a task. A remote operator would enter a virtual control room that re-created the robot’s surroundings and predicament. This person would see the world through the robot’s eyes, effectively slipping into its body in that distant cold storage facility without being personally exposed to the frigid temperatures. Then the operator would intuitively guide the robot and help it complete the assigned task.

To validate our concept, we developed a system that allows people to remotely see the world through the eyes of a robot and perform a relatively simple task; then we tested it on people who weren’t exactly skilled gamers. In the lab, we set up a robot with manipulators, a stapler, wire, and a frame. The goal was to get the robot to staple wire to the frame. We used a humanoid, ambidextrous robot called Baxter, plus the Oculus VR system. Then we created an intermediate virtual room to put the human and the robot in the same system of coordinates—a shared simulated space. This let the human see the world from the point of view of the robot and control it naturally, using body motions. We demoed this system during a meeting in Washington, DC, where many participants—including some who’d never played a video game—were able to don the headset, see the virtual space, and control our Boston-based robot intuitively from 500 miles away to complete the task.

The best-known and perhaps most compelling examples of remote teleoperation and extended reach are the robots NASA has sent to Mars in the last few decades. My PhD student Marsette “Marty” Vona helped develop much of the software that made it easy for people on Earth to interact with these robots tens of millions of miles away. These intelligent machines are a perfect example of how robots and humans can work together to achieve the extraordinary. Machines are better at operating in inhospitable environments like Mars. Humans are better at higher-level decision-making. So we send increasingly advanced robots to Mars, and people like Marty build increasingly advanced software to help other scientists see and even feel the faraway planet through the eyes, tools, and sensors of the robots. Then human scientists ingest and analyze the gathered data and make critical creative decisions about what the rovers should explore next. The robots all but situate the scientists on Martian soil. They are not taking the place of actual human explorers; they’re doing reconnaissance work to clear a path for a human mission to Mars. Once our astronauts venture to the Red Planet, they will have a level of familiarity and expertise that would not be possible without the rover missions.

Robots can allow us to extend our perceptual reach into alien environments here on Earth, too. In 2007, European researchers led by J.L. Deneubourg described a novel experiment in which they developed autonomous robots that infiltrated and influenced a community of cockroaches. The relatively simple robots were able to sense the difference between light and dark environments and move to one or the other as the researchers wanted. The miniature machines didn’t look like cockroaches, but they did smell like them, because the scientists covered them with pheromones that were attractive to other cockroaches from the same clan.

The goal of the experiment was to better understand the insects’ social behavior. Generally, cockroaches prefer to cluster in dark environments with others of their kind. The preference for darkness makes sense—they’re less vulnerable to predators or disgusted humans when they’re hiding in the shadows. When the researchers instructed their pheromone-soaked machines to group together in the light, however, the other cockroaches followed. They chose the comfort of a group despite the danger of the light. 

These robotic roaches bring me back to my first conversation with Roger Payne all those years ago, and his dreams of swimming alongside his majestic friends. What if we could build a robot that accomplished something similar to his imagined capsule? What if we could create a robotic fish that moved alongside marine creatures and mammals like a regular member of the aquatic neighborhood? That would give us a phenomenal window into undersea life.

Sneaking into and following aquatic communities to observe behaviors, swimming patterns, and creatures’ interactions with their habitats is difficult. Stationary observatories cannot follow fish. Humans can only stay underwater for so long.

Remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles typically rely on propellers or jet-based propulsion systems, and it’s hard to go unnoticed when your robot is kicking up so much turbulence. We wanted to create something different—a robot that actually swam like a fish. This project took us many years, as we had to develop new artificial muscles, soft skin, novel ways of controlling the robot, and an entirely new method of propulsion. I’ve been diving for decades, and I have yet to see a fish with a propeller. Our robot, SoFi (pronounced like Sophie), moves by swinging its tail back and forth like a shark. A dorsal fin and twin fins on either side of its body allow it to dive, ascend, and move through the water smoothly, and we’ve already shown that SoFi can navigate around other aquatic life forms without disrupting their behavior.

SoFi is about the size of an average snapper and has taken some lovely tours in and around coral reef communities in the Pacific Ocean at depths of up to 18 meters. Human divers can venture deeper, of course, but the presence of a scuba-­diving human changes the behavior of the marine creatures. A few scientists remotely monitoring and occasionally steering SoFi cause no such disruption. By deploying one or several realistic robotic fish, scientists will be able to follow, record, monitor, and potentially interact with fish and marine mammals as if they were just members of the community.

Eventually we’d like to be able to extend the reach of our ears, too, into the seas. Along with my friends Rob Wood, David Gruber, and several other biologists and AI researchers, we are attempting to use machine learning and robotic instruments to record and then decode the language of sperm whales. We hope to be able to discover common fragments of whale vocalizations and, eventually, to identify sequences that may correspond to syllables or even concepts. Humans map sounds to words, which in turn correspond to concepts or things. Do whales communicate in a similar fashion? We aim to find out. If we extend our ears into the sea and leverage machine learning, perhaps someday we will even be able to communicate meaningfully with these fascinating creatures.

The knowledge yielded would be reward enough, but the impact could be much larger. One unexpected result of Roger’s discovery that whales sing and communicate was the “save the whales” movement. His scientific verification of their intelligence spurred a global effort to protect them. He hoped that learning more about the other species on our planet could have a similar effect. As Roger often pointed out, our survival as a species depends on the survival of our small and large neighbors on this planet. Biodiversity is part of what makes Earth a wonderful place for humans to live, and the more we can do to protect these other life forms, the better the chances that our planet continues to be a habitable environment for people in the centuries to come.

These examples of how we can pair the heart with the chip to extend our perceptual reach range from the whimsical to the profound. And the potential for other applications is vast. Environmental and government organizations tasked with protecting our landscapes could dispatch eyes to autonomously monitor land for illegal deforestation without putting people at risk. Remote workers could use robots to extend their hands into dangerous environments, manipulating or moving objects at hazardous nuclear sites. Scientists could peek or listen into the secret lives of the many amazing species on this planet. Or we could harness our efforts to find a way to remotely experience Paris or Tokyo or Tangier. The possibilities are endless and endlessly exciting. We just need effort, ingenuity, strategy, and the most precious resource of all.

No, not funding, although that is helpful.

We need time. 

Excerpted from The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots. Copyright © 2024 by Daniela Rus and Gregory Mone. Used with permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved.

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Oh, the Humanity! How Relating to Robots May Change Us

If we want robots to be good for society, then we need to humanize them.

May 01, 2024

Whether or not robots can feel is a question that, at least for now, might be better left to the philosophers. But what’s becoming increasingly clear, says Associate Professor Szu-chi Huang, is that robots do have the capacity to make humans feel.

That’s the topic of the latest episode of If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society , in which Huang delves into the effect that robots can have, not just on our emotions, but on our behavior.

Huang’s research shows that when people witness others being helpful towards others, they’re inspired to do the same. This is what she calls “pro-social” behavior. But she wondered: what happens when a robot is the one lending a helping hand? Are people inspired to follow the example of a machine?

To find out, Huang designed a study where participants were shown various news reports about natural disasters and the measures being taken in response. In some stories, the “heroes” were human first responders; in others, they were robots.

“In both cases, we [explained] in detail what those heroes were doing,” says Huang. Whether dragging survivors out of ruins after an earthquake or disinfecting hospitals amidst a surging COVID-19 pandemic, “The actions are exactly the same, but the heroes are different.”

Following test subjects’ exposure to these stories, Huang measured their willingness to engage in pro-social behavior, like donating to support children in need. What she found was those who saw robot heroes were significantly less likely to donate than those who saw humans taking the same actions. “The robot stories actually make people feel less inspired,” says Huang. “And that has important consequences. If [using robots] lowers our intention to help others, it could have a pretty big negative social impact.”

So what do we do as AI and robots play an increasing role in our lives? How do we embrace their benefits without downgrading our humanity and pro-sociability in the process? On this episode of If/Then , Huang shares that if we want robots to be good for society, then we need to humanize them.

Senior Editor, Stanford GSB

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If/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society. Each episode features an interview with a Stanford GSB faculty member.

Full Transcript

Note: Transcripts are generated by machine and lightly edited by humans. They may contain errors.

Kevin Cool: If we want robots to be good for society, then we need to humanize them.

[00:11] Ken Salisbury: Yeah. I’m Ken Salisbury. I’m a faculty in computer science at Stanford University. My main focus has been in the design of robotic devices or haptic devices for controlling robots. This lab has evolved over the years. Rapid prototyping has completely changed the way we do robotics. We have a lot of 3D printers. We have a laser cutter which cuts wooden patterns out. I love it because it smells good. It sort smells like a campfire.

Early in my grad student career, I was at a NASA lab and one of the robots, which was a remotely controlled robot, broke a sensor wire and the arm and the shoulder started spinning around and around, around and around. It was almost like a cartoon, but it finally broke the mechanical parts. And in the end, the arm was just sort of dangling by the wires. It had a very strong effect on me. I was worried about the damage and I was worried about fire and all the things you might worry about, but there’s another part of me that kind of worries about how did it feel about that? Is it reflecting on that?

[01:21] There was a DARPA competition some years ago and it was a simulation of robots going into the Fukushima nuclear plant and had they been able to turn a certain valve or close a certain switch, they could have reduced the damage that was done. So there were dozens of mostly biped robots who went into the competition and they had to climb the stairs and open the door and turn the valve, and very few robots succeeded in that. And there were many, many instances where you’d see the robot standing on the steps and teetering back and forth and every one was going, can you make it? And then many of them would just fall and crash on the ground.

And you feel really bad, not just for the robot, however you do that, but also for the team. I still know the robot is code and motors and human design in it, but as it starts to have its own thoughts, I think there’s potential for anxiety about it.

Is it feeling okay because it’s behaving this way? As we start to attribute intelligence to the emerging AIs, we may start worrying about them as well. I guess I kind of go back to Wally where suspension of disbelief was allowed there. So you could feel inspired by Wally finding a flower and taking care of it or his relationship with the female robot. You could really get emotionally engaged in that. It’s not hard to distance yourself from that because you know it’s a script and it’s an animator, but as robots become real, I’d like to see them to be gracious, whatever that means, because I think that might be infectious.

What’s the vocabulary of grace? I don’t know what that is yet.

[02:52] Kevin Cool: I’m Kevin Cool, senior editor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

What Ken said about the emotional connection we develop with robots, it made me think about the rush of innovation we’re wrestling with today in artificial intelligence, robotics automation. It’s one thing to think about how smart these machines can be, but what about their feelings? Do they even have feelings? Is it possible for a robot to feel pain? We may never know the answer to those questions, but our experience interacting with robots suggests that they do have the power to make us feel as robots continue to show up in so many parts of our lives. What role will emotions play in how we perceive them and what are the implications of that?

This is If/Then , a podcast from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where we explore some of the most interesting complexities of modern life and what we need to do to get where we want to be. Today we speak with Szu-chi Huang. She is an associate professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

[04:08] Szu-chi Huang: I have no problem setting goals. I have many goals in life, but I find myself procrastinating or coming up with a plan that’s not feasible and end up giving up. So that makes me want to understand this science more. What is motivation and what gets people to get started to do something and what gets them to finish.

[04:29] Kevin Cool: We’ll examine her pioneering work on the impact of robots on human behavior and their effects on our motivation to help others. Dr. Huang’s research challenges many assumptions about the influence robots have on us. Will they help us be better people or chip away at our basic humanity? Each episode looks at a topic through the lens of an if/then statement. Professor Huang’s is: if we want robots to be good for society, then we need to humanize them.

Now you’ve said yourself that you’re very much drawn to real world situations and you like doing field experiments and your robot study seems to me to be particularly novel. But first of all, why field experiments and how did you land on robots?

[05:27] Szu-chi Huang: I think field experiments are important, especially for motivation research because we know that a biggest dilemma people have is that they say they want to do something and they don’t do it. So if I just capture intentions online in a survey, everybody’s going to look great on paper. Everybody say they’re going to study and work out and eat healthy. But if I capture real behavior, I start to see gaps in their behavior. They may say one thing and do another thing. And that’s why field experiments are very for me to capture those gaps, study them and find solutions to help people overcome them. So for the robot study, how we have that idea was several years ago we started to observe that technology is getting developed everywhere and why important domain is disaster response? Because disaster response is where a lot of the money is being invested into because government agencies, organizations and companies all want robots that can help to put up fire, clean hospitals deal with earthquakes. And so governments are putting a lot of investments into these technologies. So we thought it would be important to understand the social impact of these disaster response robots. And that’s where we started looking into this and finding something interesting. Then COV happens, which give us even more opportunities to study these disaster response robots used specifically during covid and see how that affects our behavior.

[07:00] Kevin Cool: And you mentioned that you were studying prosocial behavior and how that was affected. What do you mean by that?

Szu-chi Huang: So prosocial motivation, the way we think about it is the motivation to do something good for others. So motivation could be doing something good for myself such as working out for my health, but pro-social motivation means I’m investing resources which could be time, money, my ability to help somebody else. And that’s what we call prosocial motivation. And so it is a type of motivation. It is again a dilemma map for people. We all say we want to help others and oftentimes we actually don’t do it. And that’s where we want to find other factors that make us more prosocial or less prosocial.

[07:47] Kevin Cool: And describe if you will, how you designed this experiment, what you were asking the study participants to do and what the context was.

Szu-chi Huang: So in a lot of our experiments, what we did is we let people watch different news reports or different read different news stories that we drafted. And in these news stories or news reports, we will talk about a disaster that just happened somewhere. So it could be the pandemic, it could be the earthquake that’s happened in Africa. And then we guide people through what happened in a disaster, how many people were injured, what was the damage. Then we introduce our heroes. So the heroes were either human or they were robots. And in both cases we explain in detail what those heroes were doing. And so you may imagine that you see new stories like this everywhere and every day. So in a hero human story, we’ll talk about how humans were dragging the survivors out of the ruins. And in contrast, in the robot hero stories, we talk about how different kinds of robots were dragging humans and survivors out of the ruin. So the actions are exactly the same, but the heroes are different.

[08:59] Kevin Cool: And then how were you then measuring the responses or the behavior of the study participants?

Szu-chi Huang: So after people watch the news stories, sometimes we just capture how they feel at the moment. Sometimes we capture intentions. So how likely are you to help somebody right now? And in some studies we actually introduce a time lapse. So we let people do other things so they kind of forget about the new stories and then as they leave the space, leave the lab, we introduce a pro-social campaign. For instance, we are running a donation drive for local communities to help children in the neighborhood and we invite them to donate. And this is where we actually capture people’s donation behavior and see if there’s a difference depending on the new story that they watched earlier.

Kevin Cool: And it turned out that watching the robots do their work was particularly inspiring to people.

[09:54] Szu-chi Huang: Yes, turns out hero robots did not work that well. So watching the robot stories actually make people feel less inspired and less encouraged, and that has important consequences such as making them donate much less than the people who watch the human heroes.

Kevin Cool: So there was kind of like a backlash effect almost.

Szu-chi Huang: Yes, definitely.

Kevin Cool: They were less inclined.

[10:15] Szu-chi Huang: And that’s why we believe this is an important effect to document because all these YouTube videos about hero robots are everywhere. We are watching them every day. And if it lowers our pro-social motivation and our intention to help others, it could have a pretty big negative social impact.

Kevin Cool: So what’s the answer? If we know we’re going to be interacting with robots and considering them partners or helpers or even heroes, then how can we change what seems to be an inclination to not be inspired by those robots?

[10:50] Szu-chi Huang: Yes. So we spend pretty much the second half of our project really looking into this because we want to find solutions. We cannot tell media not to discuss any robot stories, so it will go out there. But other solutions to help people think about robots differently. One coherent theme we have found so far is that it is really helpful to humanize those robots. So the reason why robots are not encouraging is because we believe that they are not vulnerable. They’re not actually taking on risk when they run into ruins to help people or when they put up fires. Whereas human heroes, we know they were vulnerable and they were taking on risk, and those things are what make a person’s behavior inspiring. So when we highlight how robots can be vulnerable as well, such as their chip can get burned out during a disaster response or a rescue and they literally can die, basically cannot be used again, then we found that knowing that the robots actually did contribute to a disaster response turned out to be more inspiring than if we don’t introduce those information. So I would say thinking about ways to humanize robots will be a very effective solution.

[12:02] Kevin Cool: You used the word vulnerable. What do you mean by that?

Szu-chi Huang: So in some examples, we tested, we highlight how, for instance, the materials we use to build robots is only can be used one time. And that will mean that the robot as an entity has only one shot of doing this and they’re doing this to save somebody. And after this in some way, they are sacrificing themselves because their materials or their chips, which is their thought center, will not be able to get used again. And when we highlight that, then in some way we introduce the concept of mortality into robot’s existence. And that definitely make people feel that these behaviors are more noble and inspiring than a robot that will never take on any risk. And rescuing somebody from earthquake is just a daily job for

Kevin Cool: Them. So in your study, were these robots just sort of machines that were anonymous and nameless and so on?

[13:04] Szu-chi Huang: Yes, actually we tried different looks of robots. Some actually look more like human, have a little bit of legs and hands going on. Some literally looks like an airplane or a box. So you will say some is more machine look and some might potentially be more human look, but we never name them and we never describe their behavior as human behavior. We never describe their vulnerability or their ability to make decisions, which is something unique to human as well. And what we found is when we build in those traits, when we highlight how vulnerable they are or they have autonomy, they are making a decision to do this right now, then that makes their actions more inspiring.

Kevin Cool: So if it had a name, we know from Hollywood movies for example, there are lots of robots, some of them the Terminator is fearsome and terrible, Wally, the trash collecting robot is lovable and lonely and we identify with Wally, but they have names and they almost have personalities. So is that part of what you’re getting at that when you say humanize the robots, you want to give them characteristics and attributes that make them human-like

Szu-chi Huang: Exactly. I think these things are important and naming them could be the great place to start. Like you say, different naming, different look and different personalities signal that they are indeed individuals and they have will and they could get hurt and all these things make them more like us, make them more human.

[14:35] Kevin Cool: So Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first Terminator is terrible. He is just this relentless killing machine. But then in the sequel, he’s there to save the little boy who’s the future of humanity. And there is a feeling of sadness when the terminator in that movie is taking the bullets, if you will, and then sacrifices himself at the end. So Hollywood seems to understand at some level that we’re going to identify with robots in scary, difficult, dangerous situations. Is it possible that we could borrow from some of the techniques that they use, some of the storytelling that they’re doing?

[15:20] Szu-chi Huang: Definitely, and I think you provided an excellent example. What they did in the second movie is they first built a relationship between this robot and human. And by building this relationship now we start to see the robot more as a human. And then when he actually made the sacrifice, we feel inspired and we feel touched by it. If he was still just a cold machine, we wouldn’t feel anything. A lot of machines got blown away in Hollywood movies. We never shed a tear for them. But because now he has a relationship with human, we start to see him as a human being as well. Then his sacrifice is noble.

[15:57] Kevin Cool: This is If/Then, a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business where we explore some of the most interesting complexities of modern life and what we need to do to get where we want to be. I’m Kevin Kool and I’m speaking with Szu-chi Huang, associate Professor of Marketing at the GSB. We’ll be right back with Professor Huang after a quick break. Coming up, we’ll hear how companies are responding to her robot research and we’ll also find out what most people get wrong about setting goals. Stay with us.

This is If/Then , from Stanford Graduate School of Business, I’m Kevin Cool speaking with Szu-chi Huang, associate professor of marketing at the GSB and an authority on motivation. We’re discussing her If/Then statement: If we want robots to inspire us, then we need to humanize them.

So let’s talk about this notion of agency or autonomy. One of the fears we have about artificial intelligence generally is that it’s going to be too smart, that it’s going to take our jobs, it’s going to supplant work that we’re doing now. It will destroy humanity in the worst case scenario. And yet what’s suggested in the study and what you’re describing now suggests that maybe we want our robots to have some sense of agency. Is that right?

[17:39] Szu-chi Huang: Yes, and I will say one way to think about this is to kind of tap into what relationship should robots, machines and humans have. In one of the solutions we tested, we actually created the robot human hybrid team because that’s the reality. Robots rarely work alone. Humans these days don’t work alone either. We work with technology. So when we highlight that it is a team of robots and humans, how we talk about that relationship becomes critical. We can say that the relationship is very hierarchical, so humans control the robots, or we can say the relationship is very equal: robots and humans are equal partners. We jointly do computations and make decisions together and conquer this obstacle together. And we felt that the equal relationship really thinking about them as partners who jointly make decisions with us is the one that makes them more human and that is the one that actually turned out to be the most effective to help people feel inspired by their actions.

Kevin Cool: To some degree, and you use this phrase in your analysis, in your study, it’s the illusion of autonomy, right? I mean the robots aren’t literally sort of autonomous and making decisions on their own, but reframing that whole situation and how we think about them.

[18:57] Szu-chi Huang: Yes, although some people will say that robots indeed have the soul and the will, but the reality is of course a lot of the machines and robots that’s being launched and being used right now do not really have true autonomy how we think about human have, but it is about framing and highlighting their ability to compute and to make decisions just like humans. We do our cost benefit analysis and we make decisions. So by highlighting those similarities, we could make them more humanized even though they’re not fully functioning like a human.

Kevin Cool: One of my favorite robots as a kid was Rosie–the maid for the Jetsons, she was like a member of the family and everything. Well, if I have Rosie in my house cleaning off the dishes after dinner, I’m probably not going to get up and help Rosie. But there’s sort of a social cost. If a human is doing that and I’m not helping, right? I mean I’m going to feel like a jerk if I do that. Is there a point at which we will become conditioned to the work that robots do in a way that will change how that motivation might work?

[20:09] Szu-chi Huang: Very interesting question. I think I am an optimist when it comes to this. So instead of the possibility of outsourcing all the help to robots and humans end up just not being pro-social at all, I would like to think about it as we outsource some work to robots leaving other work that is more suitable for humans to us. And so if Rosie is cleaning the house and we start to see her as a member of the family and humanize her, then hopefully you still feel encouraged to do other things for families such as taking out the trash because now Rosie is working alone. You don’t help. So my hope is that by rethinking our relationship with robots and rethinking what they really are and how they contribute to our lives, we can continue to be pro-social and we can use that energy for tasks that are specifically designed for humans to do or something we are better at.

Kevin Cool: You used rescue or hero robots in particular because they were doing something dangerous. Why don’t we just assume that robots are going to take on the dangerous stuff and we don’t have to worry about that. So why is it important that they would inspire us to do it?

[21:23] Szu-chi Huang: I think there are tasks that robots are better at, such as running into danger. By adopting robots, we can reduce the cost on humans and I think those things we should outsource for robots to do. My interest here is that by knowing that robots are doing those work, it’s reducing our humanity. And there are many things actually humans have to organize and do and help. And those are the things that we don’t want to see reduced. And therefore we want to help people rethink the relationship with robots and what mindset they should have when they watch these interesting, amazing news stories about robot heroes so that they can actually still be an active contributor in their community because there are many things only they can do.

So definitely I think this news and these clips are very exciting. It prompts a lot of sharing, so they’re going to have a very broad impact, but what are people going to think after they watch it is the critical part. If millions of people watch it and their poor sociality reduces by even 20%, that’s a huge loss for our society. And in addition, from the videos, we see a lot of opportunities to make things more human, like you pointed out, can we give it names? Can we use different shapes so that they will look more like humans or at least animals? And so there are many opportunities that exist in the design of the robots and in how we promote and talk about them.

[22:48] Kevin Cool: And is that work happening now or is there a recognition that that should be part of the design and the development of robots?

Szu-chi Huang: I think every time I share this research work, which is very new, it just came out this year, companies resonate with this finding. A lot of times they have to fight internally because internally there might be two voices. One is to make it more human, the other is to make it more perfect. And a lot of times perfection suggests that it should look less like human, more like the future and therefore hopefully our research findings help one side win this argument and they can start making all these disaster response robots more human.

Some marketers think that making them more human will be more relatable and some marketing teams may think that highlighting their capability is better because we always want to create more competitive and more excellent products. So instead of making them sound like us, we should make them sound like something that never existed. And so both could be appealing positions, but our data show that there is one that helps the rest of the society be more pro-social and that’s the one I will vote on.

[23:57] Kevin Cool: Let’s pivot a little bit to talk about other kinds of motivation and goal setting. Obviously the work that you’re doing with robots has a particular context, but a lot of your work about motivation has to do with how we set a goal, maintain that goal once we’ve achieved it. What do people get wrong about thinking about what motivates them or other people?

Szu-chi Huang: I think one coherence theme I’ve repeatedly found in my research is that people thought setting a goal and working on a goal is a static process. So if I have a goal, I have my workout routine, I just keep on doing that for three months and I’m going to achieve my goal. Before my research, I found that goal pursuit is there’s nothing static about goal pursuit. The whole process is dynamic. What that means is you today and you three months later is going to be a very different person and that person needs a very different set of tools. So thinking about goal pursuit is a dynamic process. Allow us to reset and update our goals, change how we approach our goals, change who we want to pull in or distance ourselves from so we can be successful at our goals. And that’s the most important message I want everybody to know about when it comes to thinking about their goal is to keep it dynamic for yourself and for your stakeholders.

[25:23] Kevin Cool: Do other people motivate us most of the time? In other words, if we see, and this goes back a little bit to the thinking around how you design the robot experiment. When we see someone doing something that we want to emulate, that can be motivation. There are also situations where seeing that may have the opposite effect. Is that right?

Szu-chi Huang: That is true. In our work, we found that other people in our lives and in our network can either be supporters or collaborators or they could become almost like competitors. In a set of Weight Watchers data, we found that Weight Watchers actually started off feeling more friendly with their fellow members. So they feel that other people in the program are their supporters and friends and support them through this journey. But as they lose more weight and become more successful, they start to feel more distant from other members because other members start to become a benchmark for them to compare against.

The interesting thing is that in both cases, both types of relationships can be motivating. It’s really about how we think about it. The supporters can be motivating because they help us feel that the goal is indeed feasible. If many people are doing it, it must be doable; I can do it too. The competition can be motivating as well because they give us something to achieve and give us some pressure not to fall behind. But it’s about managing that relationship and recognizing that relationship does shift. As you become more successful and accomplish more of your goal, it’s helpful for people to actually use the network the way they see fit.

[27:14] Kevin Cool: Admittedly, it’s an odd thought that we need to humanize robots to keep ourselves more human. Understanding how robots influence our behavior will be increasingly important as they play a larger and larger role in our daily lives.

So perhaps the key here isn’t only that humanizing robots will help us preserve our best selves, but that we need to be comfortable having an emotional connection to a robot. We may feel sadness when a robot on a rescue mission is damaged, but should we also feel gratitude? Or maybe we should feel gratitude to its creator? In every robot we see, we find the work of thousands of people advancing this technology so that it can be helpful to us in that broken spinning arm we heard about earlier, we not only see the failure of the robot, but that of the many humans who designed, programmed, and built it By humanizing robots, perhaps we not only learned to accept them, but to appreciate the work of our fellow humans who make them possible.

Kevin Cool: If/Then is produced by Jesse Baker and Eric Nuzum of Magnificent Noise for Stanford Graduate School of Business. Our show is produced by Jim Colgan and Julia Natt. From Stanford Graduate School of Business, Jenny Luna, Sorel Denholtz, and Elizabeth Wyleczuk-Stern. If you enjoyed this conversation, we’d appreciate you sharing this with others who might be interested and hope you’ll try some of the other episodes in this series. For more on our professors and their research or to discover more podcasts coming out of Stanford, GSB, visit our website or our YouTube channel. I’m Kevin Cool.

For media inquiries, visit the Newsroom .

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Robots: Band nine IELTS Essay

Robots are a big topic these days. From self-driving cars to operations, more and more tasks seem to be being taken over by robots. This band nine sample essay looks at this topic. Keep scrolling for information about why this essay is band nine including structure, grammar and a vocabulary list.

Some people think that robots are very important to future human development. Others think that they are dangerous and have negative effects on society. Discuss both sides and give your point of view.

Increasing automation has become a controversial topic in recent years. In this essay, I will compare the advantage that robots can perform tasks that are dangerous or difficult with the disadvantage that robots could take over jobs. I will conclude that, despite the drawbacks, this type of development is positive. 

One of the main advantages of robots is that they are able to perform tasks that would be dangerous or difficult for a person. For example, robots are already used for bomb disposal , which keeps people out of harm’s way .  Similarly, robots are capable of performing delicate and precise tasks in manufacturing and medical tasks settings with a high degree of accuracy. If we allow people to continue to do these jobs, it will lead to lives being lost and inferior products being made. 

However, one of the main issues with this is that robots taking over other jobs that are currently done by humans. In the past, we have seen auto manufacturing turn from a source of jobs to something that is mostly automated. If we see this happen in other industries, it could lead to widespread unemployment and economic insecurity . Although this would be good for factory owners, this type of unemployment has wider negative societal impacts . 

In conclusion, while robots have the potential to greatly improve our lives by performing risky and difficult tasks, they also have the potential to take people’s jobs. Ultimately, I believe that this type of technological progress can lead to the creation of new jobs. 

This is an example of a ‘both sides and an opinion’ type essay. For this type of essay, you need to present both sides of the argument before giving your point of view. I prefer to dedicate one body paragraph to each side before writing my opinion briefly in the conclusion. You can see that structure here. Each of the body paragraphs is also about one specific thing and goes into plenty of detail.

Beyond there being no grammar mistakes in this essay, you can see that there are a wide range of grammar types here. One that I have used several times is an if sentence. Check out our new guide to this highly flexible grammar type .

Below, you can find a list of the complex and interesting grammar in the essay. All of the words below are underlined in the essay and appear in the same order as they do above.

The process of replacing human jobs with machines.

Development

The process of making new things or improving things that already exist. 

Bomb disposal

The practice of safely and carefully handling, disarming and removing bombs or other explosive devices.

Out of harm’s way

Another way of saying ‘away from risk’.

Lower in quality compared to other things.

Unemployment

The amount of unemployment is the number of people without a job. 

Economic insecurity

This refers to the extent to which people worry about being able to pay for things. 

Societal impacts

How something affects society as a whole.

Technological progress

The advancement of things like tools and machines.

Making something operate automatically.

If something is risky it involves a chance of failure or harm.

Related posts

111 Robots Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best robots topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on robots, ⭐ simple & easy robots essay titles, ❓ questions about robots.

• Robots and Artificial Intelligence One the one hand, with artificial intelligence and fully autonomous robots, organizations will be able to optimize their spending and increase the speed of development and production of their commodities.
• Robots: The Use in Everyday Tasks The recent advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence have the potential to automate a wide range of human activities and to dramatically reshape the way people live and work in the coming decades.
• Will Robots Take Over Human Jobs? Most of these people argue that due to the increasing number of computer equipped robots, the banking industry, the technical industry and even the administrative departments of many countries have suffered great losses at the […]
• Robots’ Impact and Human Employment Opportunities Many of the costs of complying with the isolation rules, the costs associated with the spread of the disease, can actually be offset by replacing the workforce with robots.
• Visions of the Future in the Film I, Robot Even though some of the aspects of the filmmaker’s vision of future are possible, and very likely to become reality, the essence of the film appears highly unrealistic.
• Characteristics of Robotics What concerns the elaboration of an obstacle course in a “real-world” simulation, it is essential to ensure the presence of several procedure testing steps that will determine the functionality of a robot. What concerns the […]
• Isaac Asimov’s “Robot Dreams” and Alex Proyas’ “I, Robot” Driving to work involves the use of evolving technology as every car made today includes varying degrees of computerized information systems that inform the vehicle of important information everything from the need for an oil […]
• 3D Robotics Disrupts the Aviation Industry 3D Robotics describe their business model as perceiving open hardware, drones, and the future of robotics as the part of the community and the company.
• Use of Robots in Computer Science Currently, the most significant development in the field of computer science is the inclusion of robots as teaching tools. The use of robots in teaching computer science has significantly helped to endow students with valuable […]
• The Place of Humanity in the Robotic Future The developers are trying to implement the brain, the human mind, in a digital environment. Paying attention to mechanical machines, commonly called “robots”, can be seen that they are created in the image and likeness […]
• Boston Dynamics’ Spot Robot Dog Spot is a four-legged robot that evolved from SpotMini (the initial version) that offers multiple capabilities of operation, including climbing, jumping, walking.
• Spot Mini Robot by Boston Dynamics While the bigger robots by Boston Dynamics are designed to operate in extreme conditions, Spot Mini is a household robot, which makes it marketable to a wider community and, therefore, profitable.
• Autonomous Robots Since they are self sufficient, the autonomous robots have the capacity to work in the absence of human beings. In the future, humanoid robots might have the intelligence and emotions similar to those of human […]
• STEM (Science), Robots, Codes, Maker’s Space Overview Students’ interest in STEM, Robotics, Coding, and Engineering education and professions has been shown to be stimulated by early exposure to STEM knowledge.
• Robot Revolution in the Contemporary Society The lack of human resources in the middle of the 20th century and the development of industrial technologies led to the appearance of robots.
• The Wireless Robotic Car: Design Project In this prototype, the task is to design a robotic car that can be controlled by a computer using wireless communication technology.
• The Dyson Robotic Vacuum: Target Group and Marketing Plan Thus, the target audience of Dyson in Ontario is practical and prudent people who, when buying equipment, pay attention primarily to the prestige of the brand, the quality, and the durability of the purchased goods.
• Using Robots in the Medical Industry Third, the robot surgery further has been observed to increase comfort on the part of the patient as the surgery proceeds, and this results from ergonomic position that the robot assumes as the operation proceeds.
• Aliens Concept in “I, Robot” by Alex Proyas: Film Analysis The purpose of this paper is to analyze the concept of aliens and its implications in the movie I, Robot. It is possible to state that modern advancements are the reflection of something different from […]
• Ways that Robotics Can Transform Our Daily Lives Robots will help to increase the labor force in the country in the future. Robots will be used to increase the productivity of human labor within the government sector and help in speeding up the […]
• Exploring the Capabilities and Potential of Soft Robotics One of the critical advantages of soft robots is their ability to deform and adapt to their surroundings, making them ideal for tasks that require a high degree of flexibility and expertise.
• Mobile Robots: Impact on Supply Chain Management According to the article, some of the advantages of using an RSC include the ability to dump reusable components and emissions during transit, and presence of collection, recovery, recycling, dismantling, and re-manufacturing facilities.
• Drawing 3D Objects With Use of Robotic Arm The hot end of the printer melts the material and embeds it onto the surface onto the intended surface. The research also utilized the Arduino development board to interface the programs written and the physical […]
• Robotic Process Automation Implementation Robotics in the tax system is a highly rational, reasonable, and beneficial idea that will help improve the service and make any process more accessible.
• The Hybrid Robot Vacuum Cleaners The EUFY series of hybrid vacuum cleaners is one of the most popular choices in the market, and the company offers products in various pricing ranges. In the context of hybrid robot vacuum cleaners, market […]
• Robotics and Related Social & Political Problems The combination of engineering and computer science has aided people in developing the field of robotics. The social impact of robotics lies in the problems that robots are designed to solve.
• The Invento Robotics Products Analysis The 5 C’s of brand management has grown in popularity since it thoroughly evaluates all the important aspects of a company and allows for approach adjustments depending on what is and is not effective.
• Hyper Evolution: The Rise of the Robots From the video, the robots look like real human beings, and they have been capacitated to act in a human way in what is known as machine learning technology powered by artificial intelligence. Hyper evolution […]
• Amazon’s AI-Powered Home Robots The objective of the present plan is to provide a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the introduction of AI-powered home robots as Amazon’s next disruptive customer product.
• Robots on the Battlefield: Benefits vs. Constraints The principal obstacle to the introduction of robots on the battlefield is related to the impossibility of operating in the current environment.
• Robotic Snowblower’s Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning Strategy For success, a business needs to conduct a structured analysis of the market and competitors, segment consumers into narrow groups, assess the market’s attractiveness, and correctly position the brand.
• Healthcare Robots: Entering the Era of a Technological Breakthrough However, using robots as medical doctors’ assistants has been only a figment of the most daring dreams until recently.
• “A Robot Can Be Warehouse Worker’s Pal” by Jennifer Smith Employees working alongside the robots are guided adequately. This method makes it possible for companies to achieve their objectives in a timely manner.
• Artificial Intelligence in “I, Robot” by Alex Proyas To begin with, AI is defined by Nilsson as a field of computer science that attempts to enhance the level of intelligence of computer systems.
• Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Organizations Otherwise, cognitively complex tasks and those demanding emotional intelligence will be performed by humans, with the support of robotics and AI. Therefore, this study speaks of the importance of employee trust in AI and organization.
• Disinfecting Robots: Care Ethics, and Design Thus, the utilization of this technology may be expected to reduce the incidence rate of HAIs. However, it is essential to consider the cost of this technology and reimbursement as they may be key factors […]
• Robot Interaction Language (ROILA) and Robot Creativity The difference of ROILA from other languages for computing is that it should be simple for both machines and humans to understand.
• The Personal and Servicing Robotic Market For the product to receive a successful launch, the focus will be placed on the target market and not the product features.
• Process Description of a Rescue Robot Roboticists in the physical design of rescue robots ensure that the robots can traverse places that are physically unreachable to human rescuers and additionally equip them with a variety of distributed technology that enable them […]
• The Tactical Throwable Robot The main technical characteristics of the machine are given below in the table offered by Czupryniak Rafal and Trojnazki Maziej in their article “Throwable tactical robot description of construction and performed tests”.
• Wireless Robotic Car: Servo Motors and DC Motors This section focuses on the review of literature on servo motors and DC motors, in general as well as in the context of the current research project.
• Robot Making: Materials for Building and Economic Factor As the science is progressing in recent times, we can be sure that it is a matter of time when we will get some economical alternatives of the materials that are needed to make a […]
• Autonomous Mobile Robot: GPS and Compass The other realization is that in most instances the challenges presented in the motion of the appendages of a particular robot are not only limited to the number of joints but can significantly exceed the […]
• Robotics in Construction: Automated and Semi-Automated Devices The robot is fitted with ultrasonic sensors that aid in positioning of the water jet in inclined areas and also the sensors determine the distance of concrete removal.
• Whats Mean Robotics Welding Epping and Zhang define robotic welding as the utilization of programmable systems and tools that mechanize and automate the way welding is done.
• Are Robots About to Enter the Healthcare Workforce? Many new technologies must first overcome several obstacles in order to become a part of the service environment, and robots are no exception.
• The Influence of Robots and AI on Work Relationships In the early 20th century, Taylor’s work focused on production management and labor efficiency, which led to the attention of managers to the problems of selection, the motivation of employees, and their training.
• Robots in Today’s Society: Artificial Intelligence The most important is the automation of the repeating process, to liberate human power, and avoid mistakes and delays in the processes.
• Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Robot Project The construction of the robot involved the use of sensors and microchips, accessories also used in ITS technology. The role of the sensors in the robot was to detect obstacles and red light on the […]
• I, Robot and the Effects of Technology The judgment call is generally made on the quality of life of the humans, with little to no regard for the lifestyle and options available to the robots who have achieved a higher level of […]
• The Use of Robotics in the Operating Room The da Vinci surgical system is the first and one of the famous Robotics surgical systems used in the operating room.
• The Connection Between Science and Technology: The Robotic Fish by Professor HU Furthermore, we discuss the other effects of science in technology and some of the recent technological developments in the rest of the world.
• Knowledge of Saudi Nurse Managers Towards Robots The main objective of this study is to investigate the attitudes and knowledge of Saudi nurse managers towards the adoption of robotics for remote monitoring and management of elderly patient with chronic illness in an […]
• Robotics. “Humans Need Not Apply” Video Mechanical muscles are more strong and reliable than humans, and the replacement of people by mechanisms in physical work allows society to specialize in intellectual work, develop economics and raise the standards of living.
• Questionable Future of Robotics In this case, the lecture, which was focusing on the flow of robotics’ development, influenced my perception about the future, robotics’ impact on our lives, and the ability of robots to destroy the humanity.
• Technology: Will Robots Ever Replace Humans? According to the author, one’s intelligence is not being solely concerned with the processing of data in the algorithmic manner, as it happened to be the case with AI it reflects the varying ability of […]
• Double Robotics Website’s Tracking Strategy The goals of the Doublerobotics.com website are to familiarize audiences with the telepresence industry and to convince both corporate and individual potential customers to purchase a robot.
• Robot-Assisted Rehabilitation: Article Critique The information about the groups of participants was available to clinicians and study personnel since the only post-stroke individual in the sample needed special procedures to participate.
• Robotics in Construction Management: Impacts and Barriers The assessment of the economic feasibility of the robotization of individual construction processes is based on cost analysis and the calculation of payback.
• Robots as a Factor in Unemployment Patterns One of the prevailing arguments in regards to this problem is that the advent of the robot technology is contributing towards a high rate of unemployment.
• Rights of ‘Feeling’ Robots and Humans Many futurists believe strongly that new laws will be needed to tame the behaviors and actions of robots. That being the case, autonomous robots might take advantage of their rights to control human beings.
• Electronic or Robotic Companions: Business Model The device the usage of which will help to destroy the language bar. The speech of any speaker will be translated and presented to the owner of the device in his/her native language.
• Robotics’ Sociopolitical and Economic Implications The foremost benefits of Robotics for individuals can be formulated as follows: The continual development/implementation of the Robotics-related technologies will increase the chances of self-actualization, on the part of the potentially affected individuals.
• Stihl Company and Its Robotics Automation involves the use of robots in the production process. The company’s productivity has come as a result of the automation production practices and its presence across the globe.
• Is the Robotics Development Helpful or Harmful? Robots remain the best option, as they will connect the children with the happenings in the school. They will dress the robot with their favorite clothes, communicate with the teacher using the robot, and swivel […]
• Will Robots Ever Replace Humans? It is quite peculiar that Bolonkin uses negation in order to stir the audience’s delight; more impressively, the specified approach works the pathos is concealed not in the description of the possibilities, but the compliment […]
• Robotic Pharmacy System Implementation Citing some of the key benefits of the robotic pharmacy system, one of the most important is that it reduces the need for technical labor significantly.
• Welcome Robotic for Abu Dhabi Women College In the year 2009, the college opened a second banch in the city of khalifa to cater for the students who encounter problems relocating to the capital city.
• Fiat Company: Deployment of Robotics in Manufacturing The technology also enhanced the reduction of production costs by reducing the number of working days without effecting the production and the performance of the company at its peak.
• Projects “Cyborg” and “New Electrical Apparatus” in Robotics In fact, although Project Cyborg included some medical expertise, the purpose is significantly similar to the project by Nicholson and Carlisle largely because a medical achievement is not one of their aims.
• Meteorite or Puck Hunt: Autonomous Mobile Robot The Development of the Design Being the first time that we are taking part in this type of competition, we decide to work out a plan that would help us develop the autonomous mobile robot […]
• Marketing the Wireless Robotic Car By sending the robotic car to a chemical hazard, it is possible to determine the extent of spillage of a liquid or a solid pollutant.
• The Use of Robots in Warfare The military advancement in the use of robots in warfare will at long last essentially drastically reduce the role of human beings in war. The increased use of robots in the battlefield needs countries to […]
• A Mobile Robotic Project in the Ohio State University Medical Center In order for the project to be successful there must be a one-to-one contact between those implementing the project and the staff at the hospital.
• Autonomous Controller Robotics: The Future of Robots The middle level is the Coordination level which interfaces the actions of the top and lower level s in the architecture.
• How Will Autonomous Robots Change Military Tactics?
• Will Romantic Relationships Be Formed With Robots?
• What Were the First Industrial Robots in America Used?
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• Why Not Use Robots to Stabilize Stock Markets?
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• Why Robots Are Start Over the World With Breakthrough Technology?
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• Can Humanoid Service Robots Perform Better Than Service Employees?
• How Can Robots Be Used to Help Students?
• Will Robots One Day Rule the World?
• Why Should Robots Not Be Pursued?
• How Do Robots Impact Careers in the Medical Field?
• Why Will Robots Always Need Us?
• Are Robots Taking Control of Human Tasks?
• How Can Robots Have Human-Like Intelligence?
• Can Service Robots Hamper Customer Anger and Aggression After a Service Failure?
• Are Robots the Solution to Equality in the Job Interview Process?
• How Can Robots Replace 60% of Jobs?
• Are Sex Robots the Next Big Sexual Revolution?
• How Can Robots Solve the Problem of Aging Population?
• Are Surgical Robots the Future of Medicine?
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• Are Robots and Animals More or Less Similar to One Another Than Robots and Humans?
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IELTS Writing Task 2/ Essay Topics with sample answer.

Ielts writing task 2 sample 619 - robots will play an important role in future societies, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, some people believe that robots will play an important role in future societies, while others argue that robots might have negative effects on society..

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IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer Essay: Robots at Home (Real Past IELTS Tests/Exams)

by Dave | Real Past Tests | 6 Comments

This is an IELTS Writing Task 2 sample answer essay from the real IELTS test/exam related to robots in the home.

This is an interesting topic and a similar one could come up on your exam.

Normally, I recommend discussing both sides your writing but I don’t with this one. Read why below.

Be sure to check out my Patreon exclusive essays as well.

Listen to the audio before reading my sample answer to practice your listening:

Nowadays more tasks at home and work are being performed by robots. Is this a negative or positive development? Real Past IELTS Tests/Exams

It is becoming increasingly common for homeowners and businesses to use robots to deal with daily tasks. I believe this trend is wholly positive because it saves individuals time and allows businesses to better allocate resources.

Those who use various advances in robotics in the home have more free time. Fully humanoid robots are rare but more and more families now use robotic vacuums such as the Roomba, mobile webcams for security surveillance, lawn care machines and devices that bridge the gap between robotics and artificial intelligence like Amazon Alexa and Google Home to make life easier. These devices save a lot of time for their users that can be better invested in hobbies, exercise, family, entertainment, and spending time with your significant other.

In the past, a sizeable percentage of operating budgets went to labour but as this number begins to dwindle we will see a concomitant rise in investiture in areas like research and development. Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple and automobile manufacturers can now invest in developing artificial intelligence, improving existing products, making safer cars, and so on. Over time, these benefits will add up to hasten both the pace of technological development and the speed with which new advances reach consumers. Robots will replace jobs reliant on manual labour and divert those wasted dollars to more important, creative areas that elevate human endeavours.

The large scale adoption of robotics bodes well for the future as it will streamline both home and work. There are looming risks related to massive unemployment but these can be mitigated with governmental regulation and by encouraging ethical corporate practices.

Word Count: 267

1. It is becoming increasingly common for homeowners and businesses to use robots to deal with daily tasks. 2. I believe this trend is wholly positive because it saves individuals time and allows businesses to better allocate resources.

• For your first sentence, paraphrase the overall topic of the essay.
• Write your opinion, make it clear! I chose in this one to go with one side so that I can talk about robots and home and business in separate paragraphs and develop both ideas fully.

1. Those who use various advances in robotics in the home have more free time. 2. Fully humanoid robots are rare but more and more families now use robotic vacuums such as the Roomba, mobile webcams for security surveillance, lawn care machines and devices that bridge the gap between robotics and artificial intelligence like Amazon Alexa and Google Home to make life easier. 3. These devices save a lot of time for their users that can be better invested in hobbies, exercise, family, entertainment, and spending time with your significant other.

• Write a simple topic sentence with your first main idea.
• Develop it as specifically as possible – notice my vocabulary and the specific products named.
• Continue to develop your main idea. Aim for 4-5 sentences. My paragraph is shorter because the sentences are long and the idea is fairly simple.

1. In the past, a sizeable percentage of operating budgets went to labour but as this number begins to dwindle we will see a concomitant rise in investiture in areas like research and development. 2. Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple and automobile manufacturers can now invest in developing artificial intelligence, improving existing products, making safer cars, and so on. 3. Over time, these benefits will add up to hasten both the pace of technological development and the speed with which new advances reach consumers. 4. Robots will replace jobs reliant on manual labour and divert those wasted dollars to more important, creative areas that elevate human endeavours.

• Start with another topic sentence with your main idea at the end.
• Again, be specific – name real companies and products.
• State the result to continue developing your example.
• Conclude by answering the overall question of the essay directly.

1. The large scale adoption of robotics bodes well for the future as it will streamline both home and work. 2. There are looming risks related to massive unemployment but these can be mitigated with governmental regulation and by encouraging ethical corporate practices.

• Repeat your opinion.
• Write an extra detail/final thought at the end to get full points from the IELTS examiner for task achievement.

What do the words in bold below mean?

It is becoming increasingly common for homeowners and businesses to use robots to deal with daily tasks. I believe this trend is wholly positive because it saves individuals time and allows businesses to better allocate resources .

Those who use various advances in robotics in the home have more free time. Fully humanoid robots are rare but more and more families now use robotic vacuums such as the Roomba , mobile webcams for security surveillance , lawn care machines and devices that bridge the gap between robotics and artificial intelligence like Amazon Alexa and Google Home to make life easier. These devices save a lot of time for their users that can be better invested in hobbies, exercise, family, entertainment, and spending time with your significant other .

In the past, a sizeable percentage of operating budgets went to labour but as this number begins to dwindle we will see a concomitant rise in investiture in areas like research and development . Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple and automobile manufacturers can now invest in developing artificial intelligence, improving existing products , making safer cars, and so on. Over time, these benefits will add up to hasten both the pace of technological development and the speed with which new advances reach consumers . Robots will replace jobs reliant on manual labour and divert those wasted dollars to more important, creative areas that elevate human endeavours .

The large scale adoption of robotics bodes well for the future as it will streamline both home and work. There are looming risks related to massive unemployment but these can be mitigated with governmental regulation and by encouraging ethical corporate practices .

increasingly common more and more often

homeowners people who have houses

deal with handle

wholly positive entirely good

better allocate resources put money into new areas

fully humanoid robots robots that are similar to people

Roomba an electronic vacuum device

mobile webcams cameras on your computer

security surveillance keeping a watch on your home for criminals

lawn care taking care of your yard

bridge the gap shorten the distance/link

artificial intelligence smart computers

better invested allocate resources smarter

significant other girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife

sizeable percentage large proportion

operating budgets money to run your business

labour workforce

dwindle disappearing

concomitant rise resultant increase

investiture funding

research and development money spent on coming up with new ideas

existing products what your company already makes

add up combine to

hasten speed up

new advances reach consumers new technology finds its way to customers

reliant on depend on

manual labour physical work

divert take from

elevate human endeavours allow for greater achievements

large scale adoption everyone using

bodes well is a good sign

streamline simplify, speed up

looming risks upcoming problems

massive unemployment lots of people without jobs

mitigated lessen the impact of

encouraging ethical corporate practices incentivising companies to be good

Pronunciation

ɪnˈkriːsɪŋli ˈkɒmən   həʊmˈəʊnəz   diːl wɪð   ˈhəʊli ˈpɒzətɪv   ˈbɛtər ˈæləʊkeɪt rɪˈsɔːsɪz ˈfʊli ˈhjuːmənɔɪd ˈrəʊbɒts   ruːmbɑ ˈməʊbaɪl ˈwɛbˌkæmz   sɪˈkjʊərɪti sɜːˈveɪləns lɔːn keə   brɪʤ ðə gæp   ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l ɪnˈtɛlɪʤəns   ˈbɛtər ɪnˈvɛstɪd   sɪgˈnɪfɪkənt ˈʌðə ˈsaɪzəbl pəˈsɛntɪʤ   ˈɒpəreɪtɪŋ ˈbʌʤɪts   ˈleɪbə   ˈdwɪndl   kənˈkɒmɪtənt raɪz   ɪnˈvɛstɪʧə   rɪˈsɜːʧ ænd dɪˈvɛləpmənt ɪgˈzɪstɪŋ ˈprɒdʌkts æd ʌp   ˈheɪsn   njuː ədˈvɑːnsɪz riːʧ kənˈsjuːməz rɪˈlaɪənt ɒn   ˈmænjʊəl ˈleɪbə   daɪˈvɜːt   ˈɛlɪveɪt ˈhjuːmən ɪnˈdɛvəz lɑːʤ skeɪl əˈdɒpʃ(ə)n   bəʊdz wɛl   ˈstriːmlaɪn   ˈluːmɪŋ rɪsks   ˈmæsɪv ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt   ˈmɪtɪgeɪtɪd   ɪnˈkʌrɪʤɪŋ ˈɛθɪkəl ˈkɔːpərɪt ˈpræktɪsɪz

Listen and repeat:

Vocabulary Practice

Remember and fill in the blanks:

It is becoming ______________ for ______________ and businesses to use robots to ______________ daily tasks. I believe this trend is ______________ because it saves individuals time and allows businesses to ______________ .

Those who use various advances in robotics in the home have more free time. ______________ are rare but more and more families now use robotic vacuums such as the ______________ , ______________ for ______________ , ______________ machines and devices that ______________ between robotics and ______________ like Amazon Alexa and Google Home to make life easier. These devices save a lot of time for their users that can be ______________ in hobbies, exercise, family, entertainment, and spending time with your ______________ .

In the past, a ______________ of ______________ went to ______________ but as this number begins to ______________ we will see a ______________ in ______________ in areas like ______________ . Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple and automobile manufacturers can now invest in developing artificial intelligence, improving ______________ , making safer cars, and so on. Over time, these benefits will ______________ to ______________ both the pace of technological development and the speed with which ______________ . Robots will replace jobs ______________ ______________ and ______________ those wasted dollars to more important, creative areas that ______________ .

The ______________ of robotics ______________ for the future as it will ______________ both home and work. There are ______________ related to ______________ but these can be ______________ with governmental regulation and by ______________ .

Listen and check:

Listening Practice

Watch the video below for more ideas for your examples:

Reading Practice

Read a counterpoint here:

https://www.wired.com/story/sci-fi-promised-us-home-robots-so-where-are-they/

Speaking Practice

Practice your speaking with these questions from IELTS speaking part 1:

Civilization

• Is this the best period in human history to be living?
• How has technology improved life?
• Does it have any major negatives?
• Do you think progress will continue in the future?
• Are there any areas where humanity is not making progress?

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Hi Dave Isn’t it better to write ‘much time” instead of “a lot of time”?

Both are fine, Helena!

Thanks a lot!

thanks a lot. it is so much useful.

You’re very welcome!

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Introduction

How Robots Work

Most robots are computer -controlled devices with many parts. An industrial robot, for example, is an armlike machine that can turn at several joints. It has a handlike part to grasp and hold things. Motors move the parts.

Some robots can be “taught” to do a job. For example, a person might guide an industrial robot through the movements needed to do something. Sensors on the robot send signals about the movements to the computer. The computer stores the pattern of movements. Later the computer can retrieve the pattern and tell the robot what to do.

Most industrial robots are used in factories. Some robots load, move, and unload materials. Others are used on assembly lines to help build things such as cars and appliances.

Robots are especially useful because they can do things that could be dangerous for people. For example, they can be sent deep underwater or into space. Robots can also handle dangerous materials such as radioactive waste or harmful chemicals. They can even dispose of bombs or do spy work for the military.

Writings from ancient Greece and China tell of toys called automatons, which were like robots. They were set in motion by steam, air, water, or falling weights. In the late 1700s and early 1800s complex automatons could play music or write with a pen on paper. During this time people also built machines to help do certain kinds of work. Modern robots only came about after computers were invented. With computers, people could program robots to do tasks on their own.

Robots in Science Fiction

Robots often appear in science fiction , or stories set in the future or in another world. Robots in science-fiction books, television shows, and movies can often think, listen, talk, and walk easily on two legs. Science-fiction robots that look exactly like humans are known as androids. Although real robots are becoming more complex, they still are not like these imagined robots.

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Guest Essay

Gen Z Has Regrets

By Jonathan Haidt and Will Johnson

Dr. Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business; Mr. Johnson is the chief executive of the Harris Poll.

Was social media a good invention? One way to quantify the value of a product is to find out how many of the people who use it wish it had never been invented. Feelings of regret or resentment are common with addictive products (cigarettes, for example) and addictive activities like gambling, even if most users say they enjoy them.

For nonaddictive products — hairbrushes, say, or bicycles, walkie-talkies or ketchup — it’s rare to find people who use the product every day yet wish it could be banished from the world. For most products, those who don’t like the product can simply … not use it.

What about social media platforms? They achieved global market penetration faster than almost any product in history. The category took hold in the early aughts with Friendster, MySpace and the one that rose to dominance: Facebook. By 2020 , more than half of all humans were using some form of social media. So if this were any normal product we’d assume that people love it and are grateful to the companies that provide it to them — without charge, no less.

But it turns out that it can be hard for people who don’t like social media to avoid it, because when everyone else is on it, the abstainers begin to miss out on information, trends and gossip. This is especially painful for adolescents, whose social networks have migrated, since the early 2010s, onto a few giant platforms. Nearly all American teenagers use social media regularly, and they spend an average of nearly five hours a day just on these platforms.

So what does Gen Z really think about social media? Is it more like walkie-talkies, where hardly anyone wished they had never been invented? Or is it more like cigarettes, where smokers often say they enjoy smoking, but more than 71 percent of smokers (in one 2014 survey ) regret ever starting?

We recently collaborated on a nationally representative survey of 1,006 Gen Z adults (ages 18-27). We asked them online about their own social media use, about their views on the effects of social media on themselves and on society and about what kinds of reforms they’d support. Here’s what we found.

Daily time spent by Gen Z on social media

For 18- to 27-year-olds who use social media

4 to 6 hours

3 hours or less

7 hours or more

Source: Harris Poll/Zach Rausch

Note: Figures may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.

What type of impact has social media had on your emotional health?

For 18- to 27-year-olds

Non-L.G.B.T.Q.

Almost half of Gen Z wishes social media platforms like X and TikTok didn’t exist

Percentage of Gen Z respondents who agree with the statement “I wish ___ had never been invented”

Smartphones

Messaging apps

The internet

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