The phone that finds the way
Dina asks her phone for the way to her cousin's house. A voice says: "Turn left in two hundred metres."
The phone knows where she is. It picks a route and it speaks. Is that clever? This lesson looks at computers that sense, decide and act.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can describe what different intelligent computer technologies do and where they are used.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Automation | machines doing a task with little human help |
| Robot | a machine that does physical tasks by itself |
| GPS | a system that finds where a device is, using satellites |
| CAD | drawing and designing things on a computer |
| Artificial intelligence | a computer doing tasks that usually need human thinking |
| Machine learning | a computer learning patterns from many examples |
| Augmented reality | extra pictures added on top of the real world |
| Virtual reality | a fully computer-made world you look around in |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Machines that act on their own
Automation means machines do a task with little human help. A factory robot that welds car parts is an example.
A robot does physical work. Some robots help in shops by checking shelves. Some help doctors from far away. Drones are flying machines. Farmers use them to check crops. Engineers use them to look at tall or dangerous places.
Machines that act
| Technology | What it does | Where it is used | Benefit | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automation | Does a repeated task | Factories, train systems | Steady and fast | Some jobs change |
| Robots | Do physical work | Car factories, warehouses | Safe for heavy work | Costs a lot to buy |
| Drones | Fly and take pictures | Farms, weather, surveys | Reach hard places | Privacy and safety rules |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.