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What is a robot?

A robot is a machine that has a computer inside. Robots help us do lots of different jobs such as:

• fetching and delivering things
• making and playing music
• carrying out operations in hospitals

To help do all these jobs, the robot needs a list of instructions called a program.

The computer uses the program to tell the robot how to move and what to do. The robot can only do what the program tells it to.

The computer has a memory like we do. It stores the program in its memory. When we tell the robot to GO it follows the program.

We can learn how to make a robot, like the Bitesize Bot, move around a grid or map using a program.

Let's make a robot move

1. Planning the route

• You want the Bitesize Bot to go along the path to the football.
• You can plan the journey by drawing it on a map.
• This is called a route.
• You can use arrows to plan the route.

2. A list of steps

• The route needs to be broken down into smaller steps.
• You must check to see how far the Bitesize Bot must move each time.
• The Bitesize Bot might need to turn left or right.
• This list of steps is called an algorithm.

3. Robot instructions

• The Bitesize Bot has buttons with arrows which show which direction it can move.
• The computer inside the Bitesize Bot only understands directions from the buttons.
• It does not understand words such as forward and turn.
• You press the buttons to tell the Bitesize Bot where to go.

4. Making the program

• The Bitesize Bot's computer can understand this list of instructions.
• This list is called a program.
• The computer stores the program in its memory.
• It waits until you press the GO button.
• Then it tells the Bitesize Bot what to do.

5. Did the program work?

• When you press the GO button, the Bitesize Bot will follow the program.
• It will move around the route.
• If you got all the instructions right, the Bitesize Bot will go where you wanted it to.
• Your program worked.

6. Looking for bugs

• If you make a mistake the Bitesize Bot will go the wrong way.
• You might have got a step wrong.
• Maybe you pressed the wrong arrow button.
• A mistake is called a bug.
• You need to check your route, algorithm, and program for bugs.

Glossary

Here are the meanings to some important words:

Computer - A device that can follow instructions stored in its memory.
Robot - A machine with a computer inside.
Algorithm - A list of instructions that completes a task or solves a problem.
Program - A list of instructions a computer can understand.
Memory - The place in a computer where information is stored.
Bug - A mistake in a computer program.

Activities