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🤖 Robots

From a 1920s play to real robot arms, meet the machines that help us!

lessons

~15 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Ages 6–12

level

Start the course →

What you’ll learn

Explain what a robot is, where the word came from, and name the first industrial robot.A robot is a programmable machine that senses and acts on its own. The word 'robot' first appeared in the 1920 Czech play R.U.R. The first industrial robot, Unimate, began welding car parts in 1961.
Describe how robots are programmed and give examples of robots that explore and help people.Robots follow code written by people. Explorer robots visit Mars and the deep sea, while helper robots work in hospitals, factories, and homes. Future robots will be even smarter, and people will keep inventing them.

Questions this course answers

Where did the word 'robot' first appear?

Karel Capek used the word 'robot' in his 1920 play R.U.R., long before real robots were built.

What was Unimate, the first industrial robot?

Unimate was a 4,000-pound robotic arm that started welding car parts in a General Motors factory in 1961.

What do robots use to sense the world around them?

Robots use sensors such as cameras, touch sensors, and sound to gather information about their surroundings.

How do robots know what to do?

Robots follow programmed instructions, called code, that people write step by step.

Why do we send robots to explore Mars and the deep sea?

Robots can safely explore dangerous places like Mars and the ocean floor and send information back to scientists.

What kinds of jobs are robots especially good at?

Robots excel at jobs that are repetitive, heavy, or dangerous, freeing people for creative and caring work.

Grounded in trusted sources

R.U.R. | Robot, Automation, Science Fiction | Britannica (britannica.com/topic/RUR)
Unimate - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unimate)
NIHF Inductee George Devol Invented the Industrial Robot (invent.org/inductees/george-devol)
In 1961, the First Robot Arm Punched In - IEEE Spectrum (spectrum.ieee.org/unimation-robot)

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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