Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- What comes to your mind when you hear the word “robots”?
- Do you accept that robots will soon be part of human life? Why or why not?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
- programming /PROH-gram-ing/
- technical /TEK-ni-kuhl/
- task /TAHSK/
- purchase /PUR-chuhs/
- institute /IN-sti-toot/
[noun] – the activity or job of writing computer programs
Programming is a good profession for people that are into technology.
[adjective] – relating to the knowledge, machines, or methods used in science and industry
The technical skills that John has helped the company a lot.
[noun] – a piece of work to be done, especially one done regularly, unwillingly, or with difficulty
I like doing writing tasks for the company I am currently working for.
[verb] – to buy something
She wants to purchase a laptop soon.
[noun] – an organization where people do a particular type of scientific, educational, or social work, or the buildings that it uses
The educational institute created lots of programmers in the country.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
Learning to do robotics has easily become exciting, which is understandable. Robot programming has always required a lot of technical knowledge, but what if there was an easier way for people who are not technology professionals to teach these systems to do things that humans can do?
At the moment, two of the most popular ways to learn are through copying and reinforcement. First, you have to take control of the robot and teach it how to do a task. Second, you have to train a system on millions of images. Several researchers are looking into a method that trains a robot by making it watch a person do a task. A team at Carnegie Mellon University presented the Wild Human Imitating Robot Learning, or WHIRL, an algorithm that teaches a robot by making it watch videos. In their demonstrations, a mobile robotic arm that can be purchased learns to do certain tasks like closing drawers. In a press release, Shikhar Bahl, a student at the Robotics Institute, said that copying is a good type of learning. It is easy to see how something like this could be especially helpful at home, where roboticists think these systems will be used to help the elderly and other people who have trouble moving around.
Therefore, it is easy to say that these new inventions will be very helpful in the times ahead.
At the moment, two of the most popular ways to learn are through copying and reinforcement. First, you have to take control of the robot and teach it how to do a task. Second, you have to train a system on millions of images. Several researchers are looking into a method that trains a robot by making it watch a person do a task. A team at Carnegie Mellon University presented the Wild Human Imitating Robot Learning, or WHIRL, an algorithm that teaches a robot by making it watch videos. In their demonstrations, a mobile robotic arm that can be purchased learns to do certain tasks like closing drawers. In a press release, Shikhar Bahl, a student at the Robotics Institute, said that copying is a good type of learning. It is easy to see how something like this could be especially helpful at home, where roboticists think these systems will be used to help the elderly and other people who have trouble moving around.
Therefore, it is easy to say that these new inventions will be very helpful in the times ahead.
Comprehension questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them based on the article.
- According to the article, what is a good method for robotic learning?
- Who is the team that presented the algorithm that teaches a robot through video watching?
- What is an algorithm that makes a robot learn by making it watch videos?
- What are the two ways in which robots learn?
- What type of programming always requires technical knowledge?
Discussion questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- Do you have knowledge about robotics? If so, what are those? If not, what will you do to gain knowledge about it?
- Do you own devices that can do what humans do? If so, what are those gadgets? If not, what will you do to have access to devices that can perform human actions?
- How will you promote robots that can do human actions to people if you are a roboticist?
- Do you think people need technologies that can perform human actions?
- How will you educate people about the good and bad things a robot can do?