Robotics - How Robots Work

In order for a robot to imitate the actions of a human being, it has to be able to perform three fundamental tasks. First, it must be conscious of the world around it, just as humans obtain information about the world from our five senses. Second, the robot must somehow "know" what to do. One way for it to get that knowledge is to have a human prepare a set of instructions that are then implanted into the robot's "brain." Alternatively, it must be able to analyze and interpret data it has received from its senses and then make a decision based on that data as to how it should react. Third, the robot must be able to act on the instructions or data it has received.

Not all robots have all of these functions. For example, some of the earliest "for fun" robots like the Jacquet-Droz doll and scribe "knew" what to do because of the instructions that had been programmed into them by their inventors. The inventors also gave their toys the mechanical means with which to carry out their instructions: arms, fingers, torsos, eyes, and other body parts that were able to move in specific ways.