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Weekend Spotlight: Robotics

Peanut Butter and Jelly Robot

What You’ll Need for this Activity:

• Jar of peanut butter
• Jar of jelly
• One or two slices of bread
• Plate
• Another person

What to Do

One person will be the robot, and one will be the "programmer," telling the robot how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The programmer's job is to use language that is as precise as possible, so the robot will do exactly what he or she wants. The robot's job is to follow instructions, but at the same time to try hard not to do what the programmer wants.

For example, say the programmer asks the robot to scoop "a little bit" of peanut butter out of the jar. The robot might scoop a microscopic amount of peanut butter out. Once the programmer gets the robot to put a good amount of peanut butter on the knife, the programmer will probably ask the robot to spread it on the bread. The robot can then spread the peanut butter all over the edges of the crusts. It's great fun to be the robot. Use your creativity!

What does this have to do with robots?

Robots can't do anything unless a human tells them (usually this is done through a computer program). As this activity shows, the human must be very careful when programming the robot. Robots can't think about whether they're going to do something destructive or harmful, so they will always do exactly as they're told, even if the person made a mistake in the program. 

Weekend Spotlight: Robotics at CSSC is sponsored by Mondo-Tronics' Robot Store.