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Robo You
 You can pick up a marshmallow and eat it without too much thought. It sounds easy, but could a robot do this task? Would it gently pick up the marshmallow or would it squash it flat? Act like a robot and see what you think.
What You Need
• Scarf (blindfold)
• Marshmallow
• Shoebox
What to Do
1. Work with a friend for this activity. One of you is the robot and one is the computer “controller”. Cover the robot’s eyes with the blindfold.
2. Place the marshmallow and shoebox on a table.
3. The controller directs the robot to pick up the marshmallow. The controller can only use his or her voice and cannot touch the robot. Once the robot has picked up the marshmallow, the controller directs the robot to place it in the shoebox.
4. Switch roles and repeat steps 1 to 3.
5. Try a harder activity. For instance, you could put the marshmallow on the table and the box in another room.
How it Works
When you do simple tasks, you are making dozens of small choices with each move you make. You know how to pick up your arm and move it forward. It’s easy to pick up a marshmallow. You can see where it is and know how to gently pick it up. When you were blindfolded, this simple task was harder, but not impossible.
A robot’s “brain” is a computer program created by a person. For a robot to pick up an object and move it, a person must write out all of the possible steps in this task. It must direct all of the fine movements it takes for a robot to lift its “hand” and move it forward to pick up an object.
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