An iCub robot built by the Italian Institute of Technology
Robotville festival in London's Science Museum celebrates some of the latest inventions in robot designs in the world. The festival features 20 robots from laboratories across Europe. In the programme we hear that robotics have developed rapidly in Europe for the past few years due to an increase in funding for research.
This week's question: when was the word 'robot' first used to describe a machine that does the work for humans? Was it in:
a) 1880
b) 1900
c) 1920
Listen out for the answer at the end of the programme!
Listen
Robots
End of Section
Vocabulary
- exhibition
a collection of things that are on show to the public
- cutting-edge
the latest or most advanced
- laboratories
rooms or buildings used for scientific research
- mimic
to copy someone's behaviour or speech
- robotics
the science of designing and operating robots
- domestic chores
regular and usually boring tasks you have to do at home
- artificial intelligence
computers copying intelligent human behaviour
- replica
a good copy of something
- creepy
a strange or unpleasant feeling of fear
- science fiction
a story that is based on imagined scientific discoveries of the future; often dealing with space travel and life on other planets
