B7.4.3.1.1 B7 (JHS 1) · Computational thinking · Robotics
Applications of robotic machines in society
You should be able to: state uses of robots, and discuss prospects and challenges of robots at work.
1. Learn
A robot is a machine that can sense its surroundings, follow a program, and act — for example move, lift, weld, or take a reading. Robotics is the field that designs, builds, and programs those machines.
Robots are already used in Ghana and around the world:
- Manufacturing — welding and packing in factories (cars, drinks, canned foods).
- Health — helping in surgery, moving samples in a laboratory, disinfection robots in some hospitals.
- Education — classroom kits (mBot, Arduino, LEGO) so learners can see sensors and motors.
- Transport and warehouses — automated guided vehicles that move goods.
- Agriculture — drones that map farms; experimental machines that spray or harvest.
- Security and photos — camera drones used by journalists and surveyors.
Prospects: faster work, fewer accidents in dangerous places (mines, fire, disease labs), new jobs for technicians and programmers.
Challenges: high cost, need for electricity and skilled repair, some jobs change or disappear, and machines can fail or be misused.
A robot is not the same as any machine. A blender follows one button. A robot has sensors + a controller (the “brain”) + actuators (motors, grippers) and a program that can change what it does.
2. See
Watch a short video of a factory packing-arm or a hospital disinfection robot (YouTube or iCampus). Pause and name: Where is the arm? Where might the sensor be? Who wrote the program?
If you have no video, look at a labelled diagram: controller, sensors, motors/wheels, gripper.
3. Practice
-
Name four places in society where robots are used.
Show answer
Any four of: manufacturing, health/surgery, education, transport, warehouses, agriculture, laboratory research, photography/drones, assembling and packing.
-
A clinic in Tamale wants a machine that carries sample bottles from the lab bench to a fridge, following a painted line on the floor. Is that a good use of a robot? Give one prospect and one challenge.
Show answer
Prospect: fewer mix-ups and less walking for staff; works overnight. Challenge: cost, power cuts, need for a technician if it jams, floor must stay clear.
-
Write two sentences: (a) how robots could help a cocoa warehouse in Tema; (b) one problem that warehouse would face.
Show a sample
(a) Robots or automated carts could stack bags and reduce back injuries. (b) Dust, heat, and unstable electricity can damage sensors and motors.
-
True or false: “Every machine that moves is a robot.”
Show answer
False. A robot senses, is programmed, and acts. A ceiling fan moves but does not sense and decide.
-
List two new jobs robotics can create in Ghana.
Show answer
Robot technician, programmer, drone operator, STEM teacher, maintenance engineer, salesperson for education kits.
4. Project (GES exemplar)
In pairs, list applications of robots (manufacturing, health, education, packing, transport, surgery, laboratory, photos). Then write two prospects and two challenges of robots at work.
Submit: half a page, or a labelled poster photo. Include one Ghana example.
5. Check (GES proficiency)
- Emerging — names “robots in factories” only
- Developing — lists uses but mixes robots with ordinary machines
- Approaching proficient — gives Ghana examples and one challenge
- Proficient — covers uses, prospects, and challenges clearly
- Highly proficient — teaches a classmate using a diagram of sensor, controller, actuator
Source: NaCCA Computing CCP B7.4.3.1 / B7.4.3.1.1. SURF-CLOUD Technology Institute.