Robots on a Rocky Road Additional Information
You can learn more about the DARPA Grand Challenge race and its results at www.grandchallenge.org/ and www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/ (DARPA, U.S. Department of Defense).
Carnegie Mellon University’s Red Team (Sandstorm) has a Web page at www.redteamracing.org/(Carnegie Mellon University).
The Palos Verdes Road Warriors have a Web page at www.pvrw.com/ (Palos Verdes High School).
Books recommended by SearchIt!Science:
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How the Future Began: Machines — Clive Gifford
Published by Kingfisher Books/Larousse Kingfisher Chambers, 1999.
Using photographs and timelines, this colorful book reaches into the past to examine the origins of the machines we use today and speculates about the future to predict what machines may be doing tomorrow. Four sections explore the roles of machines in industry, the technology of power sources, military machines, and machines in daily life and in space. From the dawn of the Industrial Revolution to a future where we may terraform Mars, machines have shaped our lives. |
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Robots Among Us: The Challenges and Promises of Robotics— Christopher W. Baker
How do scientists program robots to complete tasks that you complete every day? In this book about the challenges of creating robots, learn about how scientists teach robots to sense, think, and act. Explore efforts to create machines to go places that are too dangerous or too difficult for humans. Find out about the remote-controlled robots that have been used to explore the insides of volcanoes and defuse bombs, as well as the potential for robots around the house. Discover the latest technology to create robots with artificial intelligence. |
Power Words
Global Positioning System A system that shows the exact position of objects on Earth by displaying their latitude and longitude on a computer screen. The instruments in the Global Positioning Systems get their information be exchanging signals with satellites in orbit around the Earth. Global Positioning System is called GPSfor short.
radar A system that is used to locate distant objects and find their position, speed, and direction. Devices that use radar send out radio waves in all directions and receive the waves back after they bounce off an object. The reflected waves are then analyzed by a computer to provide information. Radar is used to control airplane traffic near airports and to keep track of satellites in space.
sensor A device that produces an electric signal in response to something in its environment. The signal is sent to another device or to a machine. A sensor in a printer detects that the paper tray is empty and sends a signal for the printer to indicate that the tray is out of paper.
Copyright © 2002, 2003 Houghton-Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Used with permission.