bestology 2023 Week 10 – Microrobotics
Microrobotics
Week 10
Have you ever played the classic game “Operation”? What happens when you’re not precise in pulling out an item from his body? Watch this video to learn more about the game and what happens.
Precision, accuracy, and exactness are so important when you’re dealing with any kind of medical issue. It’s important to know what is going on within our body and how to go about achieving results the “first time” with precision and accuracy. Much like the game of operation, where if we were not careful the buzzer will go off and affect the person, we have to be even more careful in determining the “correct” medical issue and proper procedure for the individual.
So what is a microrobot? A microrobot is a very small machine designed to perform a specific task with precision. Medical microrobots make it possible to perform diagnostics and surgeries in the medical field. Much like the robots, we operate in the classroom, these robotics machines can either be autonomous mode or insect-like where the robot is used in large numbers.
Just how small are microrobots? These robots can be less than 1 millimeters. Wow! Modern technology has come a long way allowing us to place computer components into small robots that are barely visible to the eye. What’s even harder to fathom is that nanorobots are a bit smaller in size and are not immediately recognized by the human eye.
Before we go much further, view this video on Microrobotics.
Resources
- Best Robotics
- Smyths Toys – Classic Operation Game
- Building Medical Robots, Bacteria sized: Bradley Nelson at TEDxZurich
- Innerspace Movie Trailer
- Tiny microrobots team up and move full-size car
- The Microbots Are on Their Way
- Is That a Bug or a Robotic Spy? | RoboticsTomorrow
- Spying on Wildlife With Animal Robots
- RoboBees: Autonomous Flying Microrobots
- Food and grocery delivery robots could soon come to Frisco
- Here’s what the Uber Eats delivery drone looks like
- How drones are handling deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Tiny Medical Micro-Robots Shapeshift to Navigate Through Your Insides
Research/Reflect/Brainstorm
Grab a notebook or your journal and research the following:
You watched the video on microrobots above, what did you think about it? Would you feel comfortable with something of that size going into your body? Where do you see this going into the future? How much smaller do you think they can make those robots? Is there anything specific you would like to see a microrobot do next in the medical field or in the World? Here is an idea-a 1987 film called Innerspace where Dennis Quaid is shrunk down to a microrobot size and is injected into a human man. Innerspace Movie Trailer
Activity
Group – There are many types of vehicles that use sensors. These sensors must be precise to prevent damage and injuries. Research and compile a list of 5 vehicles (they cannot all be our everyday cars) that use sensors. Then pick one type of vehicle that uses sensors and explain what type of sensors they use and give details of how they help make it a successful ride/work vehicle. Include pictures, infographics, links, and videos. Use Google Slides or a format of your choice to present to the class.
Resources:
Individual –
Do you ever wish you could be a fly on a wall and listen to a conversation? Do you imagine what type of spy gear is out there and what technology exists but is a secret? Check out the following videos.
After watching the videos consider what type of spy work you want to conduct. Do you want to create a microrobot or an animal robot? Draw out and describe what you would do with your robot and the research.
Additional Resource:
BEST connection
Each year the BEST game is a simulation of a real-world scenario where we need to build a robot to complete a certain task related to a current world problem.
Thank back to a game that you participated in where a robot could be used as a microrobot to solve a real-world problem.
If you are new to BEST you can look at the previous games by following this LINK
Community Connection
Our world is ever-changing. It is amazing to see what technology is invented next and how it can make an impact on our world for the better. We depend on food and store delivery more than ever with concerns over health and community safety.
Have you seen any drones or robots delivering food in your area or your state? Here are some articles on food and product delivery and how robots are being used.
- Food and grocery delivery robots could soon come to Frisco
- Here’s what the Uber Eats delivery drone looks like
- How drones are handling deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Prime Air
There is a problem with all of the robots, drones, and technology, we forget about the mom and pop stores. People lose jobs because they are outsourced to technology as described in the articles above. We also lose our community connection and personable touch. A robot doesn’t listen to our questions or concerns about something. It doesn’t give you a smile back and make you feel like there is a connection to someone that works at that store. Just like in Week 8, we must find a balance and remember that technology can be a blessing but it can also be a curse and pull us away from relationships, community, and supporting one another. The coronavirus pandemic has forced many shopping stores to shut down because we either want to just use technology or we want to stay home and not get out. But if we choose to only shop online, our small town businesses will disappear as will many of their great products. Go around your house and find something that was purchased from a small business or home business. Try to buy that product again and keep all businesses going so we can be a strong community, not just a strong online community.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: create, explore, evaluate, generate, include, identify, list, observe, reflect, review, use, and write
Workforce Skills – list workforce skills related to this lesson
Critical thinking, materials evaluation, reading comprehension, science, writing, research
My Personal Journal