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Ancient Robots

The document discusses the concept of ancient robots, highlighting examples such as moving statues from Egypt, a robotic arm called 'The Claw' from Greece, and inventions by Leonardo da Vinci. It emphasizes the ingenuity of ancient civilizations in creating machines with human-like abilities, despite many of these inventions being speculative. The text also notes the continued fascination with these historical robots and their influence on modern robotics.

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11 views2 pages

Ancient Robots

The document discusses the concept of ancient robots, highlighting examples such as moving statues from Egypt, a robotic arm called 'The Claw' from Greece, and inventions by Leonardo da Vinci. It emphasizes the ingenuity of ancient civilizations in creating machines with human-like abilities, despite many of these inventions being speculative. The text also notes the continued fascination with these historical robots and their influence on modern robotics.

Uploaded by

annessahm
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ancient Robots

What do you think of when you read the word ‘robot’? Many people think about
big machines in car factories or futuristic monsters in films. Few of us think about
the past. But people were building incredible machines with human abilities
hundreds of years ago!

For example, Egyptian texts from 1100 BC mention moving statues which ‘chose’
the next king. None of these statues exists, but probably they were built using the
ancient Egyptians’ mechanical technology.

Another ancient robot was a big robotic arm called “The Claw”. The ancient Greek
writer Polybius wrote about it in 213 BC. It was built during a war with the
Romans, and it hung over the city wall towards the sea. When a Roman ship came
close, the arm picked up the front of the ship and lifted it into the air. Then the boat
fell backwards into the sea and sank. Again, we don’t know if the machine was
really built, but it was possible with Ancient Greek technology.

Another ancient Greek inventor, Philon of Byzantium, built a female robot at about
the same time. If someone placed a cup in her hand, it mixed water and wine to
make a drink. But the robot wasn’t popular because people didn’t need robots to
work. They had lots of slaves.

The famous artist Leonardo da Vinci loved designing robots. Few of his ideas were
built, but his plans are very detailed. One modern-day robot engineer, Mark
Rosheim, still uses them to get ideas when designing robots for NASA! One of da
Vinci’s robots was a lion. He built it for the king of France in 1515. It could walk
and present flowers! In 2009, engineers used the plans to build it again. It worked
perfectly.

After that, more and more mechanical robots were built. They did more and more
difficult tasks, such as playing the flute, writing and drawing a picture. Although
modern technology has moved on, these historical robots still amaze people today.

Choose the correct answer:


1. People used _____ against their enemy.
2. _____ use(s) ideas from hundreds of years ago.
3. Some people built _____ again recently.
4. _____ could make drinks for people.
5. People didn’t need _____ because they had forced workers.
6. _____ could play a musical instrument.
7. _____ was/were made as a gift for an important person.
8. We don’t know if _____ and _____ were built.
9. People used _____ when they needed a new king.

Answer the following questions, write 4-6 sentences for each response:

1. What do you think about the idea of robots in ancient times?

 Were they useful? Were they surprising? Would you like to see one?

2. If you could design your own robot, what would it do?

 What abilities would it have? How would it help people?

3. Which robot from the text do you think is the most impressive? Why?

 Explain why you like it. What makes it special or unique?

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