What is a robot’s brain?

A robot’s brain is a small computer chip. The chip does not dream or guess. It follows a list of instructions, one step at a time.

That list of instructions is called a program, and the people who write it are called programmers. Maybe one day that will be you!

Most robots do three things again and again: sense, think, act. First they sense, using cameras or touch sensors, a bit like eyes and fingers. Then the chip thinks, which means it follows its program. Last it acts, by moving its motors, a bit like muscles.

Because a robot follows its steps exactly, the order matters. If you tell a robot to jump and then walk, it does something different than if you say walk and then jump.

If a robot does something silly, it is not being naughty. The program just needs fixing. Finding and fixing mistakes is a big part of coding.