Sylvan Avenue Elementary School students took part in an informative STEAM program with Mobile Ed Productions called “Bot! The Secret World of Robots,” where they learned the history and fun facts about robots from presenter Peter James Phillips and his virtual friend Cozmo.

Students learned that to be considered a “robot,” a machine with moving parts must have sensors, a computer and an actuator to help it achieve physical movement. Mr. Phillips explained that most robots seen in television and film are not robots, because they lack one of the important components.

Using student volunteers, Mr. Phillips also expanded on the knowledge that robots take care of dull, dangerous and dirty jobs for humans. He demonstrated how a Rumba vacuum cleaner runs on sensors that prevent it from falling from a high location. He shared his drone and explained how these unmanned aerial vehicles are being used on Mars. One volunteer even tried to outperform a robot in the dull and tedious task of moving marbles from one location to another.