Introduction to Robotics: Robotics and Society

Explore how robots are used in mechanisation, exploration, and building

Robots were once only found in fiction, but today they have become an important technology used widely in society. They mechanise industrial tasks, help us explore places humans can’t go, and can even help heal us.

On this three-week course, you’ll examine your perceptions of robotics, and how attitudes previously formed from fiction are significantly different to how robots are used today.

You’ll delve into the true role of robots in our society and be able to define a real robot, and what they can do. You’ll also investigate the importance of robotics as a field to understand their capabilities and the opportunities for the future.

Identify the ethical considerations of using different types of robots

You’ll discover the different types of robots and how they are applied to help us in a variety of ways, including exploring and monitoring our world.

You’ll also examine the ethical, privacy, and safety considerations of using robotics, particularly when we look at solving societal challenges. Just because we can use robots, does that mean we should?

Examine the role of robots in the future as a useful technology

On the course, you’ll be encouraged to join discussions on using robotics in the future.

You’ll learn how robots could be used to overcome challenges such as food production, ageing population, transport, and environmental change, and discuss the effects this could have on our society.

You’ll predict and reflect on the future role of the development of robotics, and gain a deeper understanding of how robots and humans interact.

This course is designed for anyone interested in discovering how our society currently uses robots, and how we might use them to solve big challenges in the future.

You don’t need any robotics knowledge or experience to join this course.

Everything you need to succeed in this course is provided. There is no specific equipment or software required.