Who decides what robots look like?

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

Vermont Public

Nature, Language, Kids & Family, Science

4.4 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2024

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Who decides what robots look like? How do robots work and move? How are they controlled? And are robots alive? We tackle all your robot questions in this episode, and we’re taking a field trip to a local factory that uses hundreds of robots to help humans do their jobs. GlobalFoundries, in Essex Junction, Vermont makes microchips that go in all kinds of electronics. In fact, if your adults have a smartphone, more than likely it has a chip made at this very facility. Engineers Adrien Plouffe and Lucy White work with the robots at GlobalFoundries and answer your questions about robots, including: Why are robots made of metal? Why do people like robots? Do robots cry?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, listeners. I'd love to tell you about one of our podcast friends, Who's Smarted? On every episode of Who Smarted? The trustee narrator takes kids on epic adventures of discovery to learn about science and history. Using time travel apps and other cool inventions, trustee can go backwards or forward in time,
0:22.1	shrink himself down to explore inside the human body, or visit outer space, other planets, or the ocean deep.
0:29.0	There's literally nowhere in the universe the trusty narrator can't take you to visit and learn about.
0:35.3	With episodes averaging 15 minutes, it's the perfect length for
0:38.8	car rides, meal times, break times, bath time, and bedtime. And anyone can learn fun facts from
0:45.2	Who Smarted, even adults. Search for Who Smarted wherever you get your podcasts.
0:50.9	Music get your podcasts. This is but why this is but why a podcast for Curious Kids from Vermont Public.
1:11.6	I'm Jane Lindholm. And if that music sounds a little tinny today, it's because it's coming out of a robot.
1:19.6	A robot called an Omron. This one's name is Gulliver, and it works at Global Foundries at a fabrication foundry in Vermont and its job
1:30.3	is to transport things from one place to another.
1:33.3	It's kind of mad at me right now.
1:35.3	Today we're going to talk all about robots.
1:39.3	Going to $973.
1:43.3	Global Foundries is a big company that operates around the world, making microchips that go in
1:49.1	everything from cell phones to cars to maybe the tablets you're using. The factory in Vermont
1:55.8	is called Fab 9. It's a really big place. So sometimes they use robots to help carry boxes from one place to another.
2:03.7	There are robots in a lot of their tools that do repetitive tasks that would be really hard for a
2:09.4	human to do the same way every time. And sometimes they even have robots that go around rooms
2:15.6	sensing the temperature of the equipment to make sure it's not overheating.
2:20.0	So since it's just a couple of miles from our headquarters at Vermont Public,
2:24.7	we thought we'd go to Global Foundries to learn more about robots and to get some answers to the questions you've been sending us.
2:33.6	The robot playing the but- why theme song is one of the
	...

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