The Wild Robot: Volume 1

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Roz may not feel emotions, but young readers certainly will as this tender, captivating tale unfolds.”― The Washington Post Wandering with human help enabled us to run an exploratory user study on remote interactions with a building photographer robot that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. The system required around half an hour of the helper’s time over the course of its 32-hour deployment. A well-tuned autonomous navigation system could have done it with no human intervention at all, but we would have had to spend a far greater amount of engineering time to get such a system to work that well. The only other real alternative would have been to fully teleoperate the robot, a logistical impossibility for us. Roboticists tend to develop robots under the assumption that they’ll know exactly where their robots are at any given time—clearly that’s an important capability if the robot’s job is to usefully move between specific locations. But that ability to localize generally requires the robot to have powerful sensors and a map of its environment. There are ways to wriggle out of some of these requirements: If you don’t have a map, there are methods that build a map and localize at the same time, and if you don’t have a good range sensor, visual navigation methods use just a regular RGB camera, which most robots would have anyway. Unfortunately, these alternatives to traditional localization-based navigation are either computationally expensive, not very robust, or both. As Roz adapts to her new life, roles, and responsibilities, she comes to like being at the farm. However, she still sometimes longs to leave. Why do you think this is? Have you ever had a time in your life where you have felt like this? Discuss with your group or partner.

As we know, families come in all forms. Now that Roz has taken on the role of a mother to Brightbill, they have become like a little family. In what ways do they act like your family acts? In what ways are they different from any of the families that you know? Conclude the discussion by having students reflect on the significance of the themes in "The Wild Robot" and their personal connection to them. Encourage them to consider how the themes relate to their own lives and society. Provide opportunities for students to apply their understanding of the themes through writing, artwork, or real-world connections. Frequently Asked Questions about The Wild Robot What genre is The Wild Robot? A camera disguised as a prairie dog, which captures the animals’ habit of “kissing” each other, was programmed with the ability to “jump-yip”, a leaping motion that reinforces family bonds. Roz has the tremendous task of adapting to her new way of life, much like people do in many ways in real life. What are some examples of how Roz adapts to these changes? Was it easy for her? What challenges did she face? Be sure to use details from the text.Using the worksheet layout and Storyboard That’s worksheet assets, create a test or a quiz for other students in the class. You can create all kinds of questions such as multiple choice, short answer, and even matching! When you are done, be sure to make an answer key. After a while, the island starts to feel like home to Roz. Why is this? What does home feel like to you? The first episode, themed around the subject of love, includes one example. In a scene filmed with a troop of langurs living on a temple complex in Rajasthan, a robotic camera, modelled to resemble a young monkey, is believed by the troop to be a baby that has died.

These questions may be used during reading, or upon completion of the novel. While it is best to get students discussing what they’ve read, these questions can also be answered individually in a reader’s notebook. It is always such a joy to hear the different opinions that students have, even though they are reading the same novel!

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When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there? Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive in her harsh surroundings? It’s important to think about the appropriate level of autonomy for whatever it is you want a robot to do. There’s a wide spectrum between “autonomous” and “teleoperated,” and a solution in the middle may help you get farther along another dimension that you care more about, like cost or generality. This can be an unfashionable suggestion to robotics researchers (for whom less-than-autonomous solutions can feel like defeat), but it’s better to think of it as an invitation for creativity: What new angles could you explore if you started from an 80 percent autonomy solution rather than a fully autonomous solution? Would you be able to run a system for longer, or in a place you couldn’t before? How could you sprinkle in human assistance to bridge the gap? Potential use cases and opportunities may be evident, but there can be little progress without a receptive organization. Are agencies’ cultures and leadership ready for robots? How about their stakeholders? And do they possess the skill sets needed?

What were Roz’s specific survival instincts when she first arrived on the island? How did those instincts change and why? Provide examples from the text that show these instincts changing. Roz is like a mother to many of the island’s animals, and she takes on the role of mother to a Brightbill, whose goose egg was the only survivor of a terrible accident. What do you think motherly actions look like? In what ways does Roz act motherly? Provide examples from the text. Moreover, 57 percent of federal executives say their employees will be challenged to figure out how to work with robots, while 43 percent believe their employees will easily figure out how to work with robots. Getting the right skills in place to execute and sustain robotic endeavors can also present challenges. There have been large increases in demand for robotics technicians (a 121 percent increase since 2017) and for data scientists (an 88 percent increase between 2018 and 2019).Using one of Storyboard That’s biography poster templates, create a poster about the character of your choice. Be sure to include important biographical features such as: place and date of birth, family life, accomplishments, etc.