Skip to 0 minutes and 4 seconds When I say robotics, what is it that you imagine? Do you picture your favourite robots from fiction? There are many, many depictions of robots in fiction. There are robots in books, in TV series and in the movies. But robots today are a very real technology and a very, very useful technology. There are an increasing number of applications of robots in our society. Robots build things for us, they help us explore and monitor our world, and they can even heal us. Robotics is a an important technology. It’s an important technology today, and it will be more important in the future. My name’s Professor Peter Corke. Please join me as we explore the role of robots in our society.
Introducing Robotics: Robotics and Society
How do you feel about robots? Learn how robotics is used today and explore how it might help solve the big issues of our time.
Duration
3 weeksWeekly study
3 hours
Introducing Robotics: Robotics and Society
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Once only found in fiction, robots are being applied in an increasing array of ways in society, from mechanisation of industrial tasks to exploring places humans can’t go. This course starts with your perceptions of robotics, describes different types of robots, and leads into a discussion of the future: knowing we can use robots, should we? We will use case studies to show how robotics is being applied to help solve key issues facing society today: food production, aging populations, transport, and environmental change.
Get an introduction to robots
What’s your favourite robot? We explore how books, movies and television have influenced our perceptions of robotics and ask you to define a robot. From our shared understanding, we’ll then discuss how and why robotics impacts society and the ethics of using robots.
Learn about different types of robots
You might be surprised to learn where and how robots are used in our society today. You’ll explore examples of real robots – from manufacturing to the military – before considering what the future might hold for humans and robots alike.
Understand how robotics is solving world challenges
Our world is facing some serious challenges and the pressures are only increasing as the population grows and ages. You’ll consider the practicalities and ethics of using robotics to address four of these big issues and learn how the usefulness of robots is limited only by the capacity of human intelligence.
Continue learning with the Introducing Robotics Program
This course is one of three in the Introducing Robotics Program from Queensland University of Technology that will help you gain the robotics skills that are needed today and in the future.
What topics will you cover?
- The importance of robotics as a field
- How ideas and attitudes towards robots have formed from fiction
- Defining a real robot
- How different types of robots are being applied today
- Ethical, privacy and safety considerations of using robotics
- Predicting the role of robots in future work
- How robotics might be applied to help solve society’s big challenges: food production, ageing populations, transport and environmental change
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Explain what robots are and what they can do.
- Discuss the ethical considerations of using robots to help solve societal challenges.
- Reflect on the future role and development of robotics in human society.
Who is the course for?
You don’t need any special prior knowledge or experience to join in this course and everything you need to succeed in this course is provided. There is no specific equipment or software required.
Who will you learn with?
Professor of Robotic Vision at QUT and Director of the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision (ACRV). Peter is also an IEEE fellow and on the editorial board of several robotics research journals.
PhD Candidate with the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision researching towards robust visual object recognition to facilitate useful robotic tasks.
Dr Pepperell completed his PhD in robotic vision at QUT in 2016, with a research focus in vision-based place recognition.
Who developed the course?
Queensland University of Technology
QUT is a leading Australian university ranked in the top 1% of universities worldwide by the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Located in Brisbane, it attracts over 50,000 students.
Established
1989Location
Brisbane, AustraliaWorld ranking
Top 180Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019
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