Classroom Questions

Questions for ‘Meet 5 types of robots with living body parts’ 

an illustration of the concept of cyborg jellyfish

Why build robots from scratch when animals are already so good at moving and sensing? Scientists who develop biohybrids combine living parts with machinery to create more capable robots.

Rebecca Konte

By Science News Explores

To accompany ‘Meet 5 types of robots with living body parts’

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

  1. What does it mean to be a robot? Come up with two requirements, or criteria, for a tool to be considered a robot.
  2. What does it mean to be a living thing? Come up with two requirements, or criteria, for an entity to be considered a life-form.

During Reading:

  1. How does a biohybrid robot differ from a typical robot?
  2. For exploring the ocean, identify two advantages that biohybrid jellyfish might have over typical robots.
  3. Which part of a locust’s body does it use to detect odors?
  4. List three scents Amir Ayali’s biohybrid robot can identify.
  5. How might technology that can follow odor trails help people in the future? Give two examples.
  6. How does a “necrobot” differ from a typical biohybrid robot?
  7. Give an example of how human cells contribute to the functionality of Su Ryon Shin’s “butterfly” robotic device described in this story.
  8. What does the “uncanny valley” mean to a roboticist?
  9. Identify one advantage of a robot having living skin for a covering rather than metal.
  10. Give an example of how biohybrid technology “blurs the line between machine and living thing.”

After Reading:

  1. Refer to your answers in the Before Reading section. Consider whether any biohybrid robots described in this story would be viewed as robots based on your criteria. Pick one example of a biohybrid robot from this story and explain why it would or would not be classified as a robot. Based on your criteria, would it be considered a living thing? Explain why or why not. If you developed these criteria after reading this story rather than before, would you have answered these the same way or differently? Briefly explain your answer.
  2. Choose one of the biohybrid robots from this story. Then, imagine a new application for this robot not mentioned in this story. Identify one advantage that a biohybrid robot might have in this application over a typical robot.
  3. Identify one concern you have regarding this technology moving into the future. As we continue to develop such technology, what is one thing we could do to help address this potential concern?