How Do Human Sensors Work?
The five human senses.Copyright flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/thenickster/3667839998/
This lesson highlights the similarities between human sensors and their engineering counterparts. Taking this approach enables students to view the human body as a system, that is, from the perspective of an engineer. Humans have recreated most human sensors in robots – eyes, ears and sensors for temperature, touch and smell. The lesson includes a PowerPoint file that is programmed to run a Jeopardy-style game as a fun assessment tool.
Biological engineers and neuroscientists perceive the human body as a functioning, controlled system, similar to a robot. Research findings show that mathematical principles similar to those used in robotics are extremely useful or even necessary for a complete understanding of the human body. Through this lesson, students understand the function of each of the human senses by relating them to the different sensors used in robots. This comparison enables them to better understand the functioning of sensors in both applications.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe how the five human senses work.
- Compare the human senses to the electronic sensors in a robot.
- Program the robot with sensors to navigate a maze and compare that to a human walking by following instructions.