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AI Explorers 3-5 / Week 02 / Thursday
4/6
Week 02 · Sensors and Perception

Thursday

Hardware and software team up
// How computers sense the world
⏱ about 15 min

Thursday: Hardware and Software Team Up

Rocket builds a paper model of a sorting machine. It has a camera on top.

"The camera can see the photos," he says proudly. "So it can sort them!"

Raven peeks inside the box. "What do you notice? It is empty in here."

Nova circles the box. "A camera picks up light," she hints. "What tells the machine what to do next?"

Two parts, one team

Hardware is the parts of a computer you can touch.

A camera and a microphone are hardware.

Software is the programs. Programs tell the computer what to do.

A sensor alone cannot find meaning. It needs software too.

Hardware and software work together as a team.

PartHardware or software?Job
CameraHardwarePicks up light
MicrophoneHardwarePicks up sound
Sorting programSoftwareLooks for meaning and picks a box
ScreenHardwareShows the result
HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A camera is ____.
A program that sorts photos is ____.
A microphone is ____.
Rocket's box had a camera but no program. What was missing?
HOW THE PHOTO SORTER WORKS
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last

When a sensor gets a bad signal

If the camera lens is smudged, the signal is fuzzy.

Then the software has a harder job. The guess may be wrong.

So both parts matter. Good hardware and good software help each other.

StatementTrue or false?
A camera is hardware.?
Software is a part you can touch.?
A sensor alone can find meaning without a program.?
A smudged lens can make a fuzzy signal.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEHardware and software work as a team to sense and find meaning.
The parts you can touch are called ____.
The programs are called ____.
What kind of part is a microphone? Type hardware or software.
WHY THIS EXERCISEA microphone is hardware, a sensor that picks up sound.
FIX THE SIGNAL
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
The sorter keeps guessing wrong. The camera lens is smudged. What is a good fix?
The room is too dark for clear photos. What could help?
The microphone hears a loud fan and a quiet voice. What could help?
On paper, draw Rocket's sorting machine. Label the camera, the program and the screen.

Great teamwork thinking! Tomorrow we look for sensors in everyday life.

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