Dawn Of The Robots IELTS Reading Answers

The Dawn of the Robots is an academic reading passage that has appeared in an IELTS Test. Since questions get repeated in the IELTS exam, these passages are ideal for practice. If you want more practice, try taking an IELTS reading practice test.

Since IELTS Reading is considered the second easiest module of the exam after Listening, try to solve and review the Dawn of the Robots Reading passage and similar passages to ensure that your reading skills are up to the mark.

The question types found in the Dawn of the Robots passage are:

• Matching Headings (Q. 1-6)
• Matching Information (Q. 7-10)
• Summary Completion (Q. 11-13)

Reading Passage

Dawn Of The Robots

1. At first glance, it appeared to be a typical suburban road accident. A Land Rover approached a Chevrolet Tahoe estate car that had stopped at a curb; the Land Rover drove out and attempted to pass the Tahoe just as it started off again. There was a crack of the fender and the sound of paint being scraped, the kind of minor accident that occurs tens of thousands of times a day on the roads. Typically, drivers exit their vehicles, gesticulate, exchange insurance information, and then drive away. In November’s DARPA (U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency) Urban Challenge, both the Tahoe and the Land Rover were being driven by computers.
2. It’s mind-boggling to think that machines could perform to such high levels. Driving is a complex task that takes a long time for humans to master. Nonetheless, each car had its on-board computer loaded with a digital map and route plans, and was instructed to navigate busy roads, distinguish between pedestrians and stationary objects, determine whether other vehicles were parked or moving off, and handle various parking maneuvers, all of which robots proved to be surprisingly adept at. The fact that the only scrape in the entire tournament was between the robot Land Rover developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Tahoe outfitted by Cornell University Artificial Intelligence (AI) experts was even more striking. However, only three years ago, at DARPA’s previous driverless car competition, every robot contender – assigned to traverse over a length of the open desert – crashed or seized up before reaching the finish line.
3. It is a stunning transition with obvious implications for the future of automobiles. Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft and an ardent supporter of robots and AI, has emphasized the significance of the advancements made in robotics and AI over the previous several years. He argues that the robotics sector is evolving similarly to the computer industry 30 years ago. As he points out, electronic corporations produce increasingly sophisticated gadgets that imitate pets and youngsters. Gates states, “I can envision a future in which robotic technologies would become practically ubiquitous in our daily lives.” We may be on the cusp of a new era in which the PC will leave the desktop and enable us to see, hear, touch, and operate objects in locations where we are not physically present.
4. What is the near-future potential for robots and computers? We have a long way to go before real robots catch up to their science fiction counterparts which is a fact, said Gates. Then, what are the stumbling blocks? One crucial challenge is teaching robots their proper location. This has nothing to do with etiquette or class but it is only a matter of location. Humans orient themselves with ease in relation to other objects in a room. Robots find the task to be nearly impossible. “Even something as simple as distinguishing between an open door and a window might be difficult for a robot”, according to Gates. This relegated robots to very immobile and cumbersome roles until recently.
5. Researchers tried to get around the problem a long time ago by mimicking the visual processing that occurs in the human cortex. However, this problem has proven to be extremely difficult and complex. “We have gotten substantially more pragmatic in our work,” says Nello Cristianini, professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Bristol in England and associate editor of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research. “We’re not trying to duplicate human functions anymore.” Instead, we’re searching for simpler options, such as using basic electronic sensors.’ Vacuuming robots like the Electrolux Trilobite are good examples of this strategy. The Trilobite scuttles around houses, producing ultrasonic signals that produce room maps that are saved for future cleaning. This form of technology, according to philosopher Ron Chrisley, chairman of the Centre for Research in Cognitive Science at the University of Sussex in England, is currently changing the face of robots.
6. Last year, Robot Kitchen, a new Hong Kong eatery, opened with two sensor-laden humanoid machines directing clients to their seats. Each one has a touch-screen where orders may be entered. After that, the robot returns with the proper dishes. Researchers from the University of Tokyo recently demonstrated a kitchen ‘android’ that could do things like wash dishes, make tea, and cook a few simple meals. The ultimate goal is to give robot house aides to the sick and elderly, which is a major problem in Japan, where 22% of the population is 65 or older. Over a billion dollars is spent each year on research into robots that can care for the elderly. ‘Robots must first learn basic skills, such as how to manoeuvre around a house without colliding with objects. Then we can consider teaching them how to communicate with humans,’ Chrisley explained. These machines lead academics into the topic of socialised robotics, which focuses on how to make robots behave in a way that does not terrify or offend people. ‘We need to figure out how robots should interact with people and how they should look.’ Chrisley says, “That is likely to be a significant topic for future research.”

Questions 1-6

List of headings

i. Tackling the issue using a different approach

ii. A significant improvement from last time

iii. How robots can save human lives

iv. Examples of robots at work

v. Not what it seemed to be

vi. Why timescales are impossible to predict

vii. The reason why robots rarely move

viii. Following the pattern of an earlier development

ix. The ethical issues of robotics

1. Paragraph A
2. Paragraph B
3. Paragraph C
4. Paragraph D
5. Paragraph E
6. Paragraph F

Questions 7-10

1. Bill Gates
2. Nello Cristianini
3. Ron Chrisley

7. An important concern for scientists is to ensure that robots do not seem frightening.
8. We have stopped trying to enable robots to perceive objects as humans do.
9. It will take a considerable time for modern robots to match the ones we have created in films and books.
10. We need to enable robots to move freely before we think about trying to communicate with them.

Questions 11-13

The robot features DARPA race cars

(11)…………………………provides maps and plans for a route, Electrolux trilobite: builds an image of a room by sending out (12)……………………….. Robot kitchen humanoids: have a (13)……………………………..to take orders.

Dawn of the Robots Reading Answers With Location and Explanation 

Read further for the explanation part of the reading answer.

1. Answer: v

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer Location: Paragraph A

Answer explanation: The paragraph describes an apparent road accident that turned out to involve robot-driven vehicles, which was unexpected. Hence the answer is, “v.”

2. Answer: ii

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer Location: Paragraph B

Answer explanation: This paragraph discusses the improvements in robot performance compared to a previous competition. Hence the answer is, “ii.”

3. Answer: viii

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer Location: Paragraph C

Answer explanation: This paragraph mentions the comparison between the evolution of the robotics sector and the computer industry 30 years ago. Hence, the answer is “viii” which corresponds to “Following the pattern of an earlier development.”

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Dawn of the Robots Reading Passage

Let us check out some quick tips to answer the types of questions in the ‘Dawn of the Robots’ Reading passage.

Matching Headings:

Matching Headings is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to match a list of headings to the correct paragraphs in a passage. To answer matching headings questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the headings first: This will give you an idea of the topics that will be covered in the passage.
• Read the paragraphs quickly: This will give you a general understanding of the content of each paragraph.
• Match the headings to the paragraphs: As you read each paragraph, look for the heading that best summarizes the main idea of the paragraph.
• Check your answers: Once you have matched all of the headings, double-check your answers to make sure that they are correct.

Matching Information: 

Matching Information is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to match a list of information to the correct people, places, or things in a passage.

To answer matching information questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the given information first: This will give you an idea of the types of information that you are looking for in the passage.
• Read the passage quickly: This will give you a general understanding of the content of the passage.
• Match the information to the people, places, or things: As you read the passage, look for the information that matches each feature.
• Check your answers: Once you have matched all of the features, double-check your answers to make sure that they are correct.

Summary Completion:

Summary Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a sentence with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer these questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentence carefully: This will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords: The keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase: This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer: Once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

Great work on attempting to solve the Dawn of the Robots IELTS reading passage! To crack your IELTS Reading in the first go, try solving more of the Recent IELTS Reading Passages.

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