On this day :
1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City, 1774 Parliament passes the Boston Port Act, 1982 Star driver Danica Patrick born, 1865 Battle of Fort Stedman Virginia, 1946 Soviets announce withdrawal from Iran, 1932 Verdict is announced in Scottsboro case, 1911 Fire kills 145 at Triangle Shirtwaist factory, 1634 The settlement of Maryland, 1957 Common Market founded, 1975 King Faisal assassinated, 1994 Last US troops depart Somalia, 2001 Icelandic pop singer Bjork makes splash at the Oscars, 1955 US Customs seizes Howl, 1983 The Motown family stages a bittersweet reunion performance, 1879 Cheyenne Chief Little Wolf surrenders, 1933 USS Sequoia becomes presidential yacht, 1958 Sugar Ray defeats Basilio for middleweight title, 1967 Martin Luther King leads march against the war, 1968 Johnson meets with the Wise Men, 1918 Belarusian Peoples Republic established, 1941 Yugoslavia joins the Axis,

Essays

Of Stopping Robots

Average User Rating
Editor's Rating

I kind of smiled when I heard about it. A competition called, “Man with tools v/s Robots.” I immediately said yes, for I was sure I could do something. I had to choose between making a remote controlled robot and being given a simple tool to stop it. A competition on a Saturday meant that mom would allow me no matter what. I wanted to be the Man with the tools so that I don’t have to work hard making a robot. Call it wisdom or laziness.

            The next Saturday I was sent to a place. Obviously a venue is needed. The place had different grounds to suit the robot’s needs - Metal, marble, mud, sand and water. I went to the “Man with the tools” registering counter. The instruction said I must stop robots from doing what they do. Simple, I thought it was.

            First opponent – the robot could move in any direction. I was given a block. I placed it in front of the robot. I thought it was done. But the robot turned ninety degrees and went around the block. The guy at the controls smiled. He raced it at high speed. Immediately I placed the block in such a way that it impacted half the robot’s body and flipped it on its side. Man won.

            Second foe – the ground was beach sand, and the robot could dig a tunnel and come out. I had a plastic bowl. I observed that the robot worked on the clap of a hand. I covered it with the bowl, thinking it won’t hear. It did. Then I had an idea. I picked up the robot and dropped it into the bowl. Since there was no sand below it could not dig. The owner’s hands went red with all the clapping. I won.

            I kept on winning till I reached the finals. I was given a toy robot! The opponent’s robot was a robot killer. Hesitatingly, I made my robot fight. My robot ran towards the other but it was crushed under the other’s weight. I have never seen a robot so strong for its size. My robot’s moving parts were all gone, and the enemy was going to finish him and win. But its battery ran out and it stopped. My robot was broken but not destroyed. I won the tournament. Hooray!

            The first prize was an expensive robot. Thank God I had not made one for the tournament. It would have been a waste of energy. Next year I will again take part. But this time I will be on the Robot’s side.

User Rating
Rate Me !