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ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) is a humanoid robot created by Honda. It is considered an engineering marvel due to its ability to walk, move in different directions, and climb stairs, though it is remotely controlled.
What are the potential real-world applications of humanoid robots?
Humanoid robots could assist in daily tasks, serve as medical assistants, work as firefighters, and help in industries facing workforce shortages, such as elderly care in Japan.
Why is the development of humanoid robots controversial?
Some believe humanoid robots showcase human creativity and innovation, while others fear they may reduce human interaction, replace jobs, or dehumanize society.
How does Kismet interact with humans?
Kismet has facial features like eyes, ears, and eyebrows that display emotions such as happiness, sadness, and fear. People respond to these expressions, making interactions feel more natural.
Man or Machine Reading Answers, IELTS Passage
Man or Machine Reading Answers explores humanoid robots like ASIMO, Kismet, and Cog. Find detailed answers, explanations, and tips to improve your reading skills with True/False/Not Given and matching headings questions.
Porishmita .25 Mar, 2025
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Man or Machine Reading Answers: The IELTS Reading passage "Man or Machine Reading Answers" delves into the fascinating world of humanoid robotics, exploring innovations like ASIMO, Kismet, and Cog. It examines how these robots mimic human movements, facial expressions, and interactions, shedding light on advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics. The passage also discusses the broader implications of developing human-like machines, including their potential societal roles and ethical considerations. Understanding these concepts is crucial for tackling IELTS Reading question types such as Matching Headings, True/False/Not Given, and Sentence Completion, which assess comprehension of key ideas, detailed information, and logical connections within the text.
Man or Machine Reading Answers Passage
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the reading passage.
Man or Machine
A. During July 2003, the Museum of Science in Cambridge, Massachusetts exhibited what Honda calls ‘the world’s most advanced humanoid robot’, ASIMO (the Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility). Honda’s brainchild is on tour in North America and delighting audiences wherever it goes. After 17 years in the making, ASIMO stands at four feet tall, weighs around 115 pounds and looks like a child in an astronaut’s suit. Though it is difficult to see ASIMO’s face at a distance, on closer inspection it has a smile and two large ‘eyes’ that conceal cameras. The robot cannot work autonomously – its actions are ‘remote-controlled’ by scientists through the computer in its backpack. Yet watching AIMIO perform at a show in Massachusetts it seemed uncannily human. The audience cheered as ASIMO walked forwards and backwards, side to side and up and downstairs. After the show, a number of people told me that they would like robots to play more of a role in daily life – one even said that the robot would be like ‘another person’.
B. While the Japanese have made huge strides in solving some of the engineering problems of human kinetics and bipedal movements, for the past 10 years scientists at MIT’s former Artificial Intelligence (AI) lab (recently renamed the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, CSAIL) have been making robots that can behave like humans and interact with humans. One of MIT’s robots, Kismet, is an anthropomorphic head and has two eyes (complete with eyelids), ears, a mouth, and eyebrows. It has several facial expressions, including happy, sad, frightened and disgusted. Human interlocutors are able to read some of the robot’s facial expressions, and often change their behavior towards the machine as a result – for example, playing with it when it appears ‘sad’. Kismet is now in MIT’s museum, but the ideas developed here continue to be explored in new robots.
C. Cog (short for Cognition) is another pioneering project from MIT’s former AI lab. Cog has a head, eyes, two arms, hands and a torso – and its proportions were originally measured from the body of a researcher in the lab. The work on Cog has been used to test theories of embodiment and developmental robotics, particularly getting a robot to develop intelligence by responding to its environment via sensors, and to learn through these types of interactions.
D. MIT is getting furthest down the road to creating human-like and interactive robots. Some scientists argue that ASIMO is a great engineering feat but not an intelligent machine – because it is unable to interact autonomously with unpredictabilities in its environment in meaningful ways, and learn from experience. Robots like Cog and Kismet and new robots at MIT’s CSAIL and media lab, however, are beginning to do this.
E. These are exciting developments. Creating a machine that can walk, make gestures and learn from its environment is an amazing achievement. And watch this space: these achievements are likely rapidly to be improved upon. Humanoid robots could have a plethora of uses in society, helping to free people from everyday tasks. In Japan, for example, there is an aim to create robots that can do the tasks similar to an average human and also act in more sophisticated situations as firefighters, astronauts or medical assistants to the elderly in the workplace and in homes – partly in order to counterbalance the effects of an ageing population.
F. Such robots say much about the way in which we view humanity, and they bring out the best and worst of us. On one hand, these developments express human creativity – our ability to invent, experiment, and to extend our control over the world. On the other hand, the aim to create a robot like a human being is spurred on by dehumanized ideas – by the sense that human companionship can be substituted by machines; that humans lose their humanity when they interact with technology; or that we are a little more than surface and ritual behaviors, that can be simulated with metal and electrical circuits.
The reading passage has six paragraphs: A – F Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct numbers, i – x, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings:
i. The future role of humanoid robots in society ii. The challenge of making robots more intelligent iii. Public reactions to ASIMO’s performance iv. Concerns over human-like robots replacing real companionship v. The technological advancements in robotic movement vi. The interaction between humans and robots vii. MIT’s experiment in making robots learn like humans viii. A comparison of different types of humanoid robots ix. The engineering behind ASIMO’s creation x. The impact of robots on human emotions
Paragraph A ______
Paragraph B ______
Paragraph C ______
Paragraph D ______
Paragraph E ______
Paragraph F ______
Questions 7-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? In boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet, write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
ASIMO was built to work entirely on its own without any external control.
Some people believe humanoid robots can be as much a part of life as humans.
Kismet can recognize and respond to human emotions.
Cog was designed based on the measurements of an MIT researcher’s body.
ASIMO is considered to be more intelligent than robots developed at MIT.
Japan is planning to use humanoid robots in various professional roles.
Robots like Kismet and Cog are designed primarily to replace human companionship.
Paragraph A - Heading: "i. Introduction to ASIMO" Answer: i Location: Paragraph A Reference: Describes ASIMO, its abilities, and public reaction.
Paragraph B - Heading: "v. MIT’s focus on human-like interaction" Answer: v Location: Paragraph B Reference: Discusses MIT’s Kismet robot, its facial expressions, and human interaction.
Paragraph C - Heading: "vii. Developing intelligence through interaction" Answer: vii Location: Paragraph C Reference: Talks about Cog learning from the environment using sensors.
Paragraph D - Heading: "iii. ASIMO vs. MIT’s robots" Answer: iii Location: Paragraph D Reference: Compares ASIMO’s engineering feats with MIT’s interactive robots.
Paragraph E - Heading: "x. Practical applications of humanoid robots" Answer: x Location: Paragraph E Reference: Mentions how humanoid robots can be used in daily tasks and specialized roles.
Paragraph F - Heading: "vi. The philosophical debate on human-like robots" Answer: vi Location: Paragraph F Reference: Discusses human creativity vs. concerns about robots replacing human companionship.
ASIMO can operate independently. Answer: FALSE Location: Paragraph A Reference: ASIMO is remote-controlled and does not act autonomously.
Kismet can express emotions like fear and happiness. Answer: TRUE Location: Paragraph B Reference: Kismet has facial expressions like happy, sad, frightened, and disgusted.
Cog was built to resemble an actual researcher. Answer: TRUE Location: Paragraph C Reference: Cog’s proportions were measured from a real researcher.
MIT’s robots are designed only for research, not real-world applications. Answer: NOT GIVEN Location: No specific mention. Reference: The passage discusses research but does not explicitly say MIT’s robots will not have real-world uses.
Japan is developing robots for elderly care. Answer: TRUE Location: Paragraph E Reference: Japan aims to use robots for tasks like medical assistance.
The public fears that robots will take over human roles completely. Answer: NOT GIVEN Location: No specific mention. Reference: The passage discusses concerns about human-robot interactions but does not confirm a general public fear.
The creation of humanoid robots reflects both human creativity and concerns. Answer: TRUE Location: Paragraph F Reference: Discusses human ingenuity but also concerns about replacing human relationships.
