Introduction to Emerging Technologies
Primary 6 · Science and Elementary Technology
Introduction to Emerging Technologies
Lesson 2 of 5
25 min
Let's begin
At a science fair, Keza puts on a headset that covers her eyes. Suddenly she is "standing" at the bottom of the ocean. When she turns her head, fish swim past. Next to her, Ishimwe points a phone at a picture of a heart in his science book, and a beating 3D heart appears on the screen, sitting on top of the real page.
Keza is using virtual reality. Ishimwe is using augmented reality. What is the difference? Today you will meet the main types of emerging technology and learn to choose the right one for a problem.
Virtual reality is computer technology that makes you feel you are somewhere else. You wear a headset with a screen in front of your eyes and speakers for sound. When you move your head, the picture changes, so it feels as if you are really there. The place can be real (a tour of another country) or imaginary (a game).
Uses in learning: a class can "visit" Volcanoes National Park, travel inside the human body, or explore the deep sea. Pilots and doctors also practise in VR, where a mistake hurts nobody.
Augmented reality shows you the real place you are in, but adds computer pictures or information on top of it. You usually look through a phone camera or special glasses. Examples: pointing a phone at a sign to see it translated, seeing a 3D model rise up from a book page, or games where characters appear in your real street.
| Virtual reality (VR) | Augmented reality (AR) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | A computer-made place that replaces the real world | The real world with computer things added |
| What you use | A headset that covers your eyes | A phone, tablet or see-through glasses |
Most robots have four parts: a body, motors to move, sensors to "feel" the world (light, touch, distance), and a controller (a small computer) that runs the program. With a school robotics kit, pupils build a small robot and then program it, for example to follow a line or stop before it hits a wall.
A 3D printer makes a solid object by building it up layer by layer, usually from melted plastic. First someone designs the object on a computer. 3D printers can quickly make spare parts, models for lessons, toys, and even artificial hands made to fit one person exactly. Since 2003 they have become much cheaper.
Smart devices have sensors and connect to the internet: a watch that counts heartbeats, a sensor that measures air pollution in a city, or a water meter that reports leaks.
Emerging technologies do not stay the same. The first computers filled a whole room; today a phone in your pocket is far more powerful. 3D printers, drones and VR headsets are getting cheaper, smaller and better every year, and as they get cheaper, more people use them. One day they may be as ordinary as a radio.
| Problem | A good emerging technology |
|---|---|
| A health centre across the hills needs medicine within an hour, and the road is washed away. | A delivery drone |
| A farmer cannot walk all over a big farm to spot sick crops. | A drone with a camera |
| Pupils want to see inside a volcano safely. | Virtual reality |
| A plastic part for a school machine is not sold in any shop. | A 3D printer |
| A factory job means lifting very hot metal all day. | A robot |
To choose, ask: What exactly is the problem? What does each technology do best? Is it safe, and can the community afford it?
Tip
VR or AR? Virtual reality takes you Very far away: the real world disappears. Augmented reality Adds things to the real world you can still see.
Answers
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The exercises (Try it yourself and the practice questions) are written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Keza wears a headset that covers her eyes. She cannot see the room around her and feels she is at the bottom of the ocean. What is she using?
