ST2: Lesson 5: Precision Robotics and Real Time Control

Why milliseconds matter: When robot control fails, it’s often because the system couldn’t think fast enough.

This KS3 / lower secondary computing lesson asks students to step into the role of robotics engineers solving a failure-risk scenario. They explore how robot control steps are processed, which instructions are stored in cache vs RAM, and how execution timing affects the system’s outcome. Learners work through a fault diagnosis task, balance performance trade-offs, and apply real-time system logic to optimise outcomes.

This lesson builds on ST2_4 by applying performance-based processor knowledge to a live robotics control scenario, with new emphasis on CPU execution time, real-time memory choices, and failure thresholds.

Through this, students uncover:

• How CPU speed directly influences a robot’s ability to respond in real time
• What cache memory does to accelerate repeated instruction handling
• How RAM introduces delay when used for time-sensitive tasks
• The concept of processor optimisation under pressure
• Why instruction speed and hardware design choices can make or break a system

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