Robots and Drones: Past, Present, and Future

Science Comics

by Mairghread Scott, Jacob Chabot (Illustrator)

In factories! In the sky! In your cars and phones! In your own home! Robots are everywhere! And they have been for a lot longer than you might realize.

From tea-serving robots in feudal Japan to modern rovers exploring Mars, robots have been humanity's partners, helpers, and protectors for centuries! Join one of the world's earliest robots, a mechanical bird named Pouli, as he explores where robots came from, how they work, and where they’re going in this informative and hilarious new book! Ever dreamt of building your own best friend? It might be easier than you think!

Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic―dinosaurs, coral reefs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, flying machines, and more. These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you're a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty year old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you!

Genres: Science, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Comics, Middle Grade, Robots, Technology

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2018

Reviews

[Pink STREAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great book about robotics, electronics, and drones. LOVED IT! If you already know the concepts it is great to review them with this book because it makes you imagine them easier with the comics. As an example the cartoon about the resistor was pretty cute, the resistor was a guard in a party stopping some of the electricity. If you want to learn about robots and drones this would be a great book to start but don't worry about understanding everything at the first glance. Maybe first starting from learning the concepts from a course or from the web might be better rather than reading the book. This will help you really understand the book. Or if you are trying to learn you can first read the history parts of this book and after that, as you go along you can do research as you read. As an example when you come to the part about the resistors first search the web about what resistors are, then read the book. That way you will learn many things and concepts. Even though there are many books to learn robots and drones like this one, still the best way to learn about robots and drones is to MAKE YOUR OWN.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is full of information mostly on robots and while it was good there were parts I got a bit confused such as when they shift to pulleys, levers, and screws. I also got lost when they had different charters with the Swiss, French, and some other automaton inventor dude. The author usually buries the speakers name within the information and I kept rereading but couldn't figure it out until I googled the guys separately. The Glossary at the end explained the pulleys, levers, and screws as simple machines that were a precursor to robots. Then the light bulb went on. I don't read graphic novels that often so while I found it confusing, others may not. I wanted more transitions but that isn't the format with the speech bubble limitations. I thought overall the author did a good job moving the text along on a complex topic. My students really like the Science comics series. The author's message mainly covered that technology is always changing and evolving while touching a bit on the controversial side of it.

[Jai M {Cat Crazy Dragon } · Rating 4 out of 5]

This way more factual and older than some of the others in the series. No fictional story added to soften the technical facts and information overload. But, for those inclined (my 9yr old niece), it's apparently heaven.

[Kristen Valenzuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute nonfiction graphic novel. It was very simple and basic information about he history of robots and drones. It even included some of the worries and ethical questions about their use. Great starter book for interested kids.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun way to learn about robots.

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Future Is Now!

This volume is part of the "Science Comics" series. The series started with some predictable topics - dinosaurs, volcanoes, and so on - but it seems to be expanding to cover less obvious and more "scientific" topics. Upcoming titles address rockets, sharks, and trees, (not all in one book of course, although that could be a good book), which seems to cast the net fairly wide. I mention the series mostly because this "Robots and Drones" book was intriguing and rewarding enough to make the entire series potentially interesting.

This book struck me as awfully ambitious. It isn't just photos, drawings and snappy patter. Unusual for a book like this, it has serious and substantive content first and jokey asides later. The tone is an engaging combination of earnest, gung-ho, and into-the-future!, which makes the book, (intentionally I think), both informative and inspirational.

The layout is comic book style. There are generally three to six full color panels per page. Drawings are comics/realistic and usually illustrate or act out whatever fact or principle is being introduced. Our host/narrator is a bird named Pouli that is modeled after an ancient mechanical bird circa 350 BCE. This amiable guide leads the reader through the history of robotics and drones. Along the way we define what a "robot" is, (which is trickier and more subtle than you might imagine). We look at early robots, simple robots from day-to-day life, (i.e., arguably your coffeemaker and certainly your Roomba vacuum cleaner). We consider the differences among a remote controlled toy car, a computer, and a true robot.

From there we take a side trip to simple machines of which a robot is constructed, (screw, lever, pulley), and consider automata, (say, the Jacquard loom). This is fairly sophisticated stuff, but it is presented and illustrated clearly. And so it goes - functional components, on-board intelligence, even different levels of programming and language are addressed. Artificial intelligence, robots in popular culture, do-it-yourself robot building, drone racing, "intelligent" houses, Asimov's rules of robotics - the list of topics goes on and on.

It seems to me that any kid interested in robots, computers, engineering, drones, and the like would find a lot to like in this book. It is kid friendly, what with cheerful Pouli and its clear narrative, but the book is never patronizing. Some jokey/Dummies-style books can be overloaded with dumb jokes and puns and the like, but this book just has occasional "funny" bits that the reader can take or leave depending on his or her taste.

So, this book was instructive, accessible, and entertaining, and covered a topic that you usually don't see that much, (compared to, say, sharks). I'd feel good about handing this to any budding scientist, or really to any kid interested in how things work.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

[Maximilian Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book because it was very Very VERY informative. It had TONS of information in it. It was about robots and drones. In this book you go on an adventure with one of the earliest robots, Pouli! He (or she) goes to all of the major robots in history and tells you about them. At the end Pouli gets an UPGRADE.

[OpenBookSociety.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://openbooksociety.com/article/sc...


Title: SCIENCE COMICS: Robots and Drones – Past, Present, and Future
Series: Science Comics
By: Mairghread Scott
ISBN: 9781626727922
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra


Summary:

In factories! In the sky! In your cars and phones! In your own home! Robots are everywhere! And they have been for a lot longer than you might realize.

From tea-serving robots in feudal Japan to modern rovers exploring Mars, robots have been humanity’s partners, helpers, and protectors for centuries! Join one of the world’s earliest robots, a mechanical bird named Pouli, as he explores where robots came from, how they work, and where they’re going in this informative and hilarious new book! Ever dreamt of building your own best friend? It might be easier than you think!

Review:

This latest installment of Science Comics: Robots and Drones by Mairghread Scott was an interesting and delightful introduction to the history of robots and drones. As with previous books in the Science Comics series, this graphic novel is written for younger readers, though it was perfectly told for this reader, whom has limited knowledge of robots and drones. The use of humour throughout was nice.

The reader is shown many ways that robots are used in our daily lives. This certainly made me more aware of the quantity of robots in our lives and how convenient they make routine tasks. For example -> there was a dialogue involving Tim and T1M – both performing the same routine task (attaching nuts to bolts) where Tim can only perform the tasks before getting tired and bored, whereas the robot does not have such constraints. We differentiate the tasks assigned to both to make sure:

“Nowadays, we like to have humans like Tim do complex, creative jobs, like improving our technology. While robots, like T1M help build that technology.”

Discussions clarifying the difference between Robots and Drones was all encompassing. I would like to think that now I truly do understand the difference! I enjoyed the use of examples to solidify the understanding of what drones are and how they are different from robots in use currently:

“Of course, a lot of drones are also robots. They get general commands from their humans, but they also perform a lot of functions on their own. The best examples are the rovers NASA has on Mars right now, Spirit and Opportunity.”

There was terminology new to me and I found the explanations and illustrations that went along with those were easily understood and very entertaining. I found I was fully engaged throughout the reading of this book.

The Hall of Awesome Robots – 25 Robots you should know. A special section at the end of the book…a very entertaining addition, providing a chronology of robots throughout history from the early 1900’s to present day. The side comments of humour added so much to my enjoyment of the book.

There is also a section at the end of the book with a brief, yet more in-depth discussion about drones. And then of course, the Glossary, which is a good refresher of the words used throughout the book.

The illustrations by Jacob Chabot were very good. I really enjoyed the variations between the characters and time periods when discussing robots through the ages.

All in all, I really enjoyed this edition of Science Comics and recommend it to those wanting to learn more about robots and drones and those just looking to refresh their knowledge.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest volume of Science Comics takes a deeper look at robots. With Poulli, a birdlike robot that's also the first machine to ever fly through the sky (back in 350 BCE!), as our guide, readers get a guided tour through the history of robotics, and learn what is versus what isn't a robot. New, programmable coffeemakers? Robots! Remote-controlled cars - not really. Kids get a refresher on simple machines (levels and pulleys) and how those simple concepts formed the building blocks for more complex machines, eventually leading to modern technology, robots, and drones. There's a focus on the good robots and drones can accomplish (for those techno-phobes who see The Terminator as our eventual future) and the human component of computer programming. Isaac Asimov, legendary scientist and science fiction writer who gave us the Three Laws of Robotics, gets some recognition here, too.


There's a nice shout-out to libraries and after-school programs as places to go to learn more about getting into programming and robotics, and some cool pop culture nods that parents will recognize (Star Trek and KITT from Knight Rider, to name a couple). The artwork features diverse characters putting their learning into practice, and the history of robotics covers diverse areas of the world. Poulli is a friendly, cute guide that will appeal to readers, and the language - as with all Science Comics - is easy to understand but never dumbs down information.

There's a Hall of Awesome Robots, spotlighting 25 robots from history; a closer look at how drones work, and a glossary of new terms to finish up the volume.

Me? I immediately add the newest Science Comics to my shopping cart ; they're a great add for my "True Story" nonfiction section, where I put books that may get lost on the actual nonfiction shelves, but will grab attention on their own. Plus, my True Story section is next to my Graphic Novels shelf, so it's a win all around.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. These Science Comics are just about as irresistible as a potato chip from a newly-opened bag. Just like the chip, readers take one book and they find themselves drawn into reading more, more, more. Because the science is depicted in a graphic novel form with plenty of color and panels of different shape, it is easy to understand the concepts being explored in the pages of the books in the series. Here, readers learn quite a lot about robots and drones, which may be likely to change the future. But the book challenges some assumptions they may have about these objects and provides some historical background about early robots. From Pouli, a mechanized bird invented in 350 BCE in Italy and then on to the karakuri ningyo in the 1600s in Japan and all the way to modern times when rovers travel across the terrain of planets and virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri respond to the voices of their owners, it's clear that robots have been part of our lives longer than we realized and have played a more important role than most of us realize. The book also explores some fears associated with robots and raises ethical questions about artificial intelligence and at what point machines become more than tools. Back matter includes snippets about 25 interesting and noteworthy robots. No matter the age, readers will learn something from this book. I didn't find a single page dry or uninteresting and was fascinated at its contents, even with sections explaining how interested youngsters may get involved in robotics clubs and learn more.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science Comics: Robots and Drones: Past, Present, and Future, by Mairghread Scott, illustrated by Jacob Chabot. 121 pages. NON-FICTION/GRAPHIC NOVEL First Second (Roaring Brook Press), 2018. $13.

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ADVISABLE.

KID APPEAL: HIGH

This is an interesting explanation about robots and their history. A robotic bird takes the reader on a tour of how robots have historically evolved. Then there is an explanation of what composes a robot. The ethics of robots and where they will fit in our future is covered as well. At the end there is a four page glossary with definitions as well as 25 robots that are well known.

I usually really like the Science Comic graphic novels, but I didn’t enjoy this one as well. I felt like it briefed over subjects that I thought were interesting like military drones, but spent a lot of time on the make-up of robots. That said the explanations were basic and made complicated ideas easy to understand. The illustrations were well done and helped with the text explanations. I think most kids understand a lot about drones and robots already, so either that will draw them to this book or they will feel like they already know the information and be bored.

C. Peterson
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I think of robots and drones, ancient Greece doesn’t come to mind. In fact, an early kind of robot called an automaton let Greek people drop in a coin to get water. In the 1600s Japan, a moveable robot could serve tea and collect empty cups. These stories and others covering past and present-day inventions are told in Robots and Drones: Past, Present, and Future by Mairghread Scott and Jacob Chabot.

Part of the Science Comics graphic novel series, Robots and Drones provides a great introduction to young readers aged 9 to 12 about these gadgets and the role they play in our lives. It also encourages them to get into building their own through robotics groups and home kits. The narrator is a robotic bird that takes readers on a journey to help them learn how robotics work. It also imagines what some inventions will bring in the future, and encourages kids to dream up new ones. A glossary in the back defines the terminology.

Robots and Drones does a great job of making science seem accessible, and it seems likely to encourage kids to get interested in learning more and experimenting on their own. I expect kids will love it.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science Comics: Robots and Drones is a scientific graphic novel (non-fiction) that explores and illustrates the development of and daily use of robots and prototypes in our modern daily life. A robotic bird, is introduced, and it is the character that carries you throughout each page of the book, along with a bit of story telling and humor to capture interest along the way. This makes higher level learning possible, fun, and easy to absorb, as it explains concepts in entertaining ways. This is a high tech topic that will have high interest for avid readers, and even kids who struggle or need more visuals to stimulate their learning process. Expect anything from coffeemakers and robotic vacuum cleaners to drones. Easy to read, scientific information about this significant field is delivered in a non-threatening fun way. This will make scientific geeks out of anyone. The Get to Know Your Universe Science Comics series, especially Science Comics: Robots and Drones is highly recommended for school and public libraries, home education and for gifts. This review was for a pre-pub NetGalley edition for review.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science Comics continues to expand the list of topics available, this time exploring the fascinating field of robots and drones. Going back to 350 B.C., the author traces the development of machines created to imitate the flight of birds up to today's military drones and drone racing. Early automatons that had only one possible response to input are compared with today's assistants like Siri and Alexa which can complete a range of tasks. Along the way there are explanations of the difference between a robot and a remote-controlled machine, and examples of robots we encounter in everyday life. There is also a discussion of the fear many people have of robots, with portrayals in movies such as the Terminator series or in novels such as Isaac Asimov's I, Robot.

This series follows in the tradition of the Magic School Bus and the Max Axiom books by sharing science concepts through a graphic format. In this case, the comic style illustrations bring the history of robots and drones to life for readers. There are plenty of facts, and a helpful glossary. This book is an excellent introduction and offers enough details to give readers a good place to start researching the topic more deeply on their own.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[Ioana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Roboți și drone. Trecut, prezent și viitor" de Mairghread Scott și Jacob Chabot (trad. Irina Georgescu) face parte din noua serie de cărți interesante și distractive de la Academia Arthur - Știință în comicsuri 🤖
Știați că prima mașinărie ce a zburat vreodată pe cer a fost în anul 350 î. H.? Nici eu 🐦 Dar știați că păpușile karakuri ningyō din Japonia a secolului XVII sunt considerate primii roboți mobili autonomi? Nici eu 🎎 Cartea are o mulțime de informații interesante ce ar fascina nu doar ochiul tânăr, cât și adulții, indiferent dacă sunteți pasionați de robotică sau nu 🤖 Mai multe despre carte am scris într-un articol publicat pe blog ✍️

https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2025/...

[Janie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of the Science Comics series, they are fun and packed with information. I always learn something new from these books even though they are meant for kids! The subtle humor and easy to read format make these books great for reluctant readers and perfect for classrooms.

Robots and Drones explains the many subtle differences between the two with simple distinctions. The book also gives a brief introduction to programming that most adults could benefit from reading. I love the illustrator’s attention to diversity in the characters, representation is important, especially for young readers, and I’m so happy to see illustrators embracing this concept!

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was awesome! Children's educational graphic novels are my new favorite genre. Here, obviously, I learned all about robots and drones - their history (which goes back way farther than you would think!), what defines them, how to make them, the future, etc. Gave me a lot of insights into what counts as a robot (they're everywhere! from your coffee maker to the blind-spot warning on your car!) and I think it would really encourage children to try their hand at building their own, if they are interested. Bonus points for the diversity of background characters - so many women represented in this STEM field plus color and religious diversity too!

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short little comic type format....brightly colored panels that offer great information... I learned a lot, myself! It offers all that the title promises...info about robots & drones, past, present & future. Simple explanations that young people will be able to understand too, I think? I think a 3.5 star rating is more accurate for me, but I rounded up to reward the fun educational aspect!
I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway Program...in return for my own fair/honest review.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting but easy enough for a child to understand. The repetition of the key ideas (like what makes a robot a robot) will help students understand the concepts yet this repetition was done in a natural way.
I didn’t realize the technical definition of a robot until reading this graphic novel.
I liked how the book encouraged the reader to join clubs and/or get involved with building their own robots. I especially liked the library plug 😉
I also appreciated how the characters (from the modern day portions at least) were diverse in a way that was natural and not forced.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This is a really solid and engaging introduction to robots. It covers a lot of historical ground, manages to go over how they work and what the future could be like, and it goes over ways kids can get involved in making them or imagining that future. It doesn't cover drones quite as thoroughly, but it covers the most basic aspects.

Definitely recommended for any science-y kids. Also recommended for adults who don't know much about robots, want to learn, and need an accessible foot in the door.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was super informative and the graphic novel story to tell the story of robots and drones complimented the information so well. I followed the narrative and learned elements of how STEM integrates with ethics and morality especially as we move from present to future. And I liked the last section ranking the innovations through history and their contributions to moving the technology forward.

I've always been enamored with the Science Comics series because they present the information uniformly but uniquely while packing so much in them.

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

The joke is: Having computers ask if we are human is the greatest irony. However, in this book, you will learn a robot HAS a computer in them, but a computer is not a robot. Along with other facts on robots (from the Iliad to tomorrow) the world of science fiction becomes science fact. While also includes drones, that information is limited. Touching on some of the controversy around both robots adaptions and drones, this is more an introduction to the subject than "everything you'll ever need to know."

[Anastasiia Polieshko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Видання українською чомусь немає на Гудрідз, тому відгук буде тут. Продовжую купляти книжки знайомим дітям і потім читати їх сама=))
Комікс загалом цікавий та симпатичний. Мені здалася трохи сумбурною історична частина, ну але хто зна - може дітям такої уривчастої інформації і досить. Потім раптом було кілька сторінок зі словами та термінами складними навіть для мене, а книга як би 6+. Але в цілому тема розкрита досить широко, викликає інтерес для подальшого дослідження і пробуджує бажання якщо не створити власного робота, то хоча б придбати готового дрона.

[Stacey M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting graphic novel about robts and drones. I really like this series for kids. It has a lot of great information and the art is pretty good. This wasn't my favorite of the series, but if you have a kid interested in technology this may be a good fit for them. I recieved a free copy this book from Net Galley in exchange for a review. This title is scheduled to be released at the end of March.

[Liza]

Hi, everyone!
I'm working for a Russian website dedicated to children's books and children's reading Papmambook.ru. We've been building the English version of the website. Recently we've published a review of Robots and Drones , where the author describes reading the book with her young son along with two other books about robots.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly adequate graphic novel on robots and drones. This kind of felt like it was working too hard, like it was covering too many audiences. I would have preferred this be more than one book conceptually. So an easier volume that pointed to the next. This would have been an opportunity for a strong afterword as well. Still, the framing was light but useful. The art added to the story, and it only got lost in the details a little. 3.5 of 5.

[Benjamin]

How? Another Science Comics read with the kiddo.

What? It's a view of robots and drones (in the sense of remotely piloted vehicles with some autonomous sensor/behavior).

Yeah, so? Honestly, we picked this up months ago, then got distracted by something else, and then we finally finished it. My impression is that there's a lot of facts, and there's really some blurred lines between autonomous and remotely-controlled stuff.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

wish I could have liked this better.
It's a LOT of information
a nine year old loses it in translation

this is just not a quality piece of literature I would recommend purchasing.

graphic novels are more popular, and coding and robotics is an engaging and interesting topic... this just fell short on expectations. Illustrations were choppy and thrown together

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Science Comics series generally aren't thrilling, but they're almost always interesting. Robots and Drones is one of the few exceptions. The focus is more on current applications for robots and how they're programmed, less on the intriguing history of robots (although I loved the Japanese tea-serving robot). It's a little bit too much science and not enough comics.

[Layan - ليان · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off let me say that I'm a computer science major, and very much familiar with robots. I got this book out of curiosity, and I got to say, it is very well made.
I will for sure recommend this book to kids who are interested in ~/science/computers/robots. I would've absolutely loved this book as a kid, so I'm glad a book like this exist.