Three seconds behind

Text C: an original fiction extract.

The rover looked much smaller when Sora saw it through its own camera. On the classroom floor it was a shoebox-sized machine with rubber wheels. On the screen, its front bumper occupied half the world. The robotics club had built a short course of cardboard rocks and low ramps for the open day. Sora's job was to drive from behind a screen, using only the camera image. Visitors would watch the rover itself.

At the first practice, she drove straight up the small ramp and stopped within the chalk circle. Her teammate Dev cheered and taped a paper flag to the rover's back. Then their tutor switched on the three-second communication delay. The club wanted to demonstrate why a distant operator could not steer as though sitting in a vehicle. The room did not become farther away, but every command and picture now arrived late.

Sora pressed left when the camera showed the first cardboard rock. Nothing appeared to happen. She pressed again. The rover eventually turned so far that it faced the side wall, and she corrected in the opposite direction. From beyond the screen, a visitor laughed. Dev started calling instructions, but the tutor asked him to stop: a live voice from beside the machine would remove the very difficulty they were demonstrating. Sora put both hands on the table and let the last command finish.

During the pause, she drew three boxes on a scrap of paper: send, wait, check. Dev brought her the course measurements, which they had originally used only to space the obstacles. They agreed on short planned movements rather than continuous corrections. The camera still hid the rear wheels, and a slight drift meant that the paper plan was not a guarantee. Each completed movement had to be checked before another was sent.

The second run took four times as long as the first practice. At the ramp, Sora stopped well short, checked the angle and moved again. One wheel climbed onto the cardboard edge. She waited for a full picture before reversing. Behind the screen, the visitors had become quiet. A child asked whether the rover was thinking. Dev explained that the waiting was part of the human operator's work, not a sign that the machine had decided to be careful.

When the rover reached the chalk circle, its flag had fallen off. Sora could see the empty strip of tape on the screen. Dev asked whether they should send it back for the flag so the finish would look better. She laughed, then checked the time available for the next visitors. They left the flag where it was and added a second display showing the delayed commands. The tutor asked what they wanted people to notice. Sora pointed to the moments in which she had learned not to press anything.

You are Sora. After the open day, a school reporter interviews you. Write your responses to these three questions only.

In your response:

• What made driving the rover different from what you first expected?
• How did you and the team change your approach?
• What do you think visitors should understand about the demonstration?

Base your response on Text C, developing its ideas in your own words. Write about 250 to 300 words. Up to 10 marks are available for reading and up to 10 marks for writing.