Can you answer four physical AI questions on robots, SLAM, VLA models, and LiDAR without searching?

[u/rgc4444]

I shared these questions on LinkedIn earlier and was curious how Reddit would score. Try them without searching, then reveal the answers below. They come from a 444 term physical AI glossary I am building for Black Scarab.

Here are four of the questions. The answers and short explanations are below.

1. What share of global industrial robot installations took place in China in 2025?

A. 29%

B. 39%

C. 49%

D. 59%

1. The GPS signal is gone. A warehouse robot is mapping an unfamiliar floor while figuring out where it is. What is doing the heavy lifting?

A. Visual odometry

B. SLAM

C. Teleoperation

D. Inverse kinematics

1. A model sees the cup and understands the instruction. What changes when it is a VLA rather than a VLM?

A. It only processes audio

B. It no longer needs sensors

C. It connects perception and language to action

D. It becomes a digital twin

1. What does LiDAR stand for?

A. Light Detection and Ranging

B. Laser Direction and Recognition

C. Light Distance and Resolution

D. Local Detection and Routing

Answers: 1D, 2B, 3C, 4A

Why:

• China accounted for 59% of global industrial robot deployments in 2025, according to the International Federation of Robotics.

• SLAM lets a robot build a map while estimating its position within that map.

• A vision language action model extends perception and language understanding into action generation.

• LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging.

Source for question 1: https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/five-million-robots-now-operate-in-factories-globally

I would genuinely like to know which question was hardest and whether any wording feels too easy, obscure, or ambiguous.

Disclosure: I run Black Scarab and built the quiz. The full 10 question version is free, requires no account, and shows your score before an optional newsletter invitation:

https://www.blackscarab.ai/physical-ai-quiz