Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{About|mechanical robots|other uses of the term|robot (disambiguation)|software agents|Bot (disambiguation){{!}}Bot}}
{{Disputed|Edited Lead|date=April 2012}}
[[File:HONDA ASIMO.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[ASIMO]] (2000) at the [[Expo 2005]], a [[humanoid robot]]]]
[[File:FANUC 6-axis welding robots.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Articulated robot|Articulated]] [[welding robot]]s used in a factory]]
A '''robot''' is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually an [[Electromechanics|electro-mechanical machine]] that is guided by a [[computer program]] or [[electronic circuit]]ry. Robots can be [[autonomous robot|autonomous]], semi-autonomous or remotely controlled{{FACT|date=January 2013}} and range from humanoids such as [[ASIMO]] and [[TOPIO]] to [[Nanorobotics|nano robots]], [[Swarm robotics|'swarm' robots]], and [[industrial robot]]s. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or [[Agency (philosophy)|thought]] of its own. The branch of technology that deals with robots is called [[robotics]].
<!-- Basic historical background from mechanical aids to automata -->
Machinery was initially used for repetitive functions, such as [[Water wheel|lifting water]] and [[Wind mill|grinding grain]]. With technological advances more complex machines were developed, such as those invented by [[Hero of Alexandria]] in the 1st century AD, and the [[automata]] of [[Al-Jazari]] in the 12th century AD. The robots made by such inventors were more for the purpose of entertainment than for performing work.
As mechanical techniques developed through the Industrial age, more practical applications were proposed by [[Nikola Tesla]], who in 1898 designed a radio-controlled boat. <!-- Electronic development to present day --> Electronics evolved into the driving force of development with the advent of the first electronic [[autonomous robot]]s created by [[William Grey Walter]] in Bristol, [[England]] in 1948. The first digital and [[Computer program|programmable]] robot was invented by [[George Devol]] in 1954 and was named the [[Unimate]]. It was sold to [[General Motors]] in 1961 where it was used to lift pieces of hot metal from [[die casting]] machines at the [[Inland Fisher Guide Plant (New Jersey)|Inland Fisher Guide Plant]] in the [[West Trenton, New Jersey|West Trenton]] section of [[Ewing Township, New Jersey]].<ref>Pearce, Jeremy. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/business/george-devol-developer-of-robot-arm-dies-at-99.html "George C. Devol, Inventor of Robot Arm, Dies at 99"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 15, 2011. Accessed February 7, 2012. "In 1961, General Motors put the first Unimate arm on an assembly line at the company’s plant in Ewing Township, N.J., a suburb of Trenton. The device was used to lift and stack die-cast metal parts taken hot from their molds."</ref>
Robots have replaced humans{{Citation needed|reason=Unless a reliable source can be cited that applies to the modern era, this assertion would make more sense in the previous paragraph, where replacement of labour is discussed. Modern robotics is mainly practiced in jurisdictions that abolished slavery well before the era being discussed in this paragraph.|date=November 2011}} in the assistance of performing those repetitive and dangerous tasks which humans prefer not to do, or are unable to do due to size limitations, or even those such as in outer space or at the bottom of the sea where humans could not survive the extreme environments.
<!-- Social aspects -->
There are concerns about the increasing use of robots and their role in society. Robots are blamed for rising unemployment as they replace workers in some functions. The use of robots in military combat raises ethical concerns. The possibility of robot autonomy and potential repercussions has been addressed in fiction and may be a realistic concern in the future.
==Overview==
The word ''robot'' can refer to both physical robots and [[Virtuality|virtual]] [[software agent]]s, but the latter are usually referred to as [[Internet bot|bots]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atis.org/tg2k/_bot.html|title=Telecom glossary "bot"|publisher=Alliance for Telecommunications Solutions|date=2001-02-28|accessdate=2007-09-05|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070202121608/http://www.atis.org/tg2k/_bot.html|archivedate=2008-07-14}}</ref> There is no consensus on which machines qualify as robots but there is general agreement among experts, and the public, that robots tend to do some or all of the following: move around, operate a mechanical limb, sense and manipulate their environment, and exhibit intelligent behavior — especially behavior which mimics humans or other animals.
There is no one definition of ''robot'' that satisfies everyone and many people have their own.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.virtuar.com/click/2005/robonexus/index.htm|first=Igor|last=Polk|title=RoboNexus 2005 robot exhibition virtual tour|publisher=Robonexus Exhibition 2005|date=2005-11-16|accessdate=2007-09-10}}</ref> For example [[Joseph Engelberger]], a pioneer in industrial robotics, once remarked: "I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one."<ref>{{Cite web|first=Tom|last=Harris|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/robot.htm|title=How Robots Work|publisher=How Stuff Works|accessdate=2007-09-10}}</ref> According to the [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] a robot is "any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort, though it may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a humanlike manner." [[Merriam-Webster]] describes a robot as a "machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being", or a "device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks", or a "mechanism guided by automatic controls".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/robot|title=Robot |publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|accessdate=2008-08-04}}</ref>
<div align="center"><gallery widths="280" perrow="4">
Image:Simplified robottypes.svg|The various types of robots
Image:Knight2000 ex107.jpg|[[KITT]] (a fictitious robot) is mentally anthropomorphic
Image:Asimo look new design.jpg|ASIMO is physically anthropomorphic
</gallery></div>
===Defining characteristics===
While there is no single correct definition of ''robot'',<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.cbc.ca/technology/technology-blog/2007/07/your_view_how_would_you_define.html|title=Your View: How would you define a robot?| publisher=CBC News|date=2007-07-16| accessdate=2007-09-05}}</ref> a typical robot will have several, or possibly all, of the following characteristics.
It is an electric machine which has some ability to interact with physical objects and to be given electronic programming to do a specific task or to do a whole range of tasks or actions. It may also have some ability to perceive and absorb data on physical objects, or on its local physical environment, or to process data, or to respond to various stimuli. This is in contrast to a simple mechanical device such as a [[gear]] or a [[hydraulic press]] or any other item which has no processing ability and which does tasks through purely [[mechanics|mechanical]] processes and motion.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
;Mental agency
For robotic engineers, the physical appearance of a machine is less important than the way its actions are [[control system|controlled]]. The more the control system seems to have [[agency (philosophy)|agency]] of its own, the more likely the machine is to be called a robot. An important feature of agency is the ability to make choices. Higher-level cognitive functions, though, are not necessary, as shown by [[ant robotics|ant robots]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[clockwork]] car is never considered a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A mechanical device that is able to perform some preset motions but is unable to adapt (an automaton) is rarely considered a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A remotely operated vehicle is sometimes considered a robot (or [[telerobotics|telerobot]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ranier.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/realrobots.html|title=Real Robots on the Web|publisher=NASA Space Telerobotics Program|date=1999-10-15|accessdate=2007-09-06}}</ref>
* A car with an onboard computer, like [[Bigtrak]], which could drive in a programmable sequence, might be called a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[Intelligent car|self-controlled car]] which could sense its environment and make driving decisions based on this information, such as the 1990s [[driverless car]]s of [[Ernst Dickmanns]] or the entries in the [[DARPA Grand Challenge]], would quite likely be called a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[sentience|sentient]] car, like the fictional [[KITT]], which can make decisions, navigate freely and converse fluently with a human, is usually considered a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
;Physical agency
However, for many [[layman|laymen]], if a machine appears able to control its arms or limbs, and especially if it appears [[wikt:anthropomorphic|anthropomorphic]] or [[wikt:zoomorphic|zoomorphic]] (e.g. [[ASIMO]] or [[Aibo]]), it would be called a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[player piano]] is rarely characterized as a robot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wyastone.co.uk/nrl/gp_robot.html|title=The Grand Piano Series: The History of The Robot|publisher=Nimbus Records|accessdate=2007-09-08}}</ref>
* A [[CNC]] milling machine is very occasionally characterized as a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[factory robot|factory automation arm]] is almost always characterized as an industrial robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* An autonomous wheeled or tracked device, such as a self-guided rover or self-guided vehicle, is almost always characterized as a mobile robot or service robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[zoomorphic]] mechanical toy, like [[Roboraptor]], is usually characterized as a robot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/29/roboraptor-review-this-one-has-teeth/|title=Roboraptor review - this one has teeth - in the discussion below, several people talk about RoboRaptor as being a real robot|author=Marc Perton|date=2005-07-29|publisher=Engadget|accessdate=2008-08-07}}</ref>
* A mechanical humanoid, like [[ASIMO]], is almost always characterized as a robot, usually as a service robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
Even for a 3-axis CNC milling machine using the same control system as a robot arm, it is the arm which is almost always called a robot, while the CNC machine is usually just a machine. Having eyes can also make a difference in whether a machine is called a robot, since humans instinctively connect eyes with sentience. However, simply being anthropomorphic is not a sufficient criterion for something to be called a robot. A robot must do something; an inanimate object shaped like ASIMO would not be considered a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
==History==
{{Main|History of robots}}
The idea of automata originates in the mythologies of many cultures around the world. Engineers and inventors from ancient civilizations, including [[Ancient China]],<ref name="needham volume 2 53">{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|authorlink=Joseph Needham|year=1991|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 2, History of Scientific Thought|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-05800-7}}</ref> [[Ancient Greece]], and [[Ptolemaic Egypt]],<ref name="RoboticHistory1">{{cite web|url=http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~currie/roboadam.htm|title=The History of Robotics|first=Adam|last=Currie|year=1999|accessdate=2007-09-10}}</ref> attempted to build self-operating machines, some resembling animals and humans. Early descriptions of automata include the artificial doves of [[Archytas]],<ref>''Noct. Att. L.'' 10</ref> the artificial birds of [[Mozi]] and [[Lu Ban]],<ref name="needham volume 2 54">Needham, Volume 2, 54.</ref> a "speaking" automaton by [[Hero of Alexandria]], a washstand automaton by [[Philo of Byzantium]], and a human automaton described in the ''Lie Zi''.<ref name="needham volume 2 53"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Timeline of robot and automata development
! Date
! Significance
! Robot name
! Inventor
|-|
| 1st century AD and earlier
| Descriptions of over a hundred machines and automata, including a fire engine, wind organ, coin-operated machine, and steam-powered [[aeliopile]], in ''Pneumatica'' and ''Automata'' by [[Hero of Alexandria|Heron]]
|
| [[Ctesibius of Alexandria|Ctesibius]], [[Philo of Byzantium|Philo]], [[Hero of Alexandria|Heron]], and others
|-
| 1206
| Early programmable automata
| Robot band<ref name=Fowler>{{Cite journal|title=The Museum of Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments|first=Charles B.|last=Fowler|journal=Music Educators Journal|volume=54|issue=2|date=October 1967|pages=45–49|doi=10.2307/3391092|publisher=MENC_ The National Association for Music Education|jstor=3391092}}</ref>
| [[Al-Jazari]]
|-
| c. 1495
| Designs for a humanoid robot
| [[Leonardo's robot|Mechanical knight]]
| [[Leonardo da Vinci]]
|-
| 1738
| Mechanical duck that was able to eat, flap its wings, and excrete
| [[Digesting Duck]]
| [[Jacques de Vaucanson]]
|-
| 19th century
| Japanese mechanical toys that served tea, fired arrows, and painted
| ''Karakuri'' toys
| [[Hisashige Tanaka]]
|-
| (c. 1860)
| Remotely (mechanical) steered clockwork [[fire ship]]
| (''Coastal fireship'')
| Unknown/[[Giovanni Luppis]]
|-
| Early 1870s
| Remotely controlled [[torpedo]]s by [[John Ericsson]] ([[Pneumatics|pneumatic]]), [[John Louis Lay]] (electric wire guided), and [[Victor von Scheliha]] (electric wire guided)<ref name="EdwynGray">Edwyn Gray, Nineteenth-century torpedoes and their inventors, page 18</ref>
| (''torpedo'')
| [[John Ericsson]], [[John Louis Lay]], [[Victor von Scheliha]]
|-
| 1898
| Tesla demonstrates the first radio controlled (wireless) vessel (''torpedo'')
| (''torpedo'')
| [[Nikola Tesla]]
|-
| 1921
| First fictional automata called "robots" appear in the play ''R.U.R.''
| [[Rossum's Universal Robots]]
| [[Karel Čapek]]
|-
| 1928
| Humanoid robot, based on a suit of armor with electrical actuators, exhibited at the annual exhibition of the Model Engineers Society in London
| Eric
| W. H. Richards
|-
| 1930s
| Remotely controlled humanoid robot exhibited at the 1939 and 1940 [[World's Fair]]s
| [[Elektro]]
| [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]]
|-
| 1948
| Simple robots exhibiting biological behaviors<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n09/historia/turtles_i.htm |accessdate=2008-09-25 |title=Imitation of Life: A History of the First Robots}}</ref>
| Elsie and Elmer
| [[William Grey Walter]]
|-
| 1956
| First commercial robot, from the Unimation company founded by [[George Devol]] and [[Joseph Engelberger]], based on Devol's patents<ref>{{Cite journal|accessdate=2008-09-25|last=Waurzyniak|first=Patrick|title=Masters of Manufacturing: Joseph F. Engelberger|journal=Society of Manufacturing Engineers|volume=137|issue=1|date=2006-07|url=http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/find-articles.pl?&ME06ART39&ME&20060709#article}}</ref>
| [[Unimate]]
| [[George Devol]]
|-
| 1961
| First installed industrial robot
| [[Unimate]]
| [[George Devol]]
|-
| 1963
| First palletizing robot<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fujiyusoki.com/English/rekishi.htm|title=Company History|publisher=Fuji Yusoki Kogyo Co.|accessdate=2008-09-12}}</ref>
| Palletizer
| Fuji Yusoki Kogyo
|-
| 1973
| First robot with six electromechanically driven axes<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kuka-robotics.com/group/milestones/1973.htm |title=KUKA Industrial Robot FAMULUS|accessdate=2008-01-10 |work=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ifr.org/uploads/media/History_of_Industrial_Robots_online_brochure_by_IFR_2012.pdf |title=History of Industrial Robots|accessdate=2012-10-27 |work=}}</ref>
| Famulus
| [[KUKA|KUKA Robotics]]
|-
| 1976
| Programmable universal manipulation arm, a Unimation product
| [[Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly|PUMA]]
| [[Victor Scheinman]]
|}
{{hidden end}}
===Ancient beginnings===
Many ancient mythologies include artificial people, such as the mechanical servants built by the Greek god [[Hephaestus]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=h5tKJvApybsC&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=hephaestus+handmaidens|title=Ancient Greek Ideas on Speech, Language, and Civilization|author=Deborah Levine Gera|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-19-925616-7}}</ref> ([[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]] to the Romans), the clay [[golem]]s of Jewish legend and clay giants of Norse legend, and [[Galatea (mythology)|Galatea]], the mythical statue of [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]] that came to life. Since circa 400 BC, myths of Crete include [[Talos]], a man of bronze who guarded the Cretan island of Europa from pirates.
In ancient Greece, the Greek engineer [[Ctesibius]] (c. 270 BC) "applied a knowledge of pneumatics and hydraulics to produce the first organ and water clocks with moving figures."<ref>Mark E. Rosheim (1994). "''[http://books.google.com/books?id=IxtL54iiDPUC&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false Robot evolution: the development of anthrobotics]''". p.2. Wiley-IEEE. ISBN 0-471-02622-0</ref><ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/tech/robots/newsid_3914000/3914569.stm Robots then and now]". BBC.</ref> In the 4th century BC, the [[Greek mathematics|Greek]] mathematician [[Archytas]] of Tarentum postulated a mechanical steam-operated bird he called "The Pigeon". [[Hero of Alexandria]] {{nowrap|(10–70 AD)}}, a Greek mathematician and inventor, created numerous user-configurable automated devices, and described machines powered by air pressure, steam and water.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Heron.html | author=O'Connor, J.J. and E.F. Robertson | title=Heron biography | accessdate=2008-09-05 | work=The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive}}</ref>
In ancient China, the 3rd century text of the ''Lie Zi'' describes an account of humanoid automata, involving a much earlier encounter between Chinese emperor [[King Mu of Zhou]] and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an 'artificer'. Yan Shi proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical 'handiwork' made of leather, wood, and artificial organs.<ref name="needham volume 2 53">Needham, Volume 2, 53.</ref> There are also accounts of flying automata in the ''Han Fei Zi'' and other texts, which attributes the 5th century BC [[Mohism|Mohist]] philosopher [[Mozi]] and his contemporary [[Lu Ban]] with the invention of artificial wooden birds (''ma yuan'') that could successfully fly.<ref name="needham volume 2 54" /> In 1066, the Chinese inventor [[Su Song]] built a [[Water Clock|water clock]] in the form of a tower which featured mechanical figurines which chimed the hours.
The beginning of automata is associated with the invention of early [[Su Song|Su Song's astronomical clock tower]] featured mechanical figurines that chimed the hours.<ref name=Fowler/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/early.html |title=Earliest Clocks |work=A Walk Through Time |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher=NIST Physics Laboratory |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080531063139/http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/early.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-05-31}}</ref><ref name=NSAJAutomata>{{cite journal|date=July 6, 2007|publisher=IPC Magazines|work=New Scientist|pages=32–35}}</ref> His mechanism had a programmable drum machine with pegs ([[cam]]s) that bumped into little [[lever]]s that operated percussion instruments. The drummer could be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns by moving the pegs to different locations.<ref name=NSAJAutomata/>
<div align="center">
<gallery perrow=4 widths="200">
Image:Washstand by Philo of Byzantium.png|Washstand automaton reconstruction, as described by [[Philo of Byzantium]] (Greece, 3rd century BC).
Image:Al-Jazari_-_A_Musical_Toy.jpg|[[Al-Jazari|Al-Jazari's]] toy boat, musical automata
Image:KarakuriBritishMuseum.jpg|Tea-serving [[Karakuri ningyō|karakuri]] with mechanism. ([[National Museum of Nature and Science]], [[Tokyo]]).
Image:Clock Tower from Su Song's Book.JPG|[[Su Song|Su Song's astronomical clock tower]] showing the mechanical figurines which chimed the hours.
</gallery></div>
===Early modern developments===
In [[Renaissance]] Italy, [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519) sketched plans for a humanoid robot around 1495. Da Vinci's notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings of a mechanical knight now known as [[Leonardo's robot]], able to sit up, wave its arms and move its head and jaw.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.leonardo3.net/leonardo/books%20I%20robot%20di%20Leonardo%20-%20Taddei%20Mario%20-%20english%20Leonardo%20robots%201.html|title=Leonardo da Vinci's Robots|publisher=Leonardo3.net|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> The design was probably based on anatomical research recorded in his ''[[Vitruvian Man]]''. It is not known whether he attempted to build it.
In Japan, complex animal and human automata were built between the 17th to 19th centuries, with many described in the 18th century ''Karakuri zui'' (''Illustrated Machinery'', 1796). One such automaton was the [[karakuri ningyō]], a mechanized [[puppet]].<ref>Jane Marie Law, ''Puppets of Nostalgia – The Life, Death and Rebirth of the Japanese [[Awaji]]{{disambiguation needed|{{subst:DATE}}|date=August 2012}} Ningyo Tradition'', 1997, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-02894-1</ref> Different variations of the karakuri existed: the ''Butai karakuri'', which were used in [[theatre]], the ''Zashiki karakuri'', which were small and used in homes, and the ''Dashi karakuri'' which were used in religious festivals, where the puppets were used to perform reenactments of traditional [[mythology|myth]]s and [[legend]]s.
In France, between 1738 and 1739, [[Jacques de Vaucanson]] exhibited several life-sized automatons: a flute player, a pipe player and a duck. The mechanical duck could flap its wings, crane its neck, and swallow food from the exhibitor's hand, and it gave the illusion of digesting its food by excreting matter stored in a hidden compartment.<ref>Wood, Gabby. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/feb/16/extract.gabywood "Living Dolls: A Magical History Of The Quest For Mechanical Life"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 2002-02-16.</ref>
===Modern developments===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:TOPIO 3.0.jpg|200px|thumb|[[TOPIO]], a [[humanoid robot]], played [[ping pong]] at Tokyo [[International Robot Exhibition]] (IREX) 2009.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/ping-pong-playing-terminator|title=A Ping-Pong-Playing Terminator|publisher=Popular Science}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.gadgetrivia.com/8164-best_robot_international_robot_exhibition|title=Best robot 2009|publisher=www.gadgetrivia.com}}</ref>]] -->
The Japanese craftsman [[Hisashige Tanaka]] (1799–1881), known as "Japan's Edison" or "Karakuri Giemon", created an array of extremely complex mechanical toys, some of which served tea, fired arrows drawn from a quiver, and even painted a Japanese ''kanji'' character.<ref>{{Cite book| author=N. Hornyak, Timothy | authorlink= | coauthors= | title=Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots | year=2006 | publisher=Kodansha International | location=New York | isbn=4-7700-3012-6 | pages=}}</ref>
A remotely operated vehicles were demonstrated in the late 19th in the form of several types of remotely controlled [[torpedo]]s. The early 1870s saw remotely controlled [[torpedo]]s by [[John Ericsson]] ([[Pneumatics|pneumatic]]), [[John Louis Lay]] (electric wire guided), and [[Victor von Scheliha]] (electric wire guided).<ref name="EdwynGray" /> In 1898 [[Nikola Tesla]] publicly demonstrated a "wireless" radio-controlled [[torpedo]] that he hoped sell to the [[US Navy]].<ref>{{cite patent|US|613809}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|publisher=PBS.org |url=http://www.pbs.org/tesla |title=Tesla - Master of Lightning |accessdate=2008-09-24}}</ref>
In 1926, [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]] created Televox, the first robot put to useful work. They followed Televox with a number of other simple robots, including one called Rastus, made in the crude image of a black man. In the 1930s, they created a humanoid robot known as Elektro for exhibition purposes, including the 1939 and 1940 [[World's Fair]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.freetimes.com/stories/13/35/robot-dreams-the-strange-tale-of-a-mans-quest-to-rebuild-his-mechanical-childhood-friend |publisher=The Cleveland Free Times |title=Robot Dreams : The Strange Tale Of A Man's Quest To Rebuild His Mechanical Childhood Friend |accessdate=2008-09-25}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Robots of Westinghouse: 1924-Today |author=Scott Schaut |publisher=Mansfield Memorial Museum |year=2006 |isbn=0-9785844-1-4}}</ref> In 1928, Japan's first robot, [[Gakutensoku]], was designed and constructed by biologist Makoto Nishimura. The first electronic autonomous robots with complex behaviour were created by [[William Grey Walter]] of the [[Burden Neurological Institute]] at Bristol, England in 1948 and 1949. They were named ''Elmer'' and ''Elsie''. These robots could sense light and contact with external objects, and use these stimuli to navigate.<ref name="gwonline">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ias.uwe.ac.uk/Robots/gwonline/gwonline.html |title=The Grey Walter Online Archive |accessdate=2008-09-25 |author=Owen Holland}}</ref>
The first truly modern robot, digitally operated and programmable, was invented by George Devol in 1954 and was ultimately called the [[Unimate]]. Devol sold the first Unimate to [[General Motors]] in 1960, and it was installed in 1961 in a plant in [[Trenton, New Jersey]] to lift hot pieces of metal from a [[die casting]] machine and stack them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.robothalloffame.org/unimate.html|title=Robot Hall of Fame - Unimate|publisher=Carnegie Mellon University|accessdate=2008-08-28}}</ref> Devol’s patent for the first digitally operated programmable robotic arm represents the foundation of the modern robotics industry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.invent.org/2011induction/1_3_11_induction_devol.asp|title=National Inventor's Hall of Fame 2011 Inductee|publisher=Invent Now|accessdate=2011-03-18}}</ref>
Commercial and industrial robots are now in widespread use performing jobs more cheaply or with greater accuracy and reliability than humans. They are also employed for jobs which are too dirty, dangerous or dull to be suitable for humans. Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly and packing, transport, earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry, laboratory research, and mass production of consumer and industrial goods.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.emrotechnologies.com/ |title=About us}}</ref>
==Etymology==
{{See also|Glossary of robotics}}
[[File:Capek play.jpg|thumb|260px|A scene from [[Karel Čapek]]'s 1920 play [[R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)]], showing three robots]]
The word ''robot'' was introduced to the public by the [[Czechs|Czech]] [[Interwar period|interwar]] writer [[Karel Čapek]] in his play ''[[R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)]]'', published in 1920.<ref name="KapekWebsite">{{Cite web|url=http://capek.misto.cz/english/robot.html|first=Dominik|last=Zunt|title=Who did actually invent the word "robot" and what does it mean?|publisher=The Karel Čapek website|accessdate=2007-09-11}}</ref> The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people called ''robots'', though they are closer to the modern ideas of [[android (robot)|androids]], creatures who can be mistaken for humans. They can plainly think for themselves, though they seem happy to serve. At issue is whether the ''robots'' are being [[exploitation|exploited]] and the consequences of their treatment.
Karel Čapek himself did not coin the word. He wrote a short letter in reference to an [[etymology]] in the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' in which he named his brother, the painter and writer [[Josef Čapek]], as its actual originator.<ref name="KapekWebsite"/>
In an article in the Czech journal ''[[Lidové noviny]]'' in 1933, he explained that he had originally wanted to call the creatures ''laboři'' ("workers", from [[Latin]] ''labor''). However, he did not like the word, and sought advice from his brother Josef, who suggested "roboti". The word ''robota'' means literally "[[corvée]]", "serf labor", and figuratively "drudgery" or "hard work" in [[Czech language|Czech]] and also (more general) "work", "labor" in many [[Slavic languages]] (e.g.: [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], archaic [[Czech language|Czech]]). Traditionally the ''robota'' was the work period a serf ([[corvée]]) had to give for his lord, typically 6 months of the year. The origin of the word is the [[Old Church Slavonic]] ([[Old Bulgarian]]) ''rabota'' "servitude" ("work" in contemporary [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Russian language|Russian]]), which in turn comes from the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] root ''*orbh-''. ''Robot'' is [[cognate]] with the German word ''Arbeiter'' (worker).<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080512121943/www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE363.html Indo-European root ''*orbh-'']</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=robot&searchmode=or|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|accessdate=2012-06-10}}</ref>
The word [[robotics]], used to describe this field of study,<ref name=OED>{{cite web|title=robotics|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0714530#m_en_gb0714530|publisher=Oxford Dictionaries|accessdate=4 February 2011}}</ref> was coined by the science fiction writer [[Isaac Asimov]]. Asimov created the "''[[Three Laws of Robotics]]''" which are a recurring theme in his books. These have since been used by many others to define laws used in fact and fiction. Introduced in his 1942 short story "[[Runaround]]" the Laws state the following:
{{quote|
#A robot may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
#A robot must obey a human being, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
#A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
}}
==Modern robots==
[[File:Laproscopic Surgery Robot.jpg|thumb|175px|A [[laparoscopic]] robotic surgery machine]]
===Mobile robot===
{{Main|Mobile robot|Automated guided vehicle}}
Mobile robots have the capability to move around in their environment and are not fixed to one physical location. An example of a mobile robot that is in common use today is the ''automated guided vehicle'' or ''automatic guided vehicle'' (AGV). An AGV is a mobile robot that follows markers or wires in the floor, or uses vision or lasers. AGVs are discussed later in this article.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
Mobile robots are also found in industry, military and security environments. They also appear as consumer products, for entertainment or to perform certain tasks like vacuum cleaning. Mobile robots are the focus of a great deal of current research and almost every major university has one or more labs that focus on mobile robot research.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
Modern robots are usually used in tightly controlled environments such as on [[assembly line]]s because they have difficulty responding to unexpected interference. Because of this most humans rarely encounter robots. However [[domestic robot]]s for cleaning and maintenance are increasingly common in and around homes in developed countries. Robots can also be found in [[military robot|military]] applications.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
===Industrial robots (manipulating)===
{{Main|Industrial robot|Manipulator}}
Industrial robots usually consist of a [[jointed arm]] (multi-linked manipulator) and an [[robot end effector|end effector]] that is attached to a fixed surface. One of the most common type of end effector is a [[Robot end effector|gripper]] assembly.
<!--''This keeps getting added onto the next sentence. DO NOT confuse the issue - the def in the next sentence is not general for "robot":'' It is difficult to compare numbers of robots in different countries as there are different definitions of what a "robot" is. -->The [[International Organization for Standardization]] gives a definition of a <!-- Please refrain from removing the "industrial" from this sentence. The def in ISO 8373 clearly states "Manipulating industrial robots -- Vocabulary" --> manipulating industrial robot in [[ISO 8373]]:
"an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose, manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dira.dk/pdf/robotdef.pdf |title=Definition of a robot|format=PDF|publisher=Dansk Robot Forening|accessdate=2007-09-10|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070628064010/http://www.dira.dk/pdf/robotdef.pdf|archivedate=2008-07-15}}</ref>
This definition is used by the [[International Federation of Robotics]], the European Robotics Research Network (EURON) and many national standards committees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.euron.org/resources/standards.html |title=Robotics-related Standards Sites |publisher=European Robotics Research Network |accessdate=2008-07-15}}</ref><!-- See talk page as RIofA is in disute: The Robotics Institute of America (RIA) uses a broader definition: a robot is a "re-programmable multi-functional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks."<ref name="Lee 2005"/> The RIA subdivides robots into four classes: devices that manipulate objects with manual control, automated devices that manipulate objects with predetermined cycles, programmable and servo-controlled robots with continuous point-to-point trajectories, and robots of this last type which also acquire information from the environment and move intelligently in response. -->
[[File:Automation of foundry with robot.jpg|thumb|175px|right|A Pick and Place robot in a factory]]
===Service robot===
{{Main|Service robot}}
Most commonly industrial robots are fixed robotic arms and manipulators used primarily for production and distribution of goods. The term "service robot" is less well-defined. The [[International Federation of Robotics]] has proposed a tentative definition, "A service robot is a robot which operates semi- or fully autonomously to perform services useful to the well-being of humans and equipment, excluding manufacturing operations."<ref>[http://www.ifr.org/service-robots/: Provisional definition of Service Robots] English, 27th of October 2012</ref>
===Modular robot===
Modular robots are a new breed of robots that are designed to increase the utilization of the robots by modularizing the robots. The functionality and effectiveness of a modular robot is easier to increase compared to conventional robots. These robots are composed of a single type of identical, several different identical module types, or similarly shaped modules, which vary in size. Their architectural structure allows hyper-redundancy for modular robots, as they can be designed with more than 8 degrees of freedom (DOF). Creating the programming, inverse kinematics and dynamics for modular robots is more complex than with traditional robots.
Modular robots may be composed of L-shaped modules, cubic modules, and U and H-shaped modules. ANAT technology, an early modular robotic technology patented by Robotics Design Inc., allows the creation of modular robots from U and H shaped modules that connect in a chain, and are used to form heterogeneous and homogenous modular robot systems. These “ANAT robots” can be designed with “n” DOF as each module is a complete motorized robotic system that folds relatively to the modules connected before and after it in its chain, and therefore a single module allows one degree of freedom. The more modules that are connected to one another, the more degrees of freedom it will have. L-shaped modules can also be designed in a chain, and must become increasingly smaller as the size of the chain increases, as payloads attached to the end of the chain place a greater strain on modules that are further from the base. ANAT H-shaped modules do not suffer from this problem, as their design allows a modular robot to distribute pressure and impacts evenly amongst other attached modules, and therefore payload-carrying capacity does not decrease as the length of the arm increases.
Modular robots can be manually or self-reconfigured to form a different robot, that may perform different applications. Because modular robots of the same architecture type are composed of modules that compose different modular robots, a snake-arm robot can combine with another to form a dual or quadra-arm robot, or can split into several mobile robots, and mobile robots can split into multiple smaller ones, or combine with others into a larger or different one. This allows a single modular robot the ability to be fully specialized in a single task, as well as the capacity to be specialized to perform multiple different tasks.
Modular robotic technology is currently being applied in hybrid transportation,<ref name="Modular flying car">{{cite news|url=http://www.aerobuzz.fr/spip.php?article2346|title=Le consortium franco-québécois Mix dévoile son projet de voiture volante|last=Rédaction|first= |date=December 25, 2011|work=http://www.aerobuzz.fr/|publisher=http://www.aerobuzz.fr/|language=French|accessdate=September 7, 2012}}</ref> industrial automation,<ref name="Ep&T Magazine">{{cite news|url=http://www.ept.ca/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000348213|title=Modularity in robotics provides automation for all|last=Scanlan|first=Steve, Robotics Design Inc., Montreal|publisher=Digital.ept.ca |accessdate=September 7, 2012}}</ref> duct cleaning<ref name="Plumbing and HVAC">{{cite news|url=http://www.roboticsdesign.qc.ca/assets/Uploads/PDF-content/InThePress/HVAC/Pluming+HVACmagazineapril2010.pdf|title=Duct cleaning robots|last=Plumbing and HVAC|first=Magazine |date=April 2010|work=roboticsdesign.qc.ca/news.html|publisher=http://plumbingandhvac.ca/|accessdate=April 29, 2010}}</ref> and handling. Many research centres and universities have also studied this technology, and have developed prototypes.
===Collaborative robots===
{{copy edit|section|date=September 2012}}
A ''collaborative robot'' or ''[[Cobot]]'' is a robot that can safely and effectively interact with human workers in performance of simple industrial tasks. Baxter, introduced on September 18, 2012, a product of Rethink Robotics, whose principal was [[Rodney Brooks]], was an [[industrial robot]] selling for about $20,000 which was designed to safely interact with neighboring human workers and be programmable for the performance of simple tasks. The robot stops if its movement encounters a human in the way of its robotic arm and has a prominent off switch which its human partner can push if necessary. The product, intended for sale to small business, was touted as the robotic analogue of the personal computer. Costs were projected to be the equivalent of a worker making $4 an hour.<ref name=NYT91812>{{cite news|title=A Robot With a Reassuring Touch|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/science/a-robot-with-a-delicate-touch.html|accessdate=September 18, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 18, 2012|author=John Markoff}}</ref>
==Robots in society==
[[Image:TOPIO 3.jpg|200px|thumb|[[TOPIO]], a [[humanoid robot]], played [[ping pong]] at Tokyo [[International Robot Exhibition]] (IREX) 2009.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/ping-pong-playing-terminator|title=A Ping-Pong-Playing Terminator|publisher=Popular Science}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.gadgetrivia.com/8164-best_robot_international_robot_exhibition|title=Best robot 2009|publisher=www.gadgetrivia.com}}</ref>]]
Roughly half of all the robots in the world are in Asia, 32% in Europe, and 16% in North America, 1% in [[Australasia]] and 1% in Africa.<ref>[http://www.robots.com/blog.php?tag=48 Robots Today and Tomorrow: IFR Presents the 2007 World Robotics Statistics Survey]; World Robotics; 2007-10-29; retrieved on 2007-12-14</ref> 40% of all the robots in the world are in [[Japan]],<ref>Reporting by Watanabe, Hiroaki; Writing and additional reporting by Negishi, Mayumi; Editing by Norton, Jerry; [http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUST32811820071202 Japan's robots slug it out to be world champ]; Reuters; 2007-12-02; retrieved on 2007-01-01</ref> making Japan the country with the highest number of robots.
===Regional perspectives===
In Japan and other Asian countries, ideas of future robots have been mainly positive, and the start of the pro-robotic society there is thought to be possibly due to the famous '[[Astro Boy]]'. Asian societies such as Japan, and more recently in South Korea and China, believe robots to be more equal to humans, having them care for old people, play with or teach children, or replace pets etc.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2004-04-11-robot-helpers_x.htm "Robot Helpers"]. ''[[USA Today]]''. April 11, 2004.</ref> The general view in Asian cultures is that the more robots advance, the better.
"This is the opening of an era in which human beings and robots can co-exist," says Japanese firm Mitsubishi about one of the many humanistic robots in Japan.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4196052.stm Domestic robot to debut in Japan ]; BBC News; 2005-08-30; retrieved on 2007-01-02</ref> South Korea aims to put a robot in every house there by 2015-2020.<ref name="SKrobot"/><ref>Chamberlain, Ted; [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0610_050610_robot.html Photo in the News: Ultra-Lifelike Robot Debuts in Japan]; National Geographic News; 2005-06-10; retrieved on 2008-01-02</ref>
Western societies are more likely to be against, or even fear the development of robotics, through much media output in movies and literature that they will replace humans. Some believe that the West regards robots as a 'threat' to the future of humans, partly due to religious beliefs about the role of humans and society.<ref name="planettokyo.com">Biglione, Kirk; [http://www.planettokyo.com/news/index.cfm/fuseaction/story/ID/36/ The Secret To Japan's Robot Dominance]; Planet Tokyo; 2006-01-24; retrieved on 2007-01-02</ref><ref>Yang, Jeff; [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/08/25/apop.DTL ASIAN POP Robot Nation Why Japan, and not America, is likely to be the world's first cyborg society]; SFGate; 2005-08-25; retrieved on 2007-01-02</ref> Obviously, these boundaries are not clear, but there is a significant difference between the two cultural viewpoints.
===Autonomy and ethical questions===
{{main|Roboethics|Ethics of artificial intelligence}}
[[File:Actroid-DER 01.jpg|thumb|right|An [[Android (robot)|android]], or robot designed to resemble a human, can appear comforting to some people and disturbing to others<ref name="uncanny" />]]
As robots have become more advanced and sophisticated, experts and academics have increasingly explored the questions of what ethics might govern robots' behavior,<ref name="AAAI ethics">[http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AITopics/Ethics AAAI webpage of materials on robot ethics].</ref> and whether robots might be able to claim any kind of social, cultural, ethical or legal rights.<ref>[http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/newstopics/ethics5.html AAAI compilation of articles on robot rights], Sources compiled up to 2006.</ref> One scientific team has said that it is possible that a robot brain will exist by 2019.<ref>[http://www.familyhealthguide.co.uk/scientists-predict-artificial-brain-in-10-years.html Scientists Predict Artificial Brain in 10 Years], by Kristie McNealy M.D. July 29, 2009.</ref> Others predict robot intelligence breakthroughs by 2050.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=fduW6KHhWtQC&dq=robot&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=SuquyjYb4n&sig=5S3L8pqiLqZ_yjJgh97tPE6F7gQ&hl=en&ei=R1-MSubxLs_dlAfJm_26CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#v=onepage&q=&f=false Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind] By Hans Moravec, Google Books.</ref> Recent advances have made robotic behavior more sophisticated.<ref>[http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/4668/robots-almost-conquering-walking-reading-dancing Robots Almost Conquering Walking, Reading, Dancing], by Matthew Weigand, Korea Itimes, Monday, August 17, 2009.</ref> The social impact of intelligent robots is subject of a 2010 documentary film called ''[[Plug & Pray]]''.<ref>[http://www.plugandpray-film.de/en/content.html ''Plug & Pray], documentary film by Jens Schanze about the possibilities of AI and robotics.</ref>
[[Vernor Vinge]] has suggested that a moment may come when computers and robots are smarter than humans. He calls this "[[technological singularity|the Singularity]]".<ref name="nytimes july09"/> He suggests that it may be somewhat or possibly very dangerous for humans.<ref>[http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/vinge/misc/singularity.html The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era], by Vernor Vinge, Department of Mathematical Sciences, San Diego State University, (c) 1993 by Vernor Vinge.</ref> This is discussed by a philosophy called [[Singularitarianism]].
In 2009, experts attended a conference hosted by the [[Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence]] (AAAI) to discuss whether computers and robots might be able to acquire any autonomy, and how much these abilities might pose a threat or hazard. They noted that some robots have acquired various forms of semi-autonomy, including being able to find power sources on their own and being able to independently choose targets to attack with weapons. They also noted that some computer viruses can evade elimination and have achieved "cockroach intelligence." They noted that self-awareness as depicted in science-fiction is probably unlikely, but that there were other potential hazards and pitfalls.<ref name="nytimes july09">[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/science/26robot.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man] By John Markoff, NY Times, July 26, 2009.</ref> Various media sources and scientific groups have noted separate trends in differing areas which might together result in greater robotic functionalities and autonomy, and which pose some inherent concerns.<ref>[http://www.slate.com/id/2218834/ Gaming the Robot Revolution: A military technology expert weighs in on Terminator: Salvation]., By P. W. Singer, slate.com Thursday, May 21, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.gyre.org/news/explore/robot-takeover Robot takeover], gyre.org.</ref><ref>[http://www.engadget.com/tag/robotapocalypse robot page], engadget.com.</ref>
===Military robots===
Some experts and academics have questioned the use of robots for military combat, especially when such robots are given some degree of autonomous functions.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8182003.stm Call for debate on killer robots], By Jason Palmer, Science and technology reporter, BBC News, 8/3/09.</ref> There are also concerns about technology which might allow some armed robots to be controlled mainly by other robots.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/robot-three-way-portends-autonomous-future/ Robot Three-Way Portends Autonomous Future], By David Axe wired.com, August 13, 2009.</ref>
The US Navy has funded a report which indicates that, as [[military robots]] become more complex, there should be greater attention to implications of their ability to make autonomous decisions.<ref>[http://www.dailytech.com/New%20Navyfunded%20Report%20Warns%20of%20War%20Robots%20Going%20Terminator/article14298.htm New Navy-funded Report Warns of War Robots Going "Terminator"], by Jason Mick (Blog), dailytech.com, February 17, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/18/navy-report-warns-of-robot-uprising-suggests-a-strong-moral-com/ Navy report warns of robot uprising, suggests a strong moral compass], by Joseph L. Flatley engadget.com, February 18th 2009.</ref> One researcher states that autonomous robots might be more humane, as they could make decisions more effectively. However, other experts question this.<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/279448 New role for robot warriors;] Drones are just part of a bid to automate combat. Can virtual ethics make machines decisionmakers?, by Gregory M. Lamb / Staff writer, Christian Science Monitor, February 17, 2010.</ref>
One robot in particular, the [[Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot|EATR]], has generated public concerns
<ref name="FOX">{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533382,00.html|title=Biomass-Eating Military Robot Is a Vegetarian, Company Says|date=2009-07-16|work=FOXNews.com|accessdate=2009-07-31}}</ref> over its fuel source, as it can continually refuel itself using organic substances.<ref name="Wired">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/company-denies-its-robots-feed-on-the-dead/|title= Danger Room What's Next in National Security Company Denies its Robots Feed on the Dead|last=Shachtman|first=Noah|date=2009-07-17|work=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|accessdate=2009-07-31}}</ref> Although the engine for the EATR is designed to run on [[biomass]] and vegetation<ref>Press release, RTI Inc. (2009 July 16). [http://www.robotictechnologyinc.com/images/upload/file/Cyclone%20Power%20Press%20Release%20EATR%20Rumors%20Final%2016%20July%2009.pdf ''Cyclone Power Technologies Responds to Rumors about “Flesh Eating” Military Robot''], pp. 1-2.</ref> specifically selected by its sensors, which it can find on battlefields or other local environments, the project has stated that chicken fat can also be used.<ref name="bpopp22">Press release, RTI Inc. (2009 April 6). [http://www.robotictechnologyinc.com/images/upload/file/Presentation%20EATR%20Brief%20Overview%206%20April%2009.pdf "Brief Project Overview"], ''EATR: Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot'', pp. 22.</ref><!--May need a link to show that the concern was that it might "eat" human flesh from dead soldiers-->
[[Manuel De Landa]] has noted that "smart missiles" and autonomous bombs equipped with artificial perception can be considered robots, as they make some of their decisions autonomously. He believes this represents an important and dangerous trend in which humans are handing over important decisions to machines.<ref>*[[Manuel de Landa]], ''[[War in the Age of Intelligent Machines]]'', New York: Zone Books, 1991, 280 pages, Hardcover, ISBN 0-942299-76-0; Paperback, ISBN 0-942299-75-2.</ref>
===Relationship to unemployment===
{{main|Technological unemployment}}
A recent example of human replacement involves Taiwanese technology company [[Foxconn]] who, in July 2011, announced a three-year plan to replace workers with more robots. At present the company uses ten-thousand robots but will increase them to a million robots over a three-year period.<ref name=XINFoxcon>{{cite news|title=Foxconn to replace workers with 1 million robots in 3 years|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-07/30/c_131018764.htm|accessdate=4 August 2011|newspaper=Xinhuanet.com|date=30|author=Yan|month=July|year=2011}}</ref>
Service robots of different varieties including medical robots, underwater robots, surveillance robots, demolition robots and other types of robots that carry out a multitude of jobs are gaining in numbers. Service robots are everyday tools for mankind. They can clean floors, mow lawns and guard homes and will also assist old and handicapped people, do some surgeries, inspect pipes and sites that are hazardous to people, fight fires and defuse bombs.<ref>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041021085857.htm retrieved September-03-11</ref><!--And what has this to do with unemplyment? Needs linking through text or removing-->
==Contemporary uses==
[[File:smUsingGuiaBot.jpg|thumb|right|A general-purpose robot acts as a guide during the day and a security guard at night]]
{{See also|List of robots}}
At present, there are two main types of robots, based on their use: [[humanoid robot|general-purpose autonomous robots]] and dedicated robots.
Robots can be classified by their [[sensitivity and specificity|specificity]] of purpose. A robot might be designed to perform one particular task extremely well, or a range of tasks less well. Of course, all robots by their nature can be re-programmed to behave differently, but some are limited by their physical form. For example, a factory robot arm can perform jobs such as cutting, welding, gluing, or acting as a fairground ride, while a pick-and-place robot can only populate printed circuit boards.
===General-purpose autonomous robots===
{{main|Autonomous robot}}
General-purpose autonomous robots can perform a variety of functions independently. General-purpose autonomous robots typically can navigate independently in known spaces, handle their own re-charging needs, interface with electronic doors and elevators and perform other basic tasks. Like computers, general-purpose robots can link with networks, software and accessories that increase their usefulness. They may recognize people or objects, talk, provide companionship, monitor environmental quality, respond to alarms, pick up supplies and perform other useful tasks. General-purpose robots may perform a variety of functions simultaneously or they may take on different roles at different times of day. Some such robots try to mimic human beings and may even resemble people in appearance; this type of robot is called a humanoid robot. Humanoid robots are still in a very limited stage, as no humanoid robot, can, as yet, actually navigate around a room that it has never been in. Thus humanoid robots are really quite limited, despite their intelligent behaviors in their well-known environments.
===Factory robots===
;[[Automaker|Car production]]
Over the last three decades, automobile factories have become dominated by robots. A typical factory contains hundreds of [[industrial robot]]s working on fully automated production lines, with one robot for every ten human workers. On an automated production line, a vehicle chassis on a conveyor is [[welding|welded]], [[adhesive|glued]], painted and finally assembled at a sequence of robot stations.
;[[Packaging]]
Industrial robots are also used extensively for palletizing and packaging of manufactured goods, for example for rapidly taking drink cartons from the end of a conveyor belt and placing them into boxes, or for loading and unloading machining centers.
;[[Electronics]]
Mass-produced [[printed circuit board]]s (PCBs) are almost exclusively manufactured by pick-and-place robots, typically with [[SCARA]] manipulators, which remove tiny [[electronic component]]s from strips or trays, and place them on to PCBs with great accuracy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.contactsystems.com/c5_series.html |publisher=Contact Systems |title=Contact Systems Pick and Place robots|accessdate=2008-09-21}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Such robots can place hundreds of thousands of components per hour, far out-performing a human in speed, accuracy, and reliability.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.assembleon.com/surface-mount-assembly/pick-and-place-equipment/a-series/|publisher=Assembleon| title=SMT pick-and-place equipment|accessdate=2008-09-21 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080803173021/http://www.assembleon.com/surface-mount-assembly/pick-and-place-equipment/a-series/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-08-03}}</ref>
;[[Automated guided vehicle]]s (AGVs)
[[File:ADAM Intelligent AGV.jpg|thumb|right|An intelligent AGV drops-off goods without needing lines or beacons in the workspace]]
Mobile robots, following markers or wires in the floor, or using vision<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smartcaddy.net|title=Smart Caddy|publisher=Seegrid|accessdate=2007-09-13}}</ref> or lasers, are used to transport goods around large facilities, such as warehouses, container ports, or hospitals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.agvsystems.com/basics/vehicle.htm|title=The Basics of Automated Guided Vehicles|publisher=Savant Automation, AGV Systems|accessdate=2007-09-13}}</ref>
:;Early AGV-Style Robots
:Limited to tasks that could be accurately defined and had to be performed the same way every time. Very little feedback or intelligence was required, and the robots needed only the most basic [[wikt:exteroceptors|exteroceptors]] (sensors). The limitations of these AGVs are that their paths are not easily altered and they cannot alter their paths if obstacles block them. If one AGV breaks down, it may stop the entire operation.
:;Interim AGV-Technologies
:Developed to deploy triangulation from beacons or bar code grids for scanning on the floor or ceiling. In most factories, triangulation systems tend to require moderate to high maintenance, such as daily cleaning of all beacons or bar codes. Also, if a tall pallet or large vehicle blocks beacons or a bar code is marred, AGVs may become lost. Often such AGVs are designed to be used in human-free environments.
:;Intelligent AGVs (i-AGVs)
:Such as SmartLoader,<ref>{{cite web|title=Jervis B. Webb|url=http://www.jervisbwebb.com/Products/automatic_trailer_loading.aspx?pid=190&qs=1_3_|work=Webb SmartLoader|accessdate=2 September 2011}}</ref> SpeciMinder,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ccsrobotics.com/products/speciminder.html |title=SpeciMinder|publisher=CSS Robotics |accessdate=2008-09-25}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> ADAM,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rmtrobotics.com/tire_agv.html |title=ADAM robot |publisher=RMT Robotics |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> Tug<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aethon.com/can_do_tug.html |title=Can Do |publisher=Aethon |accessdate=2008-09-25 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080803173353/http://www.aethon.com/can_do_tug.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-08-03}}</ref> Eskorta,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fennecfoxtech.com |title=Eskorta robot |publisher=Fennec Fox Technologies |accessdate=2011-11-25}}</ref> and MT 400 with Motivity<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mobilerobots.com/AGV.html |title=Delivery Robots & AGVs |publisher=Mobile Robots |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> are designed for people-friendly workspaces. They navigate by recognizing natural features. [[3D scanner]]s or other means of sensing the environment in two or three dimensions help to eliminate cumulative [[observational error|errors]] in [[dead reckoning|dead-reckoning]] calculations of the AGV's current position. Some AGVs can create maps of their environment using scanning lasers with [[simultaneous localization and mapping]] (SLAM) and use those maps to navigate in real time with other path planning and obstacle avoidance algorithms. They are able to operate in complex environments and perform non-repetitive and non-sequential tasks such as transporting [[photomask]]s in a semiconductor lab, specimens in hospitals and goods in warehouses. For dynamic areas, such as warehouses full of pallets, AGVs require additional strategies using three-dimensional sensors such as time-of-flight or stereovision cameras.
===Dirty, dangerous, dull or inaccessible tasks===
There are many jobs which humans would rather leave to robots. The job may be boring, such as [[housekeeping|domestic cleaning]], or dangerous, such as exploring inside a [[volcano]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ri.cmu.edu/projects/project_163.html|title=Dante II, list of published papers|publisher=The Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University|accessdate=2007-09-16}}</ref> Other jobs are physically inaccessible, such as exploring another [[planet]],<ref>
{{Cite web|url=http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/rover/sojourner.html|title=Mars Pathfinder Mission: Rover Sojourner|publisher=[[NASA]]|date=1997-07-08|accessdate=2007-09-19}}</ref> cleaning the inside of a long pipe, or performing [[laparoscopic]] surgery.<ref name="daVinci">{{Cite web|url=http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2005_Groups/04/davinci.html|title=Robot assisted surgery: da Vinci Surgical System|publisher=Brown University Division of Biology and Medicine|accessdate=2007-09-19}}</ref>
;[[Space probe]]s
Almost every unmanned space probe ever launched was a robot.<ref>[http://upes.academia.edu/SeeteshPANDE/Papers/1717325/The_Utilization_of_Robotic_Space_Probes_in_Deep_Space_Missions_Case_Study_of_AI_Protocols_and_Nuclear_Power_Requirements The Utilization of Robotic Space Probes in Deep Space Missions:Case Study of AI Protocols and Nuclear Power Requirements], Proceedings of 2011 International Conference on Mechanical Engineering, Robotics and Aerospace, October 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2004/1 Review: Space Probes], by Jeff Foust, Monday, January 16, 2012. Review of Space Probes: 50 Years of Exploration from Luna 1 to New Horizons, by Philippe Séguéla Firefly, 2011.</ref> Some were launched in the 1960s with very limited abilities, but their ability to fly and land (in the case of [[Luna 9]]) is an indication of their status as a robot. This includes the [[Voyager probe]]s and the Galileo probes, and others.
;[[Telerobotics|Telerobots]]
[[File:IED detonator.jpg|thumb|right|A [[U.S. Marine Corps]] technician prepares to use a telerobot to detonate a buried [[improvised explosive device]] near [[Camp Fallujah]], [[Iraq]]]]
Teleoperated robots, or telerobots are devices remotely operated from a distance by a human operator rather than following a predetermined sequence of movements. They are used when a human cannot be present on site to perform a job because it is dangerous, far away, or inaccessible. The robot may be in another room or another country, or may be on a very different scale to the operator. For instance, a laparoscopic surgery robot allows the surgeon to work inside a human patient on a relatively small scale compared to open surgery, significantly shortening recovery time.<ref name="daVinci"/> They can also be used to avoid exposing workers to the hazardous and tight spaces such as in [[Duct (HVAC)|duct]] cleaning. When disabling a bomb, the operator sends a small robot to disable it. Several authors have been using a device called the Longpen to sign books remotely.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2007/08/15/longpen-trial.html |title=Celebrities set to reach for Atwood's LongPen |publisher=cbc.ca |accessdate=2008-09-21 | date=2007-08-15}}</ref> Teleoperated robot aircraft, like the Predator [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle]], are increasingly being used by the military. These pilotless drones can search terrain and fire on targets.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200606120018|publisher=[[New Statesman]]|title=America's robot army |date=2006-06-12 |accessdate=2007-09-24 |first=Stephen|last=Graham}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/battlefield-robots-to-iraq-and-beyond-0727|publisher=Defense Industry Daily|title=Battlefield Robots: to Iraq, and Beyond|date=2005-06-20|accessdate=2007-09-24}}</ref> Hundreds of robots such as [[iRobot]]'s [[Packbot]] and the [[Foster-Miller TALON]] are being used in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]] by the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] to defuse roadside bombs or [[improvised explosive device]]s (IEDs) in an activity known as [[explosive ordnance disposal]] (EOD).<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=[[Wired Magazine]]|url=http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bomb.html?pg=3&topic=bomb |title=The Baghdad Bomb Squad |first=Noah|last=Shachtman| date=2005-11|accessdate=2007-09-14}}</ref>
;[[Automated fruit harvesting machine]]s
[[File:Roomba original.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Roomba]] domestic [[vacuum cleaner]] robot does a single, menial job]]
Used to pick fruit on orchards at a cost lower than that of human pickers.
;[[Domestic robots]]
Domestic robots are simple robots dedicated to a single task work in home use. They are used in simple but unwanted jobs, such as [[vacuum cleaner|vacuum cleaning]] and [[Scooba|floor washing]], and [[lawn mower|lawn mowing]].
===Military robots===
{{Main|Military robots}}
Military robots include the [[SWORDS robot]] which is currently used in ground-based combat. It can use a variety of weapons and there is some discussion of giving it some degree of autonomy in battleground situations.<ref>[http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/08/httpwwwnational.html WIRED: First Armed Robots on Patrol in Iraq]</ref><ref>[http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/08/armed-robots-so.html WIRED: Armed Robots Pushed To Police]</ref><ref>[http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/4252643.html?page=2 America's Robot Army]</ref>
[[Unmanned combat air vehicles]] (UCAVs), which are an upgraded form of [[UAVs]], can do a wide variety of missions, including combat. UCAVs are being designed such as the [[Mantis UCAV]] which would have the ability to fly themselves, to pick their own course and target, and to make most decisions on their own.<ref>[http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/field-guide-flying-robots The Present and Future of Unmanned Drone Aircraft: An Illustrated Field Guide;] Inside the wild kingdom of the world’s newest and most spectacular species of unmanned aircraft, from swarming insect ’bots that can storm a burning building to a seven-ton weaponized spyplane invisible to radar. By Eric Hagerman, Popular Science, 23 February 2010.</ref> The [[BAE Taranis]] is a UCAV built by Great Britain which can fly across continents without a pilot and has new means to avoid detection.<ref name="Sky News">{{Cite news|title= Taranis: The £143m Fighter Jet Of The Future |publisher= Ministry of Defence |date= 2010-07-12 |url= http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Taranis-MoD-And-BAE-Systems-Unveil-Futuristic-Unmanned-Fighter-Jet/Article/201007215663917?lpos=UK_News_Second_Home_Page_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15663917_Taranis:_MoD_And_BAE_Systems_Unveil_Futuristic_Unmanned_Fighter_Jet |accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref> Flight trials are expected to begin in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10602105.stm |title=MoD lifts lid on unmanned combat plane prototype |first=Daniel |last=Emery |publisher=BBC News |date=2010-07-12 |accessdate=2010-07-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1294037/Taranis-The-143million-unmanned-stealth-jet-hit-targets-continent.html |title=Taranis: The £143million unmanned stealth jet that will hit targets in another continent |newspaper=Daily Mail |date=2010-07-12 |accessdate=2010-07-12}}</ref>
The [[Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence|AAAI]] has studied this topic in depth<ref name="AAAI ethics">[http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AITopics/Ethics AAAI Ethics page].</ref> and its president has commissioned a study to look at this issue.<ref>[http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/horvitz/AAAI_Presidential_Panel_2008-2009.htm AAAI Presidential Panel on Long-Term AI Futures 2008-2009 Study], Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, Accessed 7/26/09.</ref>
Some have suggested a need to build "[[Friendly AI]]", meaning that the advances which are already occurring with AI should also include an effort to make AI intrinsically friendly and humane.<ref>[http://www.asimovlaws.com/articles/archives/2004/07/why_we_need_fri_1.html Article at Asimovlaws.com], July 2004, accessed 7/27/09.</ref> Several such measures reportedly already exist, with robot-heavy countries such as Japan and South Korea<ref name=SKrobot>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6425927.stm Robotic age poses ethical dilemma]; BBC News; 2007-03-07; retrieved on 2007-01-02;</ref> having begun to pass regulations requiring robots to be equipped with safety systems, and possibly sets of 'laws' akin to Asimov's [[Three Laws of Robotics]].<ref>[http://www.livescience.com/technology/060526_robot_rules.html Asimov's First Law: Japan Sets Rules for Robots], By Bill Christensen, livescience.com, May 26, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.physorg.com/news95078958.html Japan drafts rules for advanced robots], UPI via physorg.com, April 6, 2007.</ref> An official report was issued in 2009 by the Japanese government's Robot Industry Policy Committee.<ref>[http://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/data/20090325_01.html Report compiled by the Japanese government's Robot Industry Policy Committee -Building a Safe and Secure Social System Incorporating the Coexistence of Humans and Robots], Official Japan government press release, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, March 2009.</ref> Chinese officials and researchers have issued a report suggesting a set of ethical rules, and a set of new legal guidelines referred to as "Robot Legal Studies."<ref name="China report">[http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=weng_yueh_hsuan Toward the human-Robot Coexistence Society: on Safety intelligence for next Generation Robots], report by Yueh-Hsuan Weng, China Ministry of the Interior, [http://www.springer.com/engineering/robotics/journal/12369 International Journal of Social Robotics], April 7, 2009.</ref> Some concern has been expressed over a possible occurrence of robots telling apparent falsehoods.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540721,00.html Evolving Robots Learn To Lie To Each Other], Popular Science, August 19, 2009.</ref>
===Mining robots===
Mining robots are designed to help counteract a number of challenges currently facing the mining industry, including skills shortages, improving productivity from declining ore grades, and achieving environmental targets. Due to the hazardous nature of mining, in particular [[underground mining]], the prevalence of autonomous, semi-autonomous, and tele-operated robots has greatly increased in recent times. A number of vehicle manufacturers provide autonomous trains, trucks and [[Loader (equipment)|loaders]] that will load material, transport it on the mine site to its destination, and unload without requiring human intervention. One of the worlds largest mining corporations, [[Rio Tinto Group|Rio Tinto]], has recently expanded its autonomous vehicle fleet to the worlds largest, consisting of 150 autonomous [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] trucks, operating in [[Western Australia]].<ref>[http://www.riotinto.com/media/5157_21165.asp Rio Tinto Media Center - Rio Tinto boosts driverless truck fleet to 150 under Mine of the Future™ programme]</ref>
Drilling, [[Longwall mining|longwall]] and [[rockbreaker|rockbreaking]] machines are now also available as autonomous robots.<ref>[http://adrianboeing.blogspot.com/2011/06/aimex.html AIMEX blog - Autonomous mining equipment]</ref> The [[Atlas Copco]] Rig Control System can autonomously execute a drilling plan on a [[drilling rig]], moving the rig into position using GPS, set up the drill rig and drill down to specified depths.<ref>[http://www.atlascopco.com/rcs/ Atlas Copco - RCS]</ref> Similarly, the [[Transmin]] Rocklogic system can automatically plan a path to position a rockbreaker at a selected destination.<ref>[http://rocklogic.com.au/ Transmin - Rocklogic]</ref> These systems greatly enhance the safety and efficiency of mining operations.
===Schools===
{{Section OR|date=March 2012}}
From the 1980s, robots such as [[turtle (robot)|turtle]]s were used in schools and programmed using the [[Logo (programming language)|Logo]] language.<ref name="gainesvillesun turtle">{{cite news | title='Nova's' 'Talking Turtle' Pofiles High Priest of School Computer Movement | work=Gainesville Sun | date=October 25, 1983 | author=Mitgang, Lee}}</ref><ref name="observerreporter games learning">{{cite news | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=W4diAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s3cNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1326,3744066&dq=logo+turtle+robot&hl=en | title=Robots In School: Games Or Learning? | work=Observer-Reporter | date=January 29, 1985 | accessdate=March 7, 2012 | author=Barnard, Jeff | location=Washington}}</ref> Robotics at school in the 21st century has three main applications, Robotic kits, Virtual tutors, and teacher's assistants.
; [[Robot kit]]s
Robotic kits like [[Mindstorms NXT|Lego Mindstorms]], [[Robotis Bioloid|BIOLOID]], OLLO from ROBOTIS, or BotBrain Educational Robots can help children to learn about mathematics, physics, programming, and electronics.
; [[Robot competition]]s
Robotics have also been introduced into the lives of elementary and high school students with the company [[FIRST]] (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The organization is the foundation for the [[FIRST Robotics Competition]], [[FIRST LEGO League]], [[Junior FIRST LEGO League]], and [[FIRST Tech Challenge]] competitions.
; Virtual tutors
Virtual tutors are some kind of [[embodied agent]] that helps children to do their homework, for example, on peer to peer basis.
; Teacher assistants
Robots as teacher assistants let children to be more assertive during the class and get more motivated. South Korea is the first country deploying a program to have a robot in each school.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}
===Healthcare===
Robots in healthcare have two main functions. Those which assist an individual, such as a sufferer of a disease like Multiple Sclerosis, and those which aid in the overall systems such as pharmacies and hospitals.
;[[Home automation for the elderly and disabled]]
{{further|Disability robot}}
[[File:FRIEND-III klein.png|thumb|right|The [[Care-Providing Robot FRIEND]]. (Photo: IAT)]]
Robots have developed over time from simple basic robotic assistants, such as the [[ST Robotics#History|Handy 1]],<ref name="CSUNCOD1">{{cite journal|last=Topping|first=Mike|coauthors=Smith, Jane.|title=An Overview Of Handy 1, A Rehabilitation Robot For The Severely Disabled|journal=CSUN Center on Disabilities Conference Proceedings|year=1999|volume=Proceedings|series=1999|pages=Session 59|url=http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/1999/proceedings/session0059.htm|accessdate=14 August 2010|author=Topping, Mike.|quote=The early version of the Handy 1 system consisted of a Cyber 310 robotic arm with five degrees of freedom plus a gripper.}}</ref> through to semi-autonomous robots, such as [[Care-Providing Robot FRIEND|FRIEND]] which can assist the elderly and disabled with common tasks.
The population is [[gerontotechnology|aging]] in many countries, especially Japan, meaning that there are increasing numbers of elderly people to care for, but relatively fewer young people to care for them.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4012797.stm|publisher=BBC News|first=Christine|last=Jeavans|date=2004-11-29|title=Welcome to the ageing future|accessdate=2007-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm|title=Statistical Handbook of Japan: Chapter 2 Population|publisher=Statistics Bureau & Statistical Research and Training Institute|accessdate=2007-09-26}}</ref> Humans make the best carers, but where they are unavailable, robots are gradually being introduced.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-health-insider.com/comment_and_analysis/250/robotic_future_of_patient_care|publisher=E-Health Insider|title=Robotic future of patient care|date=2007-08-16|accessdate=2007-09-26}}</ref>
FRIEND is a semi-autonomous robot designed to support [[disability|disabled]] and [[old age|elderly]] people in their daily life activities, like preparing and serving a meal. FRIEND make it possible for [[patients]] who are [[paraplegia|paraplegic]], have muscle diseases or serious [[paralysis]] (due to strokes etc.), to perform tasks without help from other people like therapists or nursing staff.
;Pharmacies
{{main|Pharmacy automation}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2009}}
Script Pro manufactures a robot designed to help pharmacies fill prescriptions that consist of oral solids or [[pharmaceutical drug|medications]] in pill form. The [[pharmacist]] or [[pharmacy technician]] enters the prescription information into its information system. The system, upon determining whether or not the drug is in the robot, will send the information to the robot for filling. The robot has 3 different size vials to fill determined by the size of the pill. The robot technician, user, or pharmacist determines the needed size of the vial based on the tablet when the robot is stocked. Once the vial is filled it is brought up to a conveyor belt that delivers it to a holder that spins the vial and attaches the patient label. Afterwards it is set on another conveyor that delivers the patient’s medication vial to a slot labeled with the patient's name on an LED read out. The pharmacist or technician then checks the contents of the vial to ensure it’s the correct drug for the correct patient and then seals the vials and sends it out front to be picked up. The robot is a very time efficient device that the pharmacy depends on to fill prescriptions.
McKesson’s Robot RX is another healthcare robotics product that helps pharmacies dispense thousands of medications daily with little or no errors. The robot can be ten feet wide and thirty feet long and can hold hundreds of different kinds of medications and thousands of doses. The pharmacy saves many resources like staff members that are otherwise unavailable in a resource scarce industry. It uses an [[electromechanics|electromechanical]] head coupled with a [[pneumatics|pneumatic]] system to capture each dose and deliver it to its either stocked or dispensed location. The head moves along a single axis while it rotates 180 degrees to pull the medications. During this process it uses [[barcode]] technology to verify its pulling the correct drug. It then delivers the drug to a patient specific bin on a conveyor belt. Once the bin is filled with all of the drugs that a particular patient needs and that the robot stocks, the bin is then released and returned out on the conveyor belt to a technician waiting to load it into a cart for delivery to the floor.
===Research robots===
{{See also|Robotics#Robot_Research|l1=Robotics — Robot Research}}
While most robots today are installed in factories or homes, performing labour or life saving jobs, many new types of robot are being developed in [[laboratory|laboratories]] around the world. Much of the research in robotics focuses not on specific industrial tasks, but on investigations into new types of robot, alternative ways to think about or design robots, and new ways to manufacture them. It is expected that these new types of robot will be able to solve real world problems when they are finally realized.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}
;Nanorobots
{{further|Nanorobotics}}
[[File:Microgripper holding silicon nanowires.jpg|thumb|right|A microfabricated electrostatic gripper holding some silicon nanowires.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001535.html|publisher=NASA|title=Fullerene Nanogears|date=1997-04-01|accessdate=2008-05-27|author=Michael Hahn}}</ref>]]
[[Nanorobotics]] is the [[emerging technology]] field of creating machines or robots whose components are at or close to the microscopic scale of a [[nanometer]] (10<sup>−9</sup> meters). Also known as "nanobots" or "nanites", they would be constructed from [[molecular machine]]s. So far, researchers have mostly produced only parts of these complex systems, such as bearings, sensors, and [[synthetic molecular motors]], but functioning robots have also been made such as the entrants to the Nanobot Robocup contest.<ref>[http://www.techbirbal.com/viewtopic.php?p=3687&sid=7faaeeb64eaf84880b23755fea7fa7cd Techbirbal: Nanobots Play Football]</ref> Researchers also hope to be able to create entire robots as small as viruses or bacteria, which could perform tasks on a tiny scale. Possible applications include micro surgery (on the level of individual [[cell (biology)|cells]]), [[utility fog]],<ref>[http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?main=/articles/art0220.html? KurzweilAI.net: Utility Fog: The Stuff that Dreams Are Made Of]</ref> manufacturing, weaponry and cleaning.<ref>[http://www.e-drexler.com/d/06/00/EOC/EOC_Chapter_11.html (Eric Drexler 1986) Engines of Creation, The Coming Era of Nanotechnology]</ref> Some people have suggested that if there were nanobots which could reproduce, the earth would turn into "[[grey goo]]", while others argue that this hypothetical outcome is nonsense.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crnano.org/Debate.htm|publisher=Center for Responsible Nanotechnology|title=Of Chemistry, Nanobots, and Policy|date=2003-12|accessdate=2007-10-28|author=Chris Phoenix}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.iop.org/EJ/news/-topic=763/journal/0957-4484|publisher=Institute of Physics Electronics Journals|title=Nanotechnology pioneer slays "grey goo" myths|date=2004-06-07|accessdate=2007-10-28}}</ref>
;Reconfigurable Robots
{{main|Self-reconfiguring modular robot}}
A few researchers have investigated the possibility of creating robots which can [[self-reconfiguring modular robot|alter their physical form]] to suit a particular task,<ref>(1996) [http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/9609lego.htm LEGO(TM)s to the Stars: Active MesoStructures, Kinetic Cellular Automata, and Parallel Nanomachines for Space Applications]</ref> like the fictional [[T-1000]]. Real robots are nowhere near that sophisticated however, and mostly consist of a small number of cube shaped units, which can move relative to their neighbours. Algorithms have been designed in case any such robots become a reality.<ref>(Robert Fitch, Zack Butler and Daniela Rus) [http://groups.csail.mit.edu/drl/publications/papers/MeltSortGrow.pdf Reconfiguration Planning for Heterogeneous Self-Reconfiguring Robots]</ref>
;Soft Robots
Robots with [[silicone]] bodies and flexible actuators ([[pneumatic artificial muscles|air muscles]], [[electroactive polymers]], and [[ferrofluid]]s), controlled using [[fuzzy logic]] and [[neural networks]], look and feel different from robots with rigid skeletons, and can have different behaviors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/science/27robo.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ei=5070&en=91395fe7439a5b72&ex=1177128000 |title=In the Lab: Robots That Slink and Squirm |author=John Schwartz |publisher=nytimes.com |accessdate=2008-09-22 | date=2007-03-27}}</ref>
;Swarm robots
{{main|Swarm robotics}}
[[File:SwarmRobot org.jpg|thumb|right|A [[swarm]] of robots from the open-source micro-robotic project]]
Inspired by [[colony (biology)|colonies of insects]] such as [[ants]] and [[bees]], researchers are modeling the behavior of [[swarm robotics|swarms]] of thousands of tiny robots which together perform a useful task, such as finding something hidden, cleaning, or spying. Each robot is quite simple, but the [[emergent behavior]] of the swarm is more complex. The whole set of robots can be considered as one single distributed system, in the same way an ant colony can be considered a [[superorganism]], exhibiting [[swarm intelligence]]. The largest swarms so far created include the iRobot swarm, the SRI/MobileRobots CentiBots project<ref>((cite web|http://www.activrobots.com/RESEARCH/wheelchair.html|title=SRI/MobileRobots Centibot project))</ref> and the Open-source Micro-robotic Project swarm, which are being used to research collective behaviors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swarmrobot.org|title=Open-source micro-robotic project|accessdate=2007-10-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=149|publisher=iRobot Corporation|title=Swarm|accessdate=2007-10-28}}</ref> Swarms are also more resistant to failure. Whereas one large robot may fail and ruin a mission, a swarm can continue even if several robots fail. This could make them attractive for space exploration missions, where failure is normally extremely costly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2000/12/40750 |publisher=Wired Magazine |title=Look, Up in the Sky: Robofly |first=Louise|last=Knapp |date=2000-12-21|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref>
;Haptic interface robots
{{further|Haptic technology}}
Robotics also has application in the design of [[virtual reality]] interfaces. Specialized robots are in widespread use in the [[haptic technology|haptic]] research community. These robots, called "haptic interfaces," allow touch-enabled user interaction with real and virtual environments. Robotic forces allow simulating the mechanical properties of "virtual" objects, which users can experience through their sense of [[somatosensory system|touch]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17363&ch=biotech&sc=&pg=1 |publisher=MIT Technology review |title=The Cutting Edge of Haptics |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref>
===Entertainment===
;Poledancing robots
Some robots are used for entertainment and as a demonstration of the newest technology. This nimble automoton is a perfect example of this process. Being the main attractions at [[Ce-BIT]], the world’s biggest IT trade fair in Hanover, Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/892241-pole-dancing-robot-introduced-at-worlds-biggest-it-fair |publisher=Metro.co.uk |title=Pole-dancing robot introduced at world's biggest IT fair|accessdate=6 March 2012 }}</ref>
==Future development==
{{further|Future of robotics}}
===Technological trends===
Various techniques have emerged to develop the science of robotics and robots. One method is [[evolutionary robotics]], in which a number of differing robots are submitted to tests. Those which perform best are used as a model to create a subsequent "generation" of robots. Another method is [[developmental robotics]], which tracks changes and development within a single robot in the areas of problem-solving and other functions.
===Technological development===
;Overall trends
Japan hopes to have full-scale commercialization of service robots by 2025. Much technological research in Japan is led by Japanese government agencies, particularly the Trade Ministry.<ref name="UK Japan report">[http://ukinjapan.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/5606907/5633632/next-generation-services-robots Research and Development for Next-generation Service Robots in Japan], United Kingdom Foreign Ministry report, by Yumiko Moyen, Science and Innovation Section, British Embassy, Tokyo, Japan, January 2009.</ref>
As robots become more advanced, eventually there may be a standard computer operating system designed mainly for robots. [[ROS (Robot Operating System)|Robot Operating System]] is an open-source set of programs being developed at [[Stanford University]], the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] and the [[Technical University of Munich]], Germany, among others. ROS provides ways to program a robot's navigation and limbs regardless of the specific hardware involved. It also provides high-level commands for items like image recognition and even opening doors. When ROS boots up on a robot's computer, it would obtain data on attributes such as the length and movement of robots' limbs. It would relay this data to higher-level algorithms. Microsoft is also developing a "Windows for robots" system with its Robotics Developer Studio, which has been available since 2007.<ref name="ROS">[http://www.ethiopianreview.com/articles/23156 Robots to get their own operating system], by Mehret Tesfaye Ethipian Review, August 13, 2009.</ref>
;New functions and abilities
The Caterpillar Company is making a dump truck which can drive itself without any human operator.<ref>[http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/131/the-caterpillar-self-driving-dump-truck.html?nav=inform-rl The Caterpillar Self-Driving Dump Truck],
By Tim McKeough, fastcompany.com, November 25, 2008.</ref>
Many future applications of robotics seem obvious to people, even though they are well beyond the capabilities of robots available at the time of the prediction.<ref name="A4">[http://www.springer.com/engineering/robotics/book/978-94-007-0578-4 Robotic Tactile Sensing - Technologies and System]</ref><ref name="A5">[http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5784198&tag=1 IEEE Transaction on Robotics - Special Issue on Robotic Sense of Touch]</ref>
As early as 1982 people were confident that someday robots would:<ref>
"Robotics in practice: Future capabilities"
by [[Joseph F. Engelberger]].
in "Electronic Servicing & Technology" magazine 1982 August.
</ref>
1. clean parts by removing [[molding flash]]
2. spray paint automobiles with absolutely no human presence
3. pack things in boxes—for example, orient and nest chocolate candies in candy boxes
4. make electrical [[cable harness]]
5. load trucks with boxes—a [[packing problem]]
6. handle soft goods, such as garments and shoes
7. shear sheep
8. [[prosthesis]]
9. cook fast food and work in other service industries
10. household robot.
Generally such predictions are overly optimistic in timescale.
=== Reading robot ===
A literate or 'reading robot' named Marge has intelligence that comes from software. She can read newspapers, find and correct misspelled words, learn about banks like Barclays, and understand that some restaurants are better places to eat than others.<ref>Robot can read, learn like a human http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40534768/ns/technology_and_science-science</ref>
==Robots in popular culture==
===Literature===
{{Main|Robots in literature}}
{{See also|List of fictional robots and androids}}
Robotic characters, [[android (robot)|androids]] (artificial men/women) or [[gynoid]]s (artificial women), and [[cyborg]]s (also "[[bionic]] men/women", or humans with significant mechanical enhancements) have become a staple of science fiction.
The first reference in Western literature to mechanical servants appears in [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]''. In Book XVIII, [[Hephaestus]], god of fire, creates new armor for the hero Achilles, assisted by robots.<ref name="Iliad">{{Cite web
| accessdate=2007-11-21
| url= http://www.arts.cornell.edu/theatrearts/CTA/Program%20Notes/comic%20potential.asp
| publisher= Cornell University
| title = Comic Potential : Q&A with Director Stephen Cole
}}</ref> According to the [[E. V. Rieu|Rieu]] translation, "Golden maidservants hastened to help their master. They looked like real women and could not only speak and use their limbs but were endowed with intelligence and trained in handwork by the immortal gods." Of course, the words "robot" or "android" are not used to describe them, but they are nevertheless mechanical devices human in appearance. "The first use of the word Robot was in Karel Čapek's play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) (written in 1920)". Writer Karel Čapek was born in Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic).
Possibly the most prolific author of the twentieth century was [[Isaac Asimov]] (1920–1992)<ref name=FreedProlific>{{cite book|last=Freedman|first=ed. by Carl|title=Conversations with Isaac Asimov|year=2005|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|location=Jackson|isbn=978-1-57806-738-1|url=http://books.google.com/?id=6Lb0zPJcYOwC&pg=PA24&dq=most+prolific+authors+asimov#v=onepage&q=most%20prolific%20authors%20asimov&f=false|edition=1.|accessdate=4 August 2011|page=vii|quote=... quite possibly the most prolific}}</ref> who published over five-hundred books.<ref name=Oakes500>{{cite book|last=Oakes|first=Elizabeth H.|title=American writers|year=2004|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8160-5158-8|url=http://books.google.com/?id=6Lb0zPJcYOwC&pg=PA24&dq=most+prolific+authors+asimov#v=onepage&q=most%20prolific%20authors%20asimov&f=false|accessdate=4 August 2011|page=24}}</ref> Asimov is probably best remembered for his science-fiction stories and especially those about robots, where he placed robots and their interaction with society at the center of many of his works.<ref>He wrote "over 460 books as well as thousands of articles and reviews", and was the "third most prolific writer of all time [and] one of the founding fathers of modern science fiction". {{Cite book|title=Isaac Asimov: a life of the grand master of science fiction |url=http://books.google.com/?id=EWbMiyS9v98C |isbn=0-7867-1518-9 |pages=1–2 |author=White, Michael |year=2005 |publisher=Carroll & Graf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/Asimov.html|title=Asimov's Laws of Robotics - Implications for Information Technology|publisher=Australian National University/IEEE|author=R. Clarke|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> Asimov carefully considered the problem of the ideal set of instructions robots might be given in order to lower the risk to humans, and arrived at his [[Three Laws of Robotics]]: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; a robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; and a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seiler |first=Edward |coauthors=Jenkins, John H. |url=http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html |title=Isaac Asimov FAQ |publisher=Isaac Asimov Home Page |date=2008-06-27 |accessdate=2008-09-24}}</ref> These were introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although foreshadowed in a few earlier stories. Later, Asimov added the Zeroth Law: "A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm"; the rest of the laws are modified sequentially to acknowledge this.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' the first passage in Asimov's short story "[[Liar! (short story)|Liar!]]" (1941) that mentions the First Law is the earliest recorded use of the word ''[[robotics]]''. Asimov was not initially aware of this; he assumed the word already existed by analogy with ''mechanics,'' ''hydraulics,'' and other similar terms denoting branches of applied knowledge.<ref>{{Cite book|author=White, Michael|title=Isaac Asimov: A Life of the Grand Master of Science Fiction|pages=56|year=2005|publisher=Carroll & Graf|isbn=0-7867-1518-9}}</ref>
===Problems depicted in popular culture===
Fears and concerns about robots have been repeatedly expressed in a wide range of books and films. A common theme is the development of a master race of conscious and highly intelligent robots, motivated to take over or destroy the human race. (See ''[[The Terminator]], [[Runaway (1984 film)|Runaway]], [[RoboCop]]'', the [[Replicator (Stargate)|Replicators in ''Stargate'']], the [[Cylon (Battlestar Galactica)|Cylons]] in ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', ''[[The Matrix]]'', ''[[Enthiran]]'' and ''[[I, Robot (film)|I, Robot]]''.) Some fictional robots are programmed to kill and destroy; others gain superhuman intelligence and abilities by upgrading their own software and hardware. Examples of popular media where the robot becomes evil are ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', ''[[Red Planet (film)|Red Planet]]'' and ''[[Enthiran]]''. Another common theme is the reaction, sometimes called the "[[uncanny valley]]", of unease and even revulsion at the sight of robots that mimic humans too closely.<ref name="uncanny">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.macdorman.com/kfm/writings/pubs/Ho2007EmotionUncanny.pdf |first=C. C. |last=Ho |coauthors=MacDorman, K. F.; Pramono, Z. A. D. |year=2008 |title=Human emotion and the uncanny valley: A GLM, MDS, and ISOMAP analysis of robot video ratings| accessdate=2008-09-24 |work=Proceedings of the Third ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. March 11–14. Amsterdam.}}</ref> ''[[Frankenstein]]'' (1818), often called the first science fiction novel, has become synonymous with the theme of a robot or monster advancing beyond its creator. In the TV show, Futurama, the robots are portrayed as humanoid figures that live alongside humans, not as robotic butlers. They still work in industry, but these robots carry out daily lives. Other problems may include events pertaining to robot surrogates (e.g. the movie ''[[Surrogates (film)|Surrogates]]'') where tissue of living organisms is interchanged with robotic systems. These problems can leave many possibilities where electronic viruses or an electro magnetic pulse (EMP) can destroy not only the robot but kill the host/operator as well.
==See also==
{{Portal|Robotics}}
<!-- Please add related topics to [[Outline of robotics]] and [[Index of robotics articles]] -->
* [[Artificial intelligence]]
* [[Glossary of robotics]]
* [[Index of robotics articles]]
* [[Liquid handling robot]]
* [[Mobile robot]]
* [[Outline of robotics]]
* [[Robot App Store]]
* [[Tactile sensor]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
*Glaser, Horst Albert and Rossbach, Sabine: The Artificial Human, Frankfurt/M., Bern, New York 2011 [http://www.amazon.com/The-Artificial-Human-Tragical-History/dp/3631578083/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335701088&sr=1-1 "The Artificial Human"]
*TechCast Article Series, Jason Rupinski and Richard Mix, [http://www.techcast.org/Upload/PDFs/050804104155TC.androids2.pdf "Public Attitudes to Androids: Robot Gender, Tasks, & Pricing"]
* Cheney, Margaret [1989:123] (1981). ''Tesla, Man Out of Time''. Dorset Press. New York. ISBN 0-88029-419-1
* Craig, J.J. (2005). Introduction to Robotics. Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ.
* [[Lee Gutkind|Gutkind, L]]. (2006). ''[[Almost Human: Making Robots Think]]''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
* [[Needham, Joseph]] (1986). ''[[Science and Civilization in China]]: Volume 2''. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.
* Sotheby's New York. The Tin Toy Robot Collection of Matt Wyse, (1996)
* Tsai, L. W. (1999). ''Robot Analysis''. Wiley. New York.
* [[Manuel de Landa|DeLanda, Manuel]]. ''[[War in the Age of Intelligent Machines]]''. 1991. Swerve. New York.
* [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117946193/grouphome/home.html Journal of Field Robotics]
==External links==
<!-- ATTENTION! Please do not add external links without discussion and consensus on the talk page. Undiscussed links will be removed. -->
{{Sister project links|wikt=robot|commons=Robots|b=Robotics|n=no|q=no|s=no|v=Anthropomorphic Robotics|species=no}}
* {{dmoz|Computers/Robotics|Robotics}}
;Research
* [http://www.ifrr.org International Foundation of Robotics Research (IFRR)]
* [http://www.ijrr.org International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR)]
* [http://www.ieee-ras.org Robotics and Automation Society (RAS)] at [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|IEEE]]
* [http://kn.theiet.org/communities/robotics/index.cfm Robotics Network] at [[Institution of Engineering and Technology|IET]]
* [http://robotics.nasa.gov Robotics Division] at [[NASA]]
*[http://robotics.eas.asu.edu/ Human Machine Integration Laboratory] at [[Arizona State University]]
{{Robotics}}
{{Science fiction}}
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[[Category:Robots| ]]
[[Category:Words originating in fiction]]
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New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{About|mechanical robots|other uses of the term|robot (disambiguation)|software agents|Bot (disambiguation){{!}}Bot}}
{{Disputed|Edited Lead|date=April 2012}}
[[File:HONDA ASIMO.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[ASIMO]] (2000) at the [[Expo 2005]], a [[humanoid robot]]]]
[[File:FANUC 6-axis welding robots.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Articulated robot|Articulated]] [[welding robot]]s used in a factory]]
A '''robot''' is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually an [[Electromechanics|electro-mechanical machine]] that is guided by a [[computer program]] or [[electronic circuit]]ry. Robots can be [[autonomous robot|autonomous]], semi-autonomous or remotely controlled{{FACT|date=January 2013}} and range from humanoids such as [[ASIMO]] and [[TOPIO]] to [[Nanorobotics|nano robots]], [[Swarm robotics|'swarm' robots]], and [[industrial robot]]s. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or [[Agency (philosophy)|thought]] of its own. The branch of technology that deals with robots is called [[robotics]].
<!-- Basic historical background from mechanical aids to automata -->
Machinery was initially used for repetitive functions, such as [[Water wheel|lifting water]] and [[Wind mill|grinding grain]]. With technological advances more complex machines were developed, such as those invented by [[Hero of Alexandria]] in the 1st century AD, and the [[automata]] of [[Al-Jazari]] in the 12th century AD. The robots made by such inventors were more for the purpose of entertainment than for performing work.
As mechanical techniques developed through the Industrial age, more practical applications were proposed by [[Nikola Tesla]], who in 1898 designed a radio-controlled boat. <!-- Electronic development to present day --> Electronics evolved into the driving force of development with the advent of the first electronic [[autonomous robot]]s created by [[William Grey Walter]] in Bristol, [[England]] in 1948. The first digital and [[Computer program|programmable]] robot was invented by [[George Devol]] in 1954 and was named the [[Unimate]]. It was sold to [[General Motors]] in 1961 where it was used to lift pieces of hot metal from [[die casting]] machines at the [[Inland Fisher Guide Plant (New Jersey)|Inland Fisher Guide Plant]] in the [[West Trenton, New Jersey|West Trenton]] section of [[Ewing Township, New Jersey]].<ref>Pearce, Jeremy. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/business/george-devol-developer-of-robot-arm-dies-at-99.html "George C. Devol, Inventor of Robot Arm, Dies at 99"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 15, 2011. Accessed February 7, 2012. "In 1961, General Motors put the first Unimate arm on an assembly line at the company’s plant in Ewing Township, N.J., a suburb of Trenton. The device was used to lift and stack die-cast metal parts taken hot from their molds."</ref>
Robots have replaced humans{{Citation needed|reason=Unless a reliable source can be cited that applies to the modern era, this assertion would make more sense in the previous paragraph, where replacement of labour is discussed. Modern robotics is mainly practiced in jurisdictions that abolished slavery well before the era being discussed in this paragraph.|date=November 2011}} in the assistance of performing those repetitive and dangerous tasks which humans prefer not to do, or are unable to do due to size limitations, or even those such as in outer space or at the bottom of the sea where humans could not survive the extreme environments.
<!-- Social aspects -->
There are concerns about the increasing use of robots and their role in society. Robots are blamed for rising unemployment as they replace workers in some functions. The use of robots in military combat raises ethical concerns. The possibility of robot autonomy and potential repercussions has been addressed in fiction and may be a realistic concern in the future.
==Overview==
The word ''robot'' can refer to both physical robots and [[Virtuality|virtual]] [[software agent]]s, but the latter are usually referred to as [[Internet bot|bots]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atis.org/tg2k/_bot.html|title=Telecom glossary "bot"|publisher=Alliance for Telecommunications Solutions|date=2001-02-28|accessdate=2007-09-05|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070202121608/http://www.atis.org/tg2k/_bot.html|archivedate=2008-07-14}}</ref> There is no consensus on which machines qualify as robots but there is general agreement among experts, and the public, that robots tend to do some or all of the following: move around, operate a mechanical limb, sense and manipulate their environment, and exhibit intelligent behavior — especially behavior which mimics humans or other animals.
There is no one definition of ''robot'' that satisfies everyone and many people have their own.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.virtuar.com/click/2005/robonexus/index.htm|first=Igor|last=Polk|title=RoboNexus 2005 robot exhibition virtual tour|publisher=Robonexus Exhibition 2005|date=2005-11-16|accessdate=2007-09-10}}</ref> For example [[Joseph Engelberger]], a pioneer in industrial robotics, once remarked: "I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one."<ref>{{Cite web|first=Tom|last=Harris|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/robot.htm|title=How Robots Work|publisher=How Stuff Works|accessdate=2007-09-10}}</ref> According to the [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] a robot is "any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort, though it may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a humanlike manner." [[Merriam-Webster]] describes a robot as a "machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being", or a "device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks", or a "mechanism guided by automatic controls".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/robot|title=Robot |publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|accessdate=2008-08-04}}</ref>
<div align="center"><gallery widths="280" perrow="4">
Image:Simplified robottypes.svg|The various types of robots
Image:Knight2000 ex107.jpg|[[KITT]] (a fictitious robot) is mentally anthropomorphic
Image:Asimo look new design.jpg|ASIMO is physically anthropomorphic
</gallery></div>
===Defining characteristics===
While there is no single correct definition of ''robot'',<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.cbc.ca/technology/technology-blog/2007/07/your_view_how_would_you_define.html|title=Your View: How would you define a robot?| publisher=CBC News|date=2007-07-16| accessdate=2007-09-05}}</ref> a typical robot will have several, or possibly all, of the following characteristics.
It is an electric machine which has some ability to interact with physical objects and to be given electronic programming to do a specific task or to do a whole range of tasks or actions. It may also have some ability to perceive and absorb data on physical objects, or on its local physical environment, or to process data, or to respond to various stimuli. This is in contrast to a simple mechanical device such as a [[gear]] or a [[hydraulic press]] or any other item which has no processing ability and which does tasks through purely [[mechanics|mechanical]] processes and motion.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
;Mental agency
For robotic engineers, the physical appearance of a machine is less important than the way its actions are [[control system|controlled]]. The more the control system seems to have [[agency (philosophy)|agency]] of its own, the more likely the machine is to be called a robot. An important feature of agency is the ability to make choices. Higher-level cognitive functions, though, are not necessary, as shown by [[ant robotics|ant robots]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[clockwork]] car is never considered a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A mechanical device that is able to perform some preset motions but is unable to adapt (an automaton) is rarely considered a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A remotely operated vehicle is sometimes considered a robot (or [[telerobotics|telerobot]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ranier.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/realrobots.html|title=Real Robots on the Web|publisher=NASA Space Telerobotics Program|date=1999-10-15|accessdate=2007-09-06}}</ref>
* A car with an onboard computer, like [[Bigtrak]], which could drive in a programmable sequence, might be called a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[Intelligent car|self-controlled car]] which could sense its environment and make driving decisions based on this information, such as the 1990s [[driverless car]]s of [[Ernst Dickmanns]] or the entries in the [[DARPA Grand Challenge]], would quite likely be called a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[sentience|sentient]] car, like the fictional [[KITT]], which can make decisions, navigate freely and converse fluently with a human, is usually considered a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
;Physical agency
However, for many [[layman|laymen]], if a machine appears able to control its arms or limbs, and especially if it appears [[wikt:anthropomorphic|anthropomorphic]] or [[wikt:zoomorphic|zoomorphic]] (e.g. [[ASIMO]] or [[Aibo]]), it would be called a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[player piano]] is rarely characterized as a robot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wyastone.co.uk/nrl/gp_robot.html|title=The Grand Piano Series: The History of The Robot|publisher=Nimbus Records|accessdate=2007-09-08}}</ref>
* A [[CNC]] milling machine is very occasionally characterized as a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[factory robot|factory automation arm]] is almost always characterized as an industrial robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* An autonomous wheeled or tracked device, such as a self-guided rover or self-guided vehicle, is almost always characterized as a mobile robot or service robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
* A [[zoomorphic]] mechanical toy, like [[Roboraptor]], is usually characterized as a robot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/29/roboraptor-review-this-one-has-teeth/|title=Roboraptor review - this one has teeth - in the discussion below, several people talk about RoboRaptor as being a real robot|author=Marc Perton|date=2005-07-29|publisher=Engadget|accessdate=2008-08-07}}</ref>
* A mechanical humanoid, like [[ASIMO]], is almost always characterized as a robot, usually as a service robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
Even for a 3-axis CNC milling machine using the same control system as a robot arm, it is the arm which is almost always called a robot, while the CNC machine is usually just a machine. Having eyes can also make a difference in whether a machine is called a robot, since humans instinctively connect eyes with sentience. However, simply being anthropomorphic is not a sufficient criterion for something to be called a robot. A robot must do something; an inanimate object shaped like ASIMO would not be considered a robot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
==History==
{{Main|History of robots}}
The idea of automata originates in the mythologies of many cultures around the world. Engineers and inventors from ancient civilizations, including [[Ancient China]],<ref name="needham volume 2 53">{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|authorlink=Joseph Needham|year=1991|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 2, History of Scientific Thought|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-05800-7}}</ref> [[Ancient Greece]], and [[Ptolemaic Egypt]],<ref name="RoboticHistory1">{{cite web|url=http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~currie/roboadam.htm|title=The History of Robotics|first=Adam|last=Currie|year=1999|accessdate=2007-09-10}}</ref> attempted to build self-operating machines, some resembling animals and humans. Early descriptions of automata include the artificial doves of [[Archytas]],<ref>''Noct. Att. L.'' 10</ref> the artificial birds of [[Mozi]] and [[Lu Ban]],<ref name="needham volume 2 54">Needham, Volume 2, 54.</ref> a "speaking" automaton by [[Hero of Alexandria]], a washstand automaton by [[Philo of Byzantium]], and a human automaton described in the ''Lie Zi''.<ref name="needham volume 2 53"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Timeline of robot and automata development
! Date
! Significance
! Robot name
! Inventor
|-|
| 1st century AD and earlier
| Descriptions of over a hundred machines and automata, including a fire engine, wind organ, coin-operated machine, and steam-powered [[aeliopile]], in ''Pneumatica'' and ''Automata'' by [[Hero of Alexandria|Heron]]
|
| [[Ctesibius of Alexandria|Ctesibius]], [[Philo of Byzantium|Philo]], [[Hero of Alexandria|Heron]], and others
|-
| 1206
| Early programmable automata
| Robot band<ref name=Fowler>{{Cite journal|title=The Museum of Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments|first=Charles B.|last=Fowler|journal=Music Educators Journal|volume=54|issue=2|date=October 1967|pages=45–49|doi=10.2307/3391092|publisher=MENC_ The National Association for Music Education|jstor=3391092}}</ref>
| [[Al-Jazari]]
|-
| c. 1495
| Designs for a humanoid robot
| [[Leonardo's robot|Mechanical knight]]
| [[Leonardo da Vinci]]
|-
| 1738
| Mechanical duck that was able to eat, flap its wings, and excrete
| [[Digesting Duck]]
| [[Jacques de Vaucanson]]
|-
| 19th century
| Japanese mechanical toys that served tea, fired arrows, and painted
| ''Karakuri'' toys
| [[Hisashige Tanaka]]
|-
| (c. 1860)
| Remotely (mechanical) steered clockwork [[fire ship]]
| (''Coastal fireship'')
| Unknown/[[Giovanni Luppis]]
|-
| Early 1870s
| Remotely controlled [[torpedo]]s by [[John Ericsson]] ([[Pneumatics|pneumatic]]), [[John Louis Lay]] (electric wire guided), and [[Victor von Scheliha]] (electric wire guided)<ref name="EdwynGray">Edwyn Gray, Nineteenth-century torpedoes and their inventors, page 18</ref>
| (''torpedo'')
| [[John Ericsson]], [[John Louis Lay]], [[Victor von Scheliha]]
|-
| 1898
| Tesla demonstrates the first radio controlled (wireless) vessel (''torpedo'')
| (''torpedo'')
| [[Nikola Tesla]]
|-
| 1921
| First fictional automata called "robots" appear in the play ''R.U.R.''
| [[Rossum's Universal Robots]]
| [[Karel Čapek]]
|-
| 1928
| Humanoid robot, based on a suit of armor with electrical actuators, exhibited at the annual exhibition of the Model Engineers Society in London
| Eric
| W. H. Richards
|-
| 1930s
| Remotely controlled humanoid robot exhibited at the 1939 and 1940 [[World's Fair]]s
| [[Elektro]]
| [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]]
|-
| 1948
| Simple robots exhibiting biological behaviors<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n09/historia/turtles_i.htm |accessdate=2008-09-25 |title=Imitation of Life: A History of the First Robots}}</ref>
| Elsie and Elmer
| [[William Grey Walter]]
|-
| 1956
| First commercial robot, from the Unimation company founded by [[George Devol]] and [[Joseph Engelberger]], based on Devol's patents<ref>{{Cite journal|accessdate=2008-09-25|last=Waurzyniak|first=Patrick|title=Masters of Manufacturing: Joseph F. Engelberger|journal=Society of Manufacturing Engineers|volume=137|issue=1|date=2006-07|url=http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/find-articles.pl?&ME06ART39&ME&20060709#article}}</ref>
| [[Unimate]]
| [[George Devol]]
|-
| 1961
| First installed industrial robot
| [[Unimate]]
| [[George Devol]]
|-
| 1963
| First palletizing robot<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fujiyusoki.com/English/rekishi.htm|title=Company History|publisher=Fuji Yusoki Kogyo Co.|accessdate=2008-09-12}}</ref>
| Palletizer
| Fuji Yusoki Kogyo
|-
| 1973
| First robot with six electromechanically driven axes<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kuka-robotics.com/group/milestones/1973.htm |title=KUKA Industrial Robot FAMULUS|accessdate=2008-01-10 |work=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ifr.org/uploads/media/History_of_Industrial_Robots_online_brochure_by_IFR_2012.pdf |title=History of Industrial Robots|accessdate=2012-10-27 |work=}}</ref>
| Famulus
| [[KUKA|KUKA Robotics]]
|-
| 1976
| Programmable universal manipulation arm, a Unimation product
| [[Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly|PUMA]]
| [[Victor Scheinman]]
|}
{{hidden end}}
===Ancient beginnings===
Many ancient mythologies include artificial people, such as the mechanical servants built by the Greek god [[Hephaestus]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=h5tKJvApybsC&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=hephaestus+handmaidens|title=Ancient Greek Ideas on Speech, Language, and Civilization|author=Deborah Levine Gera|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-19-925616-7}}</ref> ([[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]] to the Romans), the clay [[golem]]s of Jewish legend and clay giants of Norse legend, and [[Galatea (mythology)|Galatea]], the mythical statue of [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]] that came to life. Since circa 400 BC, myths of Crete include [[Talos]], a man of bronze who guarded the Cretan island of Europa from pirates.
In ancient Greece, the Greek engineer [[Ctesibius]] (c. 270 BC) "applied a knowledge of pneumatics and hydraulics to produce the first organ and water clocks with moving figures."<ref>Mark E. Rosheim (1994). "''[http://books.google.com/books?id=IxtL54iiDPUC&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false Robot evolution: the development of anthrobotics]''". p.2. Wiley-IEEE. ISBN 0-471-02622-0</ref><ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/tech/robots/newsid_3914000/3914569.stm Robots then and now]". BBC.</ref> In the 4th century BC, the [[Greek mathematics|Greek]] mathematician [[Archytas]] of Tarentum postulated a mechanical steam-operated bird he called "The Pigeon". [[Hero of Alexandria]] {{nowrap|(10–70 AD)}}, a Greek mathematician and inventor, created numerous user-configurable automated devices, and described machines powered by air pressure, steam and water.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Heron.html | author=O'Connor, J.J. and E.F. Robertson | title=Heron biography | accessdate=2008-09-05 | work=The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive}}</ref>
In ancient China, the 3rd century text of the ''Lie Zi'' describes an account of humanoid automata, involving a much earlier encounter between Chinese emperor [[King Mu of Zhou]] and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an 'artificer'. Yan Shi proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical 'handiwork' made of leather, wood, and artificial organs.<ref name="needham volume 2 53">Needham, Volume 2, 53.</ref> There are also accounts of flying automata in the ''Han Fei Zi'' and other texts, which attributes the 5th century BC [[Mohism|Mohist]] philosopher [[Mozi]] and his contemporary [[Lu Ban]] with the invention of artificial wooden birds (''ma yuan'') that could successfully fly.<ref name="needham volume 2 54" /> In 1066, the Chinese inventor [[Su Song]] built a [[Water Clock|water clock]] in the form of a tower which featured mechanical figurines which chimed the hours.
The beginning of automata is associated with the invention of early [[Su Song|Su Song's astronomical clock tower]] featured mechanical figurines that chimed the hours.<ref name=Fowler/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/early.html |title=Earliest Clocks |work=A Walk Through Time |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher=NIST Physics Laboratory |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080531063139/http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/early.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-05-31}}</ref><ref name=NSAJAutomata>{{cite journal|date=July 6, 2007|publisher=IPC Magazines|work=New Scientist|pages=32–35}}</ref> His mechanism had a programmable drum machine with pegs ([[cam]]s) that bumped into little [[lever]]s that operated percussion instruments. The drummer could be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns by moving the pegs to different locations.<ref name=NSAJAutomata/>
<div align="center">
<gallery perrow=4 widths="200">
Image:Washstand by Philo of Byzantium.png|Washstand automaton reconstruction, as described by [[Philo of Byzantium]] (Greece, 3rd century BC).
Image:Al-Jazari_-_A_Musical_Toy.jpg|[[Al-Jazari|Al-Jazari's]] toy boat, musical automata
Image:KarakuriBritishMuseum.jpg|Tea-serving [[Karakuri ningyō|karakuri]] with mechanism. ([[National Museum of Nature and Science]], [[Tokyo]]).
Image:Clock Tower from Su Song's Book.JPG|[[Su Song|Su Song's astronomical clock tower]] showing the mechanical figurines which chimed the hours.
</gallery></div>
===Early modern developments===
In [[Renaissance]] Italy, [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519) sketched plans for a humanoid robot around 1495. Da Vinci's notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings of a mechanical knight now known as [[Leonardo's robot]], able to sit up, wave its arms and move its head and jaw.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.leonardo3.net/leonardo/books%20I%20robot%20di%20Leonardo%20-%20Taddei%20Mario%20-%20english%20Leonardo%20robots%201.html|title=Leonardo da Vinci's Robots|publisher=Leonardo3.net|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> The design was probably based on anatomical research recorded in his ''[[Vitruvian Man]]''. It is not known whether he attempted to build it.
In Japan, complex animal and human automata were built between the 17th to 19th centuries, with many described in the 18th century ''Karakuri zui'' (''Illustrated Machinery'', 1796). One such automaton was the [[karakuri ningyō]], a mechanized [[puppet]].<ref>Jane Marie Law, ''Puppets of Nostalgia – The Life, Death and Rebirth of the Japanese [[Awaji]]{{disambiguation needed|{{subst:DATE}}|date=August 2012}} Ningyo Tradition'', 1997, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-02894-1</ref> Different variations of the karakuri existed: the ''Butai karakuri'', which were used in [[theatre]], the ''Zashiki karakuri'', which were small and used in homes, and the ''Dashi karakuri'' which were used in religious festivals, where the puppets were used to perform reenactments of traditional [[mythology|myth]]s and [[legend]]s.
In France, between 1738 and 1739, [[Jacques de Vaucanson]] exhibited several life-sized automatons: a flute player, a pipe player and a duck. The mechanical duck could flap its wings, crane its neck, and swallow food from the exhibitor's hand, and it gave the illusion of digesting its food by excreting matter stored in a hidden compartment.<ref>Wood, Gabby. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/feb/16/extract.gabywood "Living Dolls: A Magical History Of The Quest For Mechanical Life"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 2002-02-16.</ref>
===Modern developments===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:TOPIO 3.0.jpg|200px|thumb|[[TOPIO]], a [[humanoid robot]], played [[ping pong]] at Tokyo [[International Robot Exhibition]] (IREX) 2009.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/ping-pong-playing-terminator|title=A Ping-Pong-Playing Terminator|publisher=Popular Science}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.gadgetrivia.com/8164-best_robot_international_robot_exhibition|title=Best robot 2009|publisher=www.gadgetrivia.com}}</ref>]] -->
The Japanese craftsman [[Hisashige Tanaka]] (1799–1881), known as "Japan's Edison" or "Karakuri Giemon", created an array of extremely complex mechanical toys, some of which served tea, fired arrows drawn from a quiver, and even painted a Japanese ''kanji'' character.<ref>{{Cite book| author=N. Hornyak, Timothy | authorlink= | coauthors= | title=Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots | year=2006 | publisher=Kodansha International | location=New York | isbn=4-7700-3012-6 | pages=}}</ref>
A remotely operated vehicles were demonstrated in the late 19th in the form of several types of remotely controlled [[torpedo]]s. The early 1870s saw remotely controlled [[torpedo]]s by [[John Ericsson]] ([[Pneumatics|pneumatic]]), [[John Louis Lay]] (electric wire guided), and [[Victor von Scheliha]] (electric wire guided).<ref name="EdwynGray" /> In 1898 [[Nikola Tesla]] publicly demonstrated a "wireless" radio-controlled [[torpedo]] that he hoped sell to the [[US Navy]].<ref>{{cite patent|US|613809}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|publisher=PBS.org |url=http://www.pbs.org/tesla |title=Tesla - Master of Lightning |accessdate=2008-09-24}}</ref>
In 1926, [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]] created Televox, the first robot put to useful work. They followed Televox with a number of other simple robots, including one called Rastus, made in the crude image of a black man. In the 1930s, they created a humanoid robot known as Elektro for exhibition purposes, including the 1939 and 1940 [[World's Fair]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.freetimes.com/stories/13/35/robot-dreams-the-strange-tale-of-a-mans-quest-to-rebuild-his-mechanical-childhood-friend |publisher=The Cleveland Free Times |title=Robot Dreams : The Strange Tale Of A Man's Quest To Rebuild His Mechanical Childhood Friend |accessdate=2008-09-25}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Robots of Westinghouse: 1924-Today |author=Scott Schaut |publisher=Mansfield Memorial Museum |year=2006 |isbn=0-9785844-1-4}}</ref> In 1928, Japan's first robot, [[Gakutensoku]], was designed and constructed by biologist Makoto Nishimura. The first electronic autonomous robots with complex behaviour were created by [[William Grey Walter]] of the [[Burden Neurological Institute]] at Bristol, England in 1948 and 1949. They were named ''Elmer'' and ''Elsie''. These robots could sense light and contact with external objects, and use these stimuli to navigate.<ref name="gwonline">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ias.uwe.ac.uk/Robots/gwonline/gwonline.html |title=The Grey Walter Online Archive |accessdate=2008-09-25 |author=Owen Holland}}</ref>
The first truly modern robot, digitally operated and programmable, was invented by George Devol in 1954 and was ultimately called the [[Unimate]]. Devol sold the first Unimate to [[General Motors]] in 1960, and it was installed in 1961 in a plant in [[Trenton, New Jersey]] to lift hot pieces of metal from a [[die casting]] machine and stack them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.robothalloffame.org/unimate.html|title=Robot Hall of Fame - Unimate|publisher=Carnegie Mellon University|accessdate=2008-08-28}}</ref> Devol’s patent for the first digitally operated programmable robotic arm represents the foundation of the modern robotics industry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.invent.org/2011induction/1_3_11_induction_devol.asp|title=National Inventor's Hall of Fame 2011 Inductee|publisher=Invent Now|accessdate=2011-03-18}}</ref>
Commercial and industrial robots are now in widespread use performing jobs more cheaply or with greater accuracy and reliability than humans. They are also employed for jobs which are too dirty, dangerous or dull to be suitable for humans. Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly and packing, transport, earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry, laboratory research, and mass production of consumer and industrial goods.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.emrotechnologies.com/ |title=About us}}</ref>
==Etymology==
{{See also|Glossary of robotics}}
[[File:Capek play.jpg|thumb|260px|A scene from [[Karel Čapek]]'s 1920 play [[R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)]], showing three robots]]
The word ''robot'' was introduced to the public by the [[Czechs|Czech]] [[Interwar period|interwar]] writer [[Karel Čapek]] in his play ''[[R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)]]'', published in 1920.<ref name="KapekWebsite">{{Cite web|url=http://capek.misto.cz/english/robot.html|first=Dominik|last=Zunt|title=Who did actually invent the word "robot" and what does it mean?|publisher=The Karel Čapek website|accessdate=2007-09-11}}</ref> The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people called ''robots'', though they are closer to the modern ideas of [[android (robot)|androids]], creatures who can be mistaken for humans. They can plainly think for themselves, though they seem happy to serve. At issue is whether the ''robots'' are being [[exploitation|exploited]] and the consequences of their treatment.
Karel Čapek himself did not coin the word. He wrote a short letter in reference to an [[etymology]] in the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' in which he named his brother, the painter and writer [[Josef Čapek]], as its actual originator.<ref name="KapekWebsite"/>
In an article in the Czech journal ''[[Lidové noviny]]'' in 1933, he explained that he had originally wanted to call the creatures ''laboři'' ("workers", from [[Latin]] ''labor''). However, he did not like the word, and sought advice from his brother Josef, who suggested "roboti". The word ''robota'' means literally "[[corvée]]", "serf labor", and figuratively "drudgery" or "hard work" in [[Czech language|Czech]] and also (more general) "work", "labor" in many [[Slavic languages]] (e.g.: [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], archaic [[Czech language|Czech]]). Traditionally the ''robota'' was the work period a serf ([[corvée]]) had to give for his lord, typically 6 months of the year. The origin of the word is the [[Old Church Slavonic]] ([[Old Bulgarian]]) ''rabota'' "servitude" ("work" in contemporary [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Russian language|Russian]]), which in turn comes from the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] root ''*orbh-''. ''Robot'' is [[cognate]] with the German word ''Arbeiter'' (worker).<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080512121943/www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE363.html Indo-European root ''*orbh-'']</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=robot&searchmode=or|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|accessdate=2012-06-10}}</ref>
The word [[robotics]], used to describe this field of study,<ref name=OED>{{cite web|title=robotics|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0714530#m_en_gb0714530|publisher=Oxford Dictionaries|accessdate=4 February 2011}}</ref> was coined by the science fiction writer [[Isaac Asimov]]. Asimov created the "''[[Three Laws of Robotics]]''" which are a recurring theme in his books. These have since been used by many others to define laws used in fact and fiction. Introduced in his 1942 short story "[[Runaround]]" the Laws state the following:
{{quote|
#A robot may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
#A robot must obey a human being, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
#A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
}}
==Modern robots==
[[File:Laproscopic Surgery Robot.jpg|thumb|175px|A [[laparoscopic]] robotic surgery machine]]
===Mobile robot===
{{Main|Mobile robot|Automated guided vehicle}}
Mobile robots have the capability to move around in their environment and are not fixed to one physical location. An example of a mobile robot that is in common use today is the ''automated guided vehicle'' or ''automatic guided vehicle'' (AGV). An AGV is a mobile robot that follows markers or wires in the floor, or uses vision or lasers. AGVs are discussed later in this article.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
Mobile robots are also found in industry, military and security environments. They also appear as consumer products, for entertainment or to perform certain tasks like vacuum cleaning. Mobile robots are the focus of a great deal of current research and almost every major university has one or more labs that focus on mobile robot research.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
Modern robots are usually used in tightly controlled environments such as on [[assembly line]]s because they have difficulty responding to unexpected interference. Because of this most humans rarely encounter robots. However [[domestic robot]]s for cleaning and maintenance are increasingly common in and around homes in developed countries. Robots can also be found in [[military robot|military]] applications.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
===Industrial robots (manipulating)===
{{Main|Industrial robot|Manipulator}}
Industrial robots usually consist of a [[jointed arm]] (multi-linked manipulator) and an [[robot end effector|end effector]] that is attached to a fixed surface. One of the most common type of end effector is a [[Robot end effector|gripper]] assembly.
<!--''This keeps getting added onto the next sentence. DO NOT confuse the issue - the def in the next sentence is not general for "robot":'' It is difficult to compare numbers of robots in different countries as there are different definitions of what a "robot" is. -->The [[International Organization for Standardization]] gives a definition of a <!-- Please refrain from removing the "industrial" from this sentence. The def in ISO 8373 clearly states "Manipulating industrial robots -- Vocabulary" --> manipulating industrial robot in [[ISO 8373]]:
"an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose, manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dira.dk/pdf/robotdef.pdf |title=Definition of a robot|format=PDF|publisher=Dansk Robot Forening|accessdate=2007-09-10|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070628064010/http://www.dira.dk/pdf/robotdef.pdf|archivedate=2008-07-15}}</ref>
This definition is used by the [[International Federation of Robotics]], the European Robotics Research Network (EURON) and many national standards committees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.euron.org/resources/standards.html |title=Robotics-related Standards Sites |publisher=European Robotics Research Network |accessdate=2008-07-15}}</ref><!-- See talk page as RIofA is in disute: The Robotics Institute of America (RIA) uses a broader definition: a robot is a "re-programmable multi-functional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks."<ref name="Lee 2005"/> The RIA subdivides robots into four classes: devices that manipulate objects with manual control, automated devices that manipulate objects with predetermined cycles, programmable and servo-controlled robots with continuous point-to-point trajectories, and robots of this last type which also acquire information from the environment and move intelligently in response. -->
[[File:Automation of foundry with robot.jpg|thumb|175px|right|A Pick and Place robot in a factory]]
===Service robot===
{{Main|Service robot}}
Most commonly industrial robots are fixed robotic arms and manipulators used primarily for production and distribution of goods. The term "service robot" is less well-defined. The [[International Federation of Robotics]] has proposed a tentative definition, "A service robot is a robot which operates semi- or fully autonomously to perform services useful to the well-being of humans and equipment, excluding manufacturing operations."<ref>[http://www.ifr.org/service-robots/: Provisional definition of Service Robots] English, 27th of October 2012</ref>
===Modular robot===
Modular robots are a new breed of robots that are designed to increase the utilization of the robots by modularizing the robots. The functionality and effectiveness of a modular robot is easier to increase compared to conventional robots. These robots are composed of a single type of identical, several different identical module types, or similarly shaped modules, which vary in size. Their architectural structure allows hyper-redundancy for modular robots, as they can be designed with more than 8 degrees of freedom (DOF). Creating the programming, inverse kinematics and dynamics for modular robots is more complex than with traditional robots.
Modular robots may be composed of L-shaped modules, cubic modules, and U and H-shaped modules. ANAT technology, an early modular robotic technology patented by Robotics Design Inc., allows the creation of modular robots from U and H shaped modules that connect in a chain, and are used to form heterogeneous and homogenous modular robot systems. These “ANAT robots” can be designed with “n” DOF as each module is a complete motorized robotic system that folds relatively to the modules connected before and after it in its chain, and therefore a single module allows one degree of freedom. The more modules that are connected to one another, the more degrees of freedom it will have. L-shaped modules can also be designed in a chain, and must become increasingly smaller as the size of the chain increases, as payloads attached to the end of the chain place a greater strain on modules that are further from the base. ANAT H-shaped modules do not suffer from this problem, as their design allows a modular robot to distribute pressure and impacts evenly amongst other attached modules, and therefore payload-carrying capacity does not decrease as the length of the arm increases.
Modular robots can be manually or self-reconfigured to form a different robot, that may perform different applications. Because modular robots of the same architecture type are composed of modules that compose different modular robots, a snake-arm robot can combine with another to form a dual or quadra-arm robot, or can split into several mobile robots, and mobile robots can split into multiple smaller ones, or combine with others into a larger or different one. This allows a single modular robot the ability to be fully specialized in a single task, as well as the capacity to be specialized to perform multiple different tasks.
Modular robotic technology is currently being applied in hybrid transportation,<ref name="Modular flying car">{{cite news|url=http://www.aerobuzz.fr/spip.php?article2346|title=Le consortium franco-québécois Mix dévoile son projet de voiture volante|last=Rédaction|first= |date=December 25, 2011|work=http://www.aerobuzz.fr/|publisher=http://www.aerobuzz.fr/|language=French|accessdate=September 7, 2012}}</ref> industrial automation,<ref name="Ep&T Magazine">{{cite news|url=http://www.ept.ca/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000348213|title=Modularity in robotics provides automation for all|last=Scanlan|first=Steve, Robotics Design Inc., Montreal|publisher=Digital.ept.ca |accessdate=September 7, 2012}}</ref> duct cleaning<ref name="Plumbing and HVAC">{{cite news|url=http://www.roboticsdesign.qc.ca/assets/Uploads/PDF-content/InThePress/HVAC/Pluming+HVACmagazineapril2010.pdf|title=Duct cleaning robots|last=Plumbing and HVAC|first=Magazine |date=April 2010|work=roboticsdesign.qc.ca/news.html|publisher=http://plumbingandhvac.ca/|accessdate=April 29, 2010}}</ref> and handling. Many research centres and universities have also studied this technology, and have developed prototypes.
===Collaborative robots===
{{copy edit|section|date=September 2012}}
A ''collaborative robot'' or ''[[Cobot]]'' is a robot that can safely and effectively interact with human workers in performance of simple industrial tasks. Baxter, introduced on September 18, 2012, a product of Rethink Robotics, whose principal was [[Rodney Brooks]], was an [[industrial robot]] selling for about $20,000 which was designed to safely interact with neighboring human workers and be programmable for the performance of simple tasks. The robot stops if its movement encounters a human in the way of its robotic arm and has a prominent off switch which its human partner can push if necessary. The product, intended for sale to small business, was touted as the robotic analogue of the personal computer. Costs were projected to be the equivalent of a worker making $4 an hour.<ref name=NYT91812>{{cite news|title=A Robot With a Reassuring Touch|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/science/a-robot-with-a-delicate-touch.html|accessdate=September 18, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 18, 2012|author=John Markoff}}</ref>
==Robots in society==
[[Image:TOPIO 3.jpg|200px|thumb|[[TOPIO]], a [[humanoid robot]], played [[ping pong]] at Tokyo [[International Robot Exhibition]] (IREX) 2009.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/ping-pong-playing-terminator|title=A Ping-Pong-Playing Terminator|publisher=Popular Science}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.gadgetrivia.com/8164-best_robot_international_robot_exhibition|title=Best robot 2009|publisher=www.gadgetrivia.com}}</ref>]]
Roughly half of all the robots in the world are in Asia, 32% in Europe, and 16% in North America, 1% in [[Australasia]] and 1% in Africa.<ref>[http://www.robots.com/blog.php?tag=48 Robots Today and Tomorrow: IFR Presents the 2007 World Robotics Statistics Survey]; World Robotics; 2007-10-29; retrieved on 2007-12-14</ref> 40% of all the robots in the world are in [[Japan]],<ref>Reporting by Watanabe, Hiroaki; Writing and additional reporting by Negishi, Mayumi; Editing by Norton, Jerry; [http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUST32811820071202 Japan's robots slug it out to be world champ]; Reuters; 2007-12-02; retrieved on 2007-01-01</ref> making Japan the country with the highest number of robots.
===Regional perspectives===
In Japan and other Asian countries, ideas of future robots have been mainly positive, and the start of the pro-robotic society there is thought to be possibly due to the famous '[[Astro Boy]]'. Asian societies such as Japan, and more recently in South Korea and China, believe robots to be more equal to humans, having them care for old people, play with or teach children, or replace pets etc.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2004-04-11-robot-helpers_x.htm "Robot Helpers"]. ''[[USA Today]]''. April 11, 2004.</ref> The general view in Asian cultures is that the more robots advance, the better.
"This is the opening of an era in which human beings and robots can co-exist," says Japanese firm Mitsubishi about one of the many humanistic robots in Japan.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4196052.stm Domestic robot to debut in Japan ]; BBC News; 2005-08-30; retrieved on 2007-01-02</ref> South Korea aims to put a robot in every house there by 2015-2020.<ref name="SKrobot"/><ref>Chamberlain, Ted; [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0610_050610_robot.html Photo in the News: Ultra-Lifelike Robot Debuts in Japan]; National Geographic News; 2005-06-10; retrieved on 2008-01-02</ref>
Western societies are more likely to be against, or even fear the development of robotics, through much media output in movies and literature that they will replace humans. Some believe that the West regards robots as a 'threat' to the future of humans, partly due to religious beliefs about the role of humans and society.<ref name="planettokyo.com">Biglione, Kirk; [http://www.planettokyo.com/news/index.cfm/fuseaction/story/ID/36/ The Secret To Japan's Robot Dominance]; Planet Tokyo; 2006-01-24; retrieved on 2007-01-02</ref><ref>Yang, Jeff; [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/08/25/apop.DTL ASIAN POP Robot Nation Why Japan, and not America, is likely to be the world's first cyborg society]; SFGate; 2005-08-25; retrieved on 2007-01-02</ref> Obviously, these boundaries are not clear, but there is a significant difference between the two cultural viewpoints.
===Autonomy and ethical questions===
{{main|Roboethics|Ethics of artificial intelligence}}
[[File:Actroid-DER 01.jpg|thumb|right|An [[Android (robot)|android]], or robot designed to resemble a human, can appear comforting to some people and disturbing to others<ref name="uncanny" />]]
As robots have become more advanced and sophisticated, experts and academics have increasingly explored the questions of what ethics might govern robots' behavior,<ref name="AAAI ethics">[http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AITopics/Ethics AAAI webpage of materials on robot ethics].</ref> and whether robots might be able to claim any kind of social, cultural, ethical or legal rights.<ref>[http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/newstopics/ethics5.html AAAI compilation of articles on robot rights], Sources compiled up to 2006.</ref> One scientific team has said that it is possible that a robot brain will exist by 2019.<ref>[http://www.familyhealthguide.co.uk/scientists-predict-artificial-brain-in-10-years.html Scientists Predict Artificial Brain in 10 Years], by Kristie McNealy M.D. July 29, 2009.</ref> Others predict robot intelligence breakthroughs by 2050.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=fduW6KHhWtQC&dq=robot&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=SuquyjYb4n&sig=5S3L8pqiLqZ_yjJgh97tPE6F7gQ&hl=en&ei=R1-MSubxLs_dlAfJm_26CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#v=onepage&q=&f=false Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind] By Hans Moravec, Google Books.</ref> Recent advances have made robotic behavior more sophisticated.<ref>[http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/4668/robots-almost-conquering-walking-reading-dancing Robots Almost Conquering Walking, Reading, Dancing], by Matthew Weigand, Korea Itimes, Monday, August 17, 2009.</ref> The social impact of intelligent robots is subject of a 2010 documentary film called ''[[Plug & Pray]]''.<ref>[http://www.plugandpray-film.de/en/content.html ''Plug & Pray], documentary film by Jens Schanze about the possibilities of AI and robotics.</ref>
[[Vernor Vinge]] has suggested that a moment may come when computers and robots are smarter than humans. He calls this "[[technological singularity|the Singularity]]".<ref name="nytimes july09"/> He suggests that it may be somewhat or possibly very dangerous for humans.<ref>[http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/vinge/misc/singularity.html The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era], by Vernor Vinge, Department of Mathematical Sciences, San Diego State University, (c) 1993 by Vernor Vinge.</ref> This is discussed by a philosophy called [[Singularitarianism]].
In 2009, experts attended a conference hosted by the [[Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence]] (AAAI) to discuss whether computers and robots might be able to acquire any autonomy, and how much these abilities might pose a threat or hazard. They noted that some robots have acquired various forms of semi-autonomy, including being able to find power sources on their own and being able to independently choose targets to attack with weapons. They also noted that some computer viruses can evade elimination and have achieved "cockroach intelligence." They noted that self-awareness as depicted in science-fiction is probably unlikely, but that there were other potential hazards and pitfalls.<ref name="nytimes july09">[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/science/26robot.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man] By John Markoff, NY Times, July 26, 2009.</ref> Various media sources and scientific groups have noted separate trends in differing areas which might together result in greater robotic functionalities and autonomy, and which pose some inherent concerns.<ref>[http://www.slate.com/id/2218834/ Gaming the Robot Revolution: A military technology expert weighs in on Terminator: Salvation]., By P. W. Singer, slate.com Thursday, May 21, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.gyre.org/news/explore/robot-takeover Robot takeover], gyre.org.</ref><ref>[http://www.engadget.com/tag/robotapocalypse robot page], engadget.com.</ref>
===Military robots===
Some experts and academics have questioned the use of robots for military combat, especially when such robots are given some degree of autonomous functions.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8182003.stm Call for debate on killer robots], By Jason Palmer, Science and technology reporter, BBC News, 8/3/09.</ref> There are also concerns about technology which might allow some armed robots to be controlled mainly by other robots.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/robot-three-way-portends-autonomous-future/ Robot Three-Way Portends Autonomous Future], By David Axe wired.com, August 13, 2009.</ref>
The US Navy has funded a report which indicates that, as [[military robots]] become more complex, there should be greater attention to implications of their ability to make autonomous decisions.<ref>[http://www.dailytech.com/New%20Navyfunded%20Report%20Warns%20of%20War%20Robots%20Going%20Terminator/article14298.htm New Navy-funded Report Warns of War Robots Going "Terminator"], by Jason Mick (Blog), dailytech.com, February 17, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/18/navy-report-warns-of-robot-uprising-suggests-a-strong-moral-com/ Navy report warns of robot uprising, suggests a strong moral compass], by Joseph L. Flatley engadget.com, February 18th 2009.</ref> One researcher states that autonomous robots might be more humane, as they could make decisions more effectively. However, other experts question this.<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/279448 New role for robot warriors;] Drones are just part of a bid to automate combat. Can virtual ethics make machines decisionmakers?, by Gregory M. Lamb / Staff writer, Christian Science Monitor, February 17, 2010.</ref>
One robot in particular, the [[Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot|EATR]], has generated public concerns
<ref name="FOX">{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533382,00.html|title=Biomass-Eating Military Robot Is a Vegetarian, Company Says|date=2009-07-16|work=FOXNews.com|accessdate=2009-07-31}}</ref> over its fuel source, as it can continually refuel itself using organic substances.<ref name="Wired">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/company-denies-its-robots-feed-on-the-dead/|title= Danger Room What's Next in National Security Company Denies its Robots Feed on the Dead|last=Shachtman|first=Noah|date=2009-07-17|work=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|accessdate=2009-07-31}}</ref> Although the engine for the EATR is designed to run on [[biomass]] and vegetation<ref>Press release, RTI Inc. (2009 July 16). [http://www.robotictechnologyinc.com/images/upload/file/Cyclone%20Power%20Press%20Release%20EATR%20Rumors%20Final%2016%20July%2009.pdf ''Cyclone Power Technologies Responds to Rumors about “Flesh Eating” Military Robot''], pp. 1-2.</ref> specifically selected by its sensors, which it can find on battlefields or other local environments, the project has stated that chicken fat can also be used.<ref name="bpopp22">Press release, RTI Inc. (2009 April 6). [http://www.robotictechnologyinc.com/images/upload/file/Presentation%20EATR%20Brief%20Overview%206%20April%2009.pdf "Brief Project Overview"], ''EATR: Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot'', pp. 22.</ref><!--May need a link to show that the concern was that it might "eat" human flesh from dead soldiers-->
[[Manuel De Landa]] has noted that "smart missiles" and autonomous bombs equipped with artificial perception can be considered robots, as they make some of their decisions autonomously. He believes this represents an important and dangerous trend in which humans are handing over important decisions to machines.<ref>*[[Manuel de Landa]], ''[[War in the Age of Intelligent Machines]]'', New York: Zone Books, 1991, 280 pages, Hardcover, ISBN 0-942299-76-0; Paperback, ISBN 0-942299-75-2.</ref>
===Relationship to unemployment===
{{main|Technological unemployment}}
A recent example of human replacement involves Taiwanese technology company [[Foxconn]] who, in July 2011, announced a three-year plan to replace workers with more robots. At present the company uses ten-thousand robots but will increase them to a million robots over a three-year period.<ref name=XINFoxcon>{{cite news|title=Foxconn to replace workers with 1 million robots in 3 years|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-07/30/c_131018764.htm|accessdate=4 August 2011|newspaper=Xinhuanet.com|date=30|author=Yan|month=July|year=2011}}</ref>
Service robots of different varieties including medical robots, underwater robots, surveillance robots, demolition robots and other types of robots that carry out a multitude of jobs are gaining in numbers. Service robots are everyday tools for mankind. They can clean floors, mow lawns and guard homes and will also assist old and handicapped people, do some surgeries, inspect pipes and sites that are hazardous to people, fight fires and defuse bombs.<ref>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041021085857.htm retrieved September-03-11</ref><!--And what has this to do with unemplyment? Needs linking through text or removing-->
==Contemporary uses==
[[File:smUsingGuiaBot.jpg|thumb|right|A general-purpose robot acts as a guide during the day and a security guard at night]]
{{See also|List of robots}}
At present, there are two main types of robots, based on their use: [[humanoid robot|general-purpose autonomous robots]] and dedicated robots.
Robots can be classified by their [[sensitivity and specificity|specificity]] of purpose. A robot might be designed to perform one particular task extremely well, or a range of tasks less well. Of course, all robots by their nature can be re-programmed to behave differently, but some are limited by their physical form. For example, a factory robot arm can perform jobs such as cutting, welding, gluing, or acting as a fairground ride, while a pick-and-place robot can only populate printed circuit boards.
===General-purpose autonomous robots===
{{main|Autonomous robot}}
General-purpose autonomous robots can perform a variety of functions independently. General-purpose autonomous robots typically can navigate independently in known spaces, handle their own re-charging needs, interface with electronic doors and elevators and perform other basic tasks. Like computers, general-purpose robots can link with networks, software and accessories that increase their usefulness. They may recognize people or objects, talk, provide companionship, monitor environmental quality, respond to alarms, pick up supplies and perform other useful tasks. General-purpose robots may perform a variety of functions simultaneously or they may take on different roles at different times of day. Some such robots try to mimic human beings and may even resemble people in appearance; this type of robot is called a humanoid robot. Humanoid robots are still in a very limited stage, as no humanoid robot, can, as yet, actually navigate around a room that it has never been in. Thus humanoid robots are really quite limited, despite their intelligent behaviors in their well-known environments.
===Factory robots===
;[[Automaker|Car production]]
Over the last three decades, automobile factories have become dominated by robots. A typical factory contains hundreds of [[industrial robot]]s working on fully automated production lines, with one robot for every ten human workers. On an automated production line, a vehicle chassis on a conveyor is [[welding|welded]], [[adhesive|glued]], painted and finally assembled at a sequence of robot stations.
;[[Packaging]]
Industrial robots are also used extensively for palletizing and packaging of manufactured goods, for example for rapidly taking drink cartons from the end of a conveyor belt and placing them into boxes, or for loading and unloading machining centers.
;[[Electronics]]
Mass-produced [[printed circuit board]]s (PCBs) are almost exclusively manufactured by pick-and-place robots, typically with [[SCARA]] manipulators, which remove tiny [[electronic component]]s from strips or trays, and place them on to PCBs with great accuracy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.contactsystems.com/c5_series.html |publisher=Contact Systems |title=Contact Systems Pick and Place robots|accessdate=2008-09-21}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Such robots can place hundreds of thousands of components per hour, far out-performing a human in speed, accuracy, and reliability.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.assembleon.com/surface-mount-assembly/pick-and-place-equipment/a-series/|publisher=Assembleon| title=SMT pick-and-place equipment|accessdate=2008-09-21 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080803173021/http://www.assembleon.com/surface-mount-assembly/pick-and-place-equipment/a-series/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-08-03}}</ref>
;[[Automated guided vehicle]]s (AGVs)
[[File:ADAM Intelligent AGV.jpg|thumb|right|An intelligent AGV drops-off goods without needing lines or beacons in the workspace]]
Mobile robots, following markers or wires in the floor, or using vision<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smartcaddy.net|title=Smart Caddy|publisher=Seegrid|accessdate=2007-09-13}}</ref> or lasers, are used to transport goods around large facilities, such as warehouses, container ports, or hospitals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.agvsystems.com/basics/vehicle.htm|title=The Basics of Automated Guided Vehicles|publisher=Savant Automation, AGV Systems|accessdate=2007-09-13}}</ref>
:;Early AGV-Style Robots
:Limited to tasks that could be accurately defined and had to be performed the same way every time. Very little feedback or intelligence was required, and the robots needed only the most basic [[wikt:exteroceptors|exteroceptors]] (sensors). The limitations of these AGVs are that their paths are not easily altered and they cannot alter their paths if obstacles block them. If one AGV breaks down, it may stop the entire operation.
:;Interim AGV-Technologies
:Developed to deploy triangulation from beacons or bar code grids for scanning on the floor or ceiling. In most factories, triangulation systems tend to require moderate to high maintenance, such as daily cleaning of all beacons or bar codes. Also, if a tall pallet or large vehicle blocks beacons or a bar code is marred, AGVs may become lost. Often such AGVs are designed to be used in human-free environments.
:;Intelligent AGVs (i-AGVs)
:Such as SmartLoader,<ref>{{cite web|title=Jervis B. Webb|url=http://www.jervisbwebb.com/Products/automatic_trailer_loading.aspx?pid=190&qs=1_3_|work=Webb SmartLoader|accessdate=2 September 2011}}</ref> SpeciMinder,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ccsrobotics.com/products/speciminder.html |title=SpeciMinder|publisher=CSS Robotics |accessdate=2008-09-25}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> ADAM,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rmtrobotics.com/tire_agv.html |title=ADAM robot |publisher=RMT Robotics |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> Tug<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aethon.com/can_do_tug.html |title=Can Do |publisher=Aethon |accessdate=2008-09-25 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080803173353/http://www.aethon.com/can_do_tug.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-08-03}}</ref> Eskorta,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fennecfoxtech.com |title=Eskorta robot |publisher=Fennec Fox Technologies |accessdate=2011-11-25}}</ref> and MT 400 with Motivity<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mobilerobots.com/AGV.html |title=Delivery Robots & AGVs |publisher=Mobile Robots |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> are designed for people-friendly workspaces. They navigate by recognizing natural features. [[3D scanner]]s or other means of sensing the environment in two or three dimensions help to eliminate cumulative [[observational error|errors]] in [[dead reckoning|dead-reckoning]] calculations of the AGV's current position. Some AGVs can create maps of their environment using scanning lasers with [[simultaneous localization and mapping]] (SLAM) and use those maps to navigate in real time with other path planning and obstacle avoidance algorithms. They are able to operate in complex environments and perform non-repetitive and non-sequential tasks such as transporting [[photomask]]s in a semiconductor lab, specimens in hospitals and goods in warehouses. For dynamic areas, such as warehouses full of pallets, AGVs require additional strategies using three-dimensional sensors such as time-of-flight or stereovision cameras.
===Dirty, dangerous, dull or inaccessible tasks===
There are many jobs which humans would rather leave to robots. The job may be boring, such as [[housekeeping|domestic cleaning]], or dangerous, such as exploring inside a [[volcano]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ri.cmu.edu/projects/project_163.html|title=Dante II, list of published papers|publisher=The Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University|accessdate=2007-09-16}}</ref> Other jobs are physically inaccessible, such as exploring another [[planet]],<ref>
{{Cite web|url=http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/rover/sojourner.html|title=Mars Pathfinder Mission: Rover Sojourner|publisher=[[NASA]]|date=1997-07-08|accessdate=2007-09-19}}</ref> cleaning the inside of a long pipe, or performing [[laparoscopic]] surgery.<ref name="daVinci">{{Cite web|url=http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2005_Groups/04/davinci.html|title=Robot assisted surgery: da Vinci Surgical System|publisher=Brown University Division of Biology and Medicine|accessdate=2007-09-19}}</ref>
;[[Space probe]]s
Almost every unmanned space probe ever launched was a robot.<ref>[http://upes.academia.edu/SeeteshPANDE/Papers/1717325/The_Utilization_of_Robotic_Space_Probes_in_Deep_Space_Missions_Case_Study_of_AI_Protocols_and_Nuclear_Power_Requirements The Utilization of Robotic Space Probes in Deep Space Missions:Case Study of AI Protocols and Nuclear Power Requirements], Proceedings of 2011 International Conference on Mechanical Engineering, Robotics and Aerospace, October 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2004/1 Review: Space Probes], by Jeff Foust, Monday, January 16, 2012. Review of Space Probes: 50 Years of Exploration from Luna 1 to New Horizons, by Philippe Séguéla Firefly, 2011.</ref> Some were launched in the 1960s with very limited abilities, but their ability to fly and land (in the case of [[Luna 9]]) is an indication of their status as a robot. This includes the [[Voyager probe]]s and the Galileo probes, and others.
;[[Telerobotics|Telerobots]]
[[File:IED detonator.jpg|thumb|right|A [[U.S. Marine Corps]] technician prepares to use a telerobot to detonate a buried [[improvised explosive device]] near [[Camp Fallujah]], [[Iraq]]]]
Teleoperated robots, or telerobots are devices remotely operated from a distance by a human operator rather than following a predetermined sequence of movements. They are used when a human cannot be present on site to perform a job because it is dangerous, far away, or inaccessible. The robot may be in another room or another country, or may be on a very different scale to the operator. For instance, a laparoscopic surgery robot allows the surgeon to work inside a human patient on a relatively small scale compared to open surgery, significantly shortening recovery time.<ref name="daVinci"/> They can also be used to avoid exposing workers to the hazardous and tight spaces such as in [[Duct (HVAC)|duct]] cleaning. When disabling a bomb, the operator sends a small robot to disable it. Several authors have been using a device called the Longpen to sign books remotely.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2007/08/15/longpen-trial.html |title=Celebrities set to reach for Atwood's LongPen |publisher=cbc.ca |accessdate=2008-09-21 | date=2007-08-15}}</ref> Teleoperated robot aircraft, like the Predator [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle]], are increasingly being used by the military. These pilotless drones can search terrain and fire on targets.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200606120018|publisher=[[New Statesman]]|title=America's robot army |date=2006-06-12 |accessdate=2007-09-24 |first=Stephen|last=Graham}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/battlefield-robots-to-iraq-and-beyond-0727|publisher=Defense Industry Daily|title=Battlefield Robots: to Iraq, and Beyond|date=2005-06-20|accessdate=2007-09-24}}</ref> Hundreds of robots such as [[iRobot]]'s [[Packbot]] and the [[Foster-Miller TALON]] are being used in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]] by the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] to defuse roadside bombs or [[improvised explosive device]]s (IEDs) in an activity known as [[explosive ordnance disposal]] (EOD).<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=[[Wired Magazine]]|url=http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bomb.html?pg=3&topic=bomb |title=The Baghdad Bomb Squad |first=Noah|last=Shachtman| date=2005-11|accessdate=2007-09-14}}</ref>
;[[Automated fruit harvesting machine]]s
[[File:Roomba original.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Roomba]] domestic [[vacuum cleaner]] robot does a single, menial job]]
Used to pick fruit on orchards at a cost lower than that of human pickers.
;[[Domestic robots]]
Domestic robots are simple robots dedicated to a single task work in home use. They are used in simple but unwanted jobs, such as [[vacuum cleaner|vacuum cleaning]] and [[Scooba|floor washing]], and [[lawn mower|lawn mowing]].
===Military robots===
{{Main|Military robots}}
Military robots include the [[SWORDS robot]] which is currently used in ground-based combat. It can use a variety of weapons and there is some discussion of giving it some degree of autonomy in battleground situations.<ref>[http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/08/httpwwwnational.html WIRED: First Armed Robots on Patrol in Iraq]</ref><ref>[http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/08/armed-robots-so.html WIRED: Armed Robots Pushed To Police]</ref><ref>[http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/4252643.html?page=2 America's Robot Army]</ref>
[[Unmanned combat air vehicles]] (UCAVs), which are an upgraded form of [[UAVs]], can do a wide variety of missions, including combat. UCAVs are being designed such as the [[Mantis UCAV]] which would have the ability to fly themselves, to pick their own course and target, and to make most decisions on their own.<ref>[http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/field-guide-flying-robots The Present and Future of Unmanned Drone Aircraft: An Illustrated Field Guide;] Inside the wild kingdom of the world’s newest and most spectacular species of unmanned aircraft, from swarming insect ’bots that can storm a burning building to a seven-ton weaponized spyplane invisible to radar. By Eric Hagerman, Popular Science, 23 February 2010.</ref> The [[BAE Taranis]] is a UCAV built by Great Britain which can fly across continents without a pilot and has new means to avoid detection.<ref name="Sky News">{{Cite news|title= Taranis: The £143m Fighter Jet Of The Future |publisher= Ministry of Defence |date= 2010-07-12 |url= http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Taranis-MoD-And-BAE-Systems-Unveil-Futuristic-Unmanned-Fighter-Jet/Article/201007215663917?lpos=UK_News_Second_Home_Page_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15663917_Taranis:_MoD_And_BAE_Systems_Unveil_Futuristic_Unmanned_Fighter_Jet |accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref> Flight trials are expected to begin in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10602105.stm |title=MoD lifts lid on unmanned combat plane prototype |first=Daniel |last=Emery |publisher=BBC News |date=2010-07-12 |accessdate=2010-07-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1294037/Taranis-The-143million-unmanned-stealth-jet-hit-targets-continent.html |title=Taranis: The £143million unmanned stealth jet that will hit targets in another continent |newspaper=Daily Mail |date=2010-07-12 |accessdate=2010-07-12}}</ref>
The [[Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence|AAAI]] has studied this topic in depth<ref name="AAAI ethics">[http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AITopics/Ethics AAAI Ethics page].</ref> and its president has commissioned a study to look at this issue.<ref>[http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/horvitz/AAAI_Presidential_Panel_2008-2009.htm AAAI Presidential Panel on Long-Term AI Futures 2008-2009 Study], Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, Accessed 7/26/09.</ref>
Some have suggested a need to build "[[Friendly AI]]", meaning that the advances which are already occurring with AI should also include an effort to make AI intrinsically friendly and humane.<ref>[http://www.asimovlaws.com/articles/archives/2004/07/why_we_need_fri_1.html Article at Asimovlaws.com], July 2004, accessed 7/27/09.</ref> Several such measures reportedly already exist, with robot-heavy countries such as Japan and South Korea<ref name=SKrobot>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6425927.stm Robotic age poses ethical dilemma]; BBC News; 2007-03-07; retrieved on 2007-01-02;</ref> having begun to pass regulations requiring robots to be equipped with safety systems, and possibly sets of 'laws' akin to Asimov's [[Three Laws of Robotics]].<ref>[http://www.livescience.com/technology/060526_robot_rules.html Asimov's First Law: Japan Sets Rules for Robots], By Bill Christensen, livescience.com, May 26, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.physorg.com/news95078958.html Japan drafts rules for advanced robots], UPI via physorg.com, April 6, 2007.</ref> An official report was issued in 2009 by the Japanese government's Robot Industry Policy Committee.<ref>[http://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/data/20090325_01.html Report compiled by the Japanese government's Robot Industry Policy Committee -Building a Safe and Secure Social System Incorporating the Coexistence of Humans and Robots], Official Japan government press release, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, March 2009.</ref> Chinese officials and researchers have issued a report suggesting a set of ethical rules, and a set of new legal guidelines referred to as "Robot Legal Studies."<ref name="China report">[http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=weng_yueh_hsuan Toward the human-Robot Coexistence Society: on Safety intelligence for next Generation Robots], report by Yueh-Hsuan Weng, China Ministry of the Interior, [http://www.springer.com/engineering/robotics/journal/12369 International Journal of Social Robotics], April 7, 2009.</ref> Some concern has been expressed over a possible occurrence of robots telling apparent falsehoods.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540721,00.html Evolving Robots Learn To Lie To Each Other], Popular Science, August 19, 2009.</ref>
===Mining robots===
Mining robots are designed to help counteract a number of challenges currently facing the mining industry, including skills shortages, improving productivity from declining ore grades, and achieving environmental targets. Due to the hazardous nature of mining, in particular [[underground mining]], the prevalence of autonomous, semi-autonomous, and tele-operated robots has greatly increased in recent times. A number of vehicle manufacturers provide autonomous trains, trucks and [[Loader (equipment)|loaders]] that will load material, transport it on the mine site to its destination, and unload without requiring human intervention. One of the worlds largest mining corporations, [[Rio Tinto Group|Rio Tinto]], has recently expanded its autonomous vehicle fleet to the worlds largest, consisting of 150 autonomous [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] trucks, operating in [[Western Australia]].<ref>[http://www.riotinto.com/media/5157_21165.asp Rio Tinto Media Center - Rio Tinto boosts driverless truck fleet to 150 under Mine of the Future™ programme]</ref>
Drilling, [[Longwall mining|longwall]] and [[rockbreaker|rockbreaking]] machines are now also available as autonomous robots.<ref>[http://adrianboeing.blogspot.com/2011/06/aimex.html AIMEX blog - Autonomous mining equipment]</ref> The [[Atlas Copco]] Rig Control System can autonomously execute a drilling plan on a [[drilling rig]], moving the rig into position using GPS, set up the drill rig and drill down to specified depths.<ref>[http://www.atlascopco.com/rcs/ Atlas Copco - RCS]</ref> Similarly, the [[Transmin]] Rocklogic system can automatically plan a path to position a rockbreaker at a selected destination.<ref>[http://rocklogic.com.au/ Transmin - Rocklogic]</ref> These systems greatly enhance the safety and efficiency of mining operations.
===Schools===
{{Section OR|date=March 2012}}
From the 1980s, robots such as [[turtle (robot)|turtle]]s were used in schools and programmed using the [[Logo (programming language)|Logo]] language.<ref name="gainesvillesun turtle">{{cite news | title='Nova's' 'Talking Turtle' Pofiles High Priest of School Computer Movement | work=Gainesville Sun | date=October 25, 1983 | author=Mitgang, Lee}}</ref><ref name="observerreporter games learning">{{cite news | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=W4diAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s3cNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1326,3744066&dq=logo+turtle+robot&hl=en | title=Robots In School: Games Or Learning? | work=Observer-Reporter | date=January 29, 1985 | accessdate=March 7, 2012 | author=Barnard, Jeff | location=Washington}}</ref> Robotics at school in the 21st century has three main applications, Robotic kits, Virtual tutors, and teacher's assistants.
; [[Robot kit]]s
Robotic kits like [[Mindstorms NXT|Lego Mindstorms]], [[Robotis Bioloid|BIOLOID]], OLLO from ROBOTIS, or BotBrain Educational Robots can help children to learn about mathematics, physics, programming, and electronics.
; [[Robot competition]]s
Robotics have also been introduced into the lives of elementary and high school students with the company [[FIRST]] (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The organization is the foundation for the [[FIRST Robotics Competition]], [[FIRST LEGO League]], [[Junior FIRST LEGO League]], and [[FIRST Tech Challenge]] competitions.
; Virtual tutors
Virtual tutors are some kind of [[embodied agent]] that helps children to do their homework, for example, on peer to peer basis.
; Teacher assistants
Robots as teacher assistants let children to be more assertive during the class and get more motivated. South Korea is the first country deploying a program to have a robot in each school.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}
===Healthcare===
Robots in healthcare have two main functions. Those which assist an individual, such as a sufferer of a disease like Multiple Sclerosis, and those which aid in the overall systems such as pharmacies and hospitals.
;[[Home automation for the elderly and disabled]]
{{further|Disability robot}}
[[File:FRIEND-III klein.png|thumb|right|The [[Care-Providing Robot FRIEND]]. (Photo: IAT)]]
Robots have developed over time from simple basic robotic assistants, such as the [[ST Robotics#History|Handy 1]],<ref name="CSUNCOD1">{{cite journal|last=Topping|first=Mike|coauthors=Smith, Jane.|title=An Overview Of Handy 1, A Rehabilitation Robot For The Severely Disabled|journal=CSUN Center on Disabilities Conference Proceedings|year=1999|volume=Proceedings|series=1999|pages=Session 59|url=http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/1999/proceedings/session0059.htm|accessdate=14 August 2010|author=Topping, Mike.|quote=The early version of the Handy 1 system consisted of a Cyber 310 robotic arm with five degrees of freedom plus a gripper.}}</ref> through to semi-autonomous robots, such as [[Care-Providing Robot FRIEND|FRIEND]] which can assist the elderly and disabled with common tasks.
The population is [[gerontotechnology|aging]] in many countries, especially Japan, meaning that there are increasing numbers of elderly people to care for, but relatively fewer young people to care for them.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4012797.stm|publisher=BBC News|first=Christine|last=Jeavans|date=2004-11-29|title=Welcome to the ageing future|accessdate=2007-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm|title=Statistical Handbook of Japan: Chapter 2 Population|publisher=Statistics Bureau & Statistical Research and Training Institute|accessdate=2007-09-26}}</ref> Humans make the best carers, but where they are unavailable, robots are gradually being introduced.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-health-insider.com/comment_and_analysis/250/robotic_future_of_patient_care|publisher=E-Health Insider|title=Robotic future of patient care|date=2007-08-16|accessdate=2007-09-26}}</ref>
FRIEND is a semi-autonomous robot designed to support [[disability|disabled]] and [[old age|elderly]] people in their daily life activities, like preparing and serving a meal. FRIEND make it possible for [[patients]] who are [[paraplegia|paraplegic]], have muscle diseases or serious [[paralysis]] (due to strokes etc.), to perform tasks without help from other people like therapists or nursing staff.
;Pharmacies
{{main|Pharmacy automation}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2009}}
Script Pro manufactures a robot designed to help pharmacies fill prescriptions that consist of oral solids or [[pharmaceutical drug|medications]] in pill form. The [[pharmacist]] or [[pharmacy technician]] enters the prescription information into its information system. The system, upon determining whether or not the drug is in the robot, will send the information to the robot for filling. The robot has 3 different size vials to fill determined by the size of the pill. The robot technician, user, or pharmacist determines the needed size of the vial based on the tablet when the robot is stocked. Once the vial is filled it is brought up to a conveyor belt that delivers it to a holder that spins the vial and attaches the patient label. Afterwards it is set on another conveyor that delivers the patient’s medication vial to a slot labeled with the patient's name on an LED read out. The pharmacist or technician then checks the contents of the vial to ensure it’s the correct drug for the correct patient and then seals the vials and sends it out front to be picked up. The robot is a very time efficient device that the pharmacy depends on to fill prescriptions.
McKesson’s Robot RX is another healthcare robotics product that helps pharmacies dispense thousands of medications daily with little or no errors. The robot can be ten feet wide and thirty feet long and can hold hundreds of different kinds of medications and thousands of doses. The pharmacy saves many resources like staff members that are otherwise unavailable in a resource scarce industry. It uses an [[electromechanics|electromechanical]] head coupled with a [[pneumatics|pneumatic]] system to capture each dose and deliver it to its either stocked or dispensed location. The head moves along a single axis while it rotates 180 degrees to pull the medications. During this process it uses [[barcode]] technology to verify its pulling the correct drug. It then delivers the drug to a patient specific bin on a conveyor belt. Once the bin is filled with all of the drugs that a particular patient needs and that the robot stocks, the bin is then released and returned out on the conveyor belt to a technician waiting to load it into a cart for delivery to the floor.
===Research robots===
{{See also|Robotics#Robot_Research|l1=Robotics — Robot Research}}
While most robots today are installed in factories or homes, performing labour or life saving jobs, many new types of robot are being developed in [[laboratory|laboratories]] around the world. Much of the research in robotics focuses not on specific industrial tasks, but on investigations into new types of robot, alternative ways to think about or design robots, and new ways to manufacture them. It is expected that these new types of robot will be able to solve real world problems when they are finally realized.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}
;Nanorobots
{{further|Nanorobotics}}
[[File:Microgripper holding silicon nanowires.jpg|thumb|right|A microfabricated electrostatic gripper holding some silicon nanowires.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001535.html|publisher=NASA|title=Fullerene Nanogears|date=1997-04-01|accessdate=2008-05-27|author=Michael Hahn}}</ref>]]
[[Nanorobotics]] is the [[emerging technology]] field of creating machines or robots whose components are at or close to the microscopic scale of a [[nanometer]] (10<sup>−9</sup> meters). Also known as "nanobots" or "nanites", they would be constructed from [[molecular machine]]s. So far, researchers have mostly produced only parts of these complex systems, such as bearings, sensors, and [[synthetic molecular motors]], but functioning robots have also been made such as the entrants to the Nanobot Robocup contest.<ref>[http://www.techbirbal.com/viewtopic.php?p=3687&sid=7faaeeb64eaf84880b23755fea7fa7cd Techbirbal: Nanobots Play Football]</ref> Researchers also hope to be able to create entire robots as small as viruses or bacteria, which could perform tasks on a tiny scale. Possible applications include micro surgery (on the level of individual [[cell (biology)|cells]]), [[utility fog]],<ref>[http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?main=/articles/art0220.html? KurzweilAI.net: Utility Fog: The Stuff that Dreams Are Made Of]</ref> manufacturing, weaponry and cleaning.<ref>[http://www.e-drexler.com/d/06/00/EOC/EOC_Chapter_11.html (Eric Drexler 1986) Engines of Creation, The Coming Era of Nanotechnology]</ref> Some people have suggested that if there were nanobots which could reproduce, the earth would turn into "[[grey goo]]", while others argue that this hypothetical outcome is nonsense.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crnano.org/Debate.htm|publisher=Center for Responsible Nanotechnology|title=Of Chemistry, Nanobots, and Policy|date=2003-12|accessdate=2007-10-28|author=Chris Phoenix}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.iop.org/EJ/news/-topic=763/journal/0957-4484|publisher=Institute of Physics Electronics Journals|title=Nanotechnology pioneer slays "grey goo" myths|date=2004-06-07|accessdate=2007-10-28}}</ref>
;Reconfigurable Robots
{{main|Self-reconfiguring modular robot}}
A few researchers have investigated the possibility of creating robots which can [[self-reconfiguring modular robot|alter their physical form]] to suit a particular task,<ref>(1996) [http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/9609lego.htm LEGO(TM)s to the Stars: Active MesoStructures, Kinetic Cellular Automata, and Parallel Nanomachines for Space Applications]</ref> like the fictional [[T-1000]]. Real robots are nowhere near that sophisticated however, and mostly consist of a small number of cube shaped units, which can move relative to their neighbours. Algorithms have been designed in case any such robots become a reality.<ref>(Robert Fitch, Zack Butler and Daniela Rus) [http://groups.csail.mit.edu/drl/publications/papers/MeltSortGrow.pdf Reconfiguration Planning for Heterogeneous Self-Reconfiguring Robots]</ref>
;Soft Robots
Robots with [[silicone]] bodies and flexible actuators ([[pneumatic artificial muscles|air muscles]], [[electroactive polymers]], and [[ferrofluid]]s), controlled using [[fuzzy logic]] and [[neural networks]], look and feel different from robots with rigid skeletons, and can have different behaviors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/science/27robo.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ei=5070&en=91395fe7439a5b72&ex=1177128000 |title=In the Lab: Robots That Slink and Squirm |author=John Schwartz |publisher=nytimes.com |accessdate=2008-09-22 | date=2007-03-27}}</ref>
;Swarm robots
{{main|Swarm robotics}}
[[File:SwarmRobot org.jpg|thumb|right|A [[swarm]] of robots from the open-source micro-robotic project]]
Inspired by [[colony (biology)|colonies of insects]] such as [[ants]] and [[bees]], researchers are modeling the behavior of [[swarm robotics|swarms]] of thousands of tiny robots which together perform a useful task, such as finding something hidden, cleaning, or spying. Each robot is quite simple, but the [[emergent behavior]] of the swarm is more complex. The whole set of robots can be considered as one single distributed system, in the same way an ant colony can be considered a [[superorganism]], exhibiting [[swarm intelligence]]. The largest swarms so far created include the iRobot swarm, the SRI/MobileRobots CentiBots project<ref>((cite web|http://www.activrobots.com/RESEARCH/wheelchair.html|title=SRI/MobileRobots Centibot project))</ref> and the Open-source Micro-robotic Project swarm, which are being used to research collective behaviors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swarmrobot.org|title=Open-source micro-robotic project|accessdate=2007-10-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=149|publisher=iRobot Corporation|title=Swarm|accessdate=2007-10-28}}</ref> Swarms are also more resistant to failure. Whereas one large robot may fail and ruin a mission, a swarm can continue even if several robots fail. This could make them attractive for space exploration missions, where failure is normally extremely costly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2000/12/40750 |publisher=Wired Magazine |title=Look, Up in the Sky: Robofly |first=Louise|last=Knapp |date=2000-12-21|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref>
;Haptic interface robots
{{further|Haptic technology}}
Robotics also has application in the design of [[virtual reality]] interfaces. Specialized robots are in widespread use in the [[haptic technology|haptic]] research community. These robots, called "haptic interfaces," allow touch-enabled user interaction with real and virtual environments. Robotic forces allow simulating the mechanical properties of "virtual" objects, which users can experience through their sense of [[somatosensory system|touch]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17363&ch=biotech&sc=&pg=1 |publisher=MIT Technology review |title=The Cutting Edge of Haptics |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref>
===Entertainment===
;Poledancing robots
Some robots are used for entertainment and as a demonstration of the newest technology. This nimble automoton is a perfect example of this process. Being the main attractions at [[Ce-BIT]], the world’s biggest IT trade fair in Hanover, Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/892241-pole-dancing-robot-introduced-at-worlds-biggest-it-fair |publisher=Metro.co.uk |title=Pole-dancing robot introduced at world's biggest IT fair|accessdate=6 March 2012 }}</ref>
==Future development==
{{further|Future of robotics}}
===Technological trends===
Various techniques have emerged to develop the science of robotics and robots. One method is [[evolutionary robotics]], in which a number of differing robots are submitted to tests. Those which perform best are used as a model to create a subsequent "generation" of robots. Another method is [[developmental robotics]], which tracks changes and development within a single robot in the areas of problem-solving and other functions.
===Technological development===
;Overall trends
Japan hopes to have full-scale commercialization of service robots by 2025. Much technological research in Japan is led by Japanese government agencies, particularly the Trade Ministry.<ref name="UK Japan report">[http://ukinjapan.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/5606907/5633632/next-generation-services-robots Research and Development for Next-generation Service Robots in Japan], United Kingdom Foreign Ministry report, by Yumiko Moyen, Science and Innovation Section, British Embassy, Tokyo, Japan, January 2009.</ref>
As robots become more advanced, eventually there may be a standard computer operating system designed mainly for robots. [[ROS (Robot Operating System)|Robot Operating System]] is an open-source set of programs being developed at [[Stanford University]], the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] and the [[Technical University of Munich]], Germany, among others. ROS provides ways to program a robot's navigation and limbs regardless of the specific hardware involved. It also provides high-level commands for items like image recognition and even opening doors. When ROS boots up on a robot's computer, it would obtain data on attributes such as the length and movement of robots' limbs. It would relay this data to higher-level algorithms. Microsoft is also developing a "Windows for robots" system with its Robotics Developer Studio, which has been available since 2007.<ref name="ROS">[http://www.ethiopianreview.com/articles/23156 Robots to get their own operating system], by Mehret Tesfaye Ethipian Review, August 13, 2009.</ref>
;New functions and abilities
The Caterpillar Company is making a dump truck which can drive itself without any human operator.<ref>[http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/131/the-caterpillar-self-driving-dump-truck.html?nav=inform-rl The Caterpillar Self-Driving Dump Truck],
By Tim McKeough, fastcompany.com, November 25, 2008.</ref>
Many future applications of robotics seem obvious to people, even though they are well beyond the capabilities of robots available at the time of the prediction.<ref name="A4">[http://www.springer.com/engineering/robotics/book/978-94-007-0578-4 Robotic Tactile Sensing - Technologies and System]</ref><ref name="A5">[http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5784198&tag=1 IEEE Transaction on Robotics - Special Issue on Robotic Sense of Touch]</ref>
As early as 1982 people were confident that someday robots would:<ref>
"Robotics in practice: Future capabilities"
by [[Joseph F. Engelberger]].
in "Electronic Servicing & Technology" magazine 1982 August.
</ref>
1. clean parts by removing [[molding flash]]
2. spray paint automobiles with absolutely no human presence
3. pack things in boxes—for example, orient and nest chocolate candies in candy boxes
4. make electrical [[cable harness]]
5. load trucks with boxes—a [[packing problem]]
6. handle soft goods, such as garments and shoes
7. shear sheep
8. [[prosthesis]]
9. cook fast food and work in other service industries
10. household robot.
Generally such predictions are overly optimistic in timescale.
=== Reading robot ===
A literate or 'reading robot' named Marge has intelligence that comes from software. She can read newspapers, find and correct misspelled words, learn about banks like Barclays, and understand that some restaurants are better places to eat than others.<ref>Robot can read, learn like a human http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40534768/ns/technology_and_science-science</ref>
==Robots in popular culture==
===Literature===
{{Main|Robots in literature}}
{{See also|List of fictional robots and androids}}
Robotic characters, [[android (robot)|androids]] (artificial men/women) or [[gynoid]]s (artificial women), and [[cyborg]]s (also "[[bionic]] men/women", or humans with significant mechanical enhancements) have become a staple of science fiction.
The first reference in Western literature to mechanical servants appears in [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]''. In Book XVIII, [[Hephaestus]], god of fire, creates new armor for the hero Achilles, assisted by robots.<ref name="Iliad">{{Cite web
| accessdate=2007-11-21
| url= http://www.arts.cornell.edu/theatrearts/CTA/Program%20Notes/comic%20potential.asp
| publisher= Cornell University
| title = Comic Potential : Q&A with Director Stephen Cole
}}</ref> According to the [[E. V. Rieu|Rieu]] translation, "Golden maidservants hastened to help their master. They looked like real women and could not only speak and use their limbs but were endowed with intelligence and trained in handwork by the immortal gods." Of course, the words "robot" or "android" are not used to describe them, but they are nevertheless mechanical devices human in appearance. "The first use of the word Robot was in Karel Čapek's play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) (written in 1920)". Writer Karel Čapek was born in Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic).
Possibly the most prolific author of the twentieth century was [[Isaac Asimov]] (1920–1992)<ref name=FreedProlific>{{cite book|last=Freedman|first=ed. by Carl|title=Conversations with Isaac Asimov|year=2005|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|location=Jackson|isbn=978-1-57806-738-1|url=http://books.google.com/?id=6Lb0zPJcYOwC&pg=PA24&dq=most+prolific+authors+asimov#v=onepage&q=most%20prolific%20authors%20asimov&f=false|edition=1.|accessdate=4 August 2011|page=vii|quote=... quite possibly the most prolific}}</ref> who published over five-hundred books.<ref name=Oakes500>{{cite book|last=Oakes|first=Elizabeth H.|title=American writers|year=2004|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8160-5158-8|url=http://books.google.com/?id=6Lb0zPJcYOwC&pg=PA24&dq=most+prolific+authors+asimov#v=onepage&q=most%20prolific%20authors%20asimov&f=false|accessdate=4 August 2011|page=24}}</ref> Asimov is probably best remembered for his science-fiction stories and especially those about robots, where he placed robots and their interaction with society at the center of many of his works.<ref>He wrote "over 460 books as well as thousands of articles and reviews", and was the "third most prolific writer of all time [and] one of the founding fathers of modern science fiction". {{Cite book|title=Isaac Asimov: a life of the grand master of science fiction |url=http://books.google.com/?id=EWbMiyS9v98C |isbn=0-7867-1518-9 |pages=1–2 |author=White, Michael |year=2005 |publisher=Carroll & Graf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/Asimov.html|title=Asimov's Laws of Robotics - Implications for Information Technology|publisher=Australian National University/IEEE|author=R. Clarke|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> Asimov carefully considered the problem of the ideal set of instructions robots might be given in order to lower the risk to humans, and arrived at his [[Three Laws of Robotics]]: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; a robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; and a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seiler |first=Edward |coauthors=Jenkins, John H. |url=http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html |title=Isaac Asimov FAQ |publisher=Isaac Asimov Home Page |date=2008-06-27 |accessdate=2008-09-24}}</ref> These were introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although foreshadowed in a few earlier stories. Later, Asimov added the Zeroth Law: "A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm"; the rest of the laws are modified sequentially to acknowledge this.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' the first passage in Asimov's short story "[[Liar! (short story)|Liar!]]" (1941) that mentions the First Law is the earliest recorded use of the word ''[[robotics]]''. Asimov was not initially aware of this; he assumed the word already existed by analogy with ''mechanics,'' ''hydraulics,'' and other similar terms denoting branches of applied knowledge.<ref>{{Cite book|author=White, Michael|title=Isaac Asimov: A Life of the Grand Master of Science Fiction|pages=56|year=2005|publisher=Carroll & Graf|isbn=0-7867-1518-9}}</ref>
===Problems depicted in popular culture===
Fears and concerns about robots have been repeatedly expressed in a wide range of books and films. A common theme is the development of a master race of conscious and highly intelligent robots, motivated to take over or destroy the human race. (See ''[[The Terminator]], [[Runaway (1984 film)|Runaway]], [[RoboCop]]'', the [[Replicator (Stargate)|Replicators in ''Stargate'']], the [[Cylon (Battlestar Galactica)|Cylons]] in ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', ''[[The Matrix]]'', ''[[Enthiran]]'' and ''[[I, Robot (film)|I, Robot]]''.) Some fictional robots are programmed to kill and destroy; others gain superhuman intelligence and abilities by upgrading their own software and hardware. Examples of popular media where the robot becomes evil are ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', ''[[Red Planet (film)|Red Planet]]'' and ''[[Enthiran]]''. Another common theme is the reaction, sometimes called the "[[uncanny valley]]", of unease and even revulsion at the sight of robots that mimic humans too closely.<ref name="uncanny">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.macdorman.com/kfm/writings/pubs/Ho2007EmotionUncanny.pdf |first=C. C. |last=Ho |coauthors=MacDorman, K. F.; Pramono, Z. A. D. |year=2008 |title=Human emotion and the uncanny valley: A GLM, MDS, and ISOMAP analysis of robot video ratings| accessdate=2008-09-24 |work=Proceedings of the Third ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. March 11–14. Amsterdam.}}</ref> ''[[Frankenstein]]'' (1818), often called the first science fiction novel, has become synonymous with the theme of a robot or monster advancing beyond its creator. In the TV show, Futurama, the robots are portrayed as humanoid figures that live alongside humans, not as robotic butlers. They still work in industry, but these robots carry out daily lives. Other problems may include events pertaining to robot surrogates (e.g. the movie ''[[Surrogates (film)|Surrogates]]'') where tissue of living organisms is interchanged with robotic systems. These problems can leave many possibilities where electronic viruses or an electro magnetic pulse (EMP) can destroy not only the robot but kill the host/operator as well.
==See also==
{{Portal|Robotics}}
<!-- Please add related topics to [[Outline of robotics]] and [[Index of robotics articles]] -->
* [[Artificial intelligence]]
* [[Glossary of robotics]]
* [[Index of robotics articles]]
* [[Liquid handling robot]]
* [[Mobile robot]]
* [[Outline of robotics]]
* [[Robot App Store]]
* [[Tactile sensor]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
*Glaser, Horst Albert and Rossbach, Sabine: The Artificial Human, Frankfurt/M., Bern, New York 2011 [http://www.amazon.com/The-Artificial-Human-Tragical-History/dp/3631578083/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335701088&sr=1-1 "The Artificial Human"]
*TechCast Article Series, Jason Rupinski and Richard Mix, [http://www.techcast.org/Upload/PDFs/050804104155TC.androids2.pdf "Public Attitudes to Androids: Robot Gender, Tasks, & Pricing"]
* Cheney, Margaret [1989:123] (1981). ''Tesla, Man Out of Time''. Dorset Press. New York. ISBN 0-88029-419-1
* Craig, J.J. (2005). Introduction to Robotics. Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ.
* [[Lee Gutkind|Gutkind, L]]. (2006). ''[[Almost Human: Making Robots Think]]''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
* [[Needham, Joseph]] (1986). ''[[Science and Civilization in China]]: Volume 2''. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.
* Sotheby's New York. The Tin Toy Robot Collection of Matt Wyse, (1996)
* Tsai, L. W. (1999). ''Robot Analysis''. Wiley. New York.
* [[Manuel de Landa|DeLanda, Manuel]]. ''[[War in the Age of Intelligent Machines]]''. 1991. Swerve. New York.
* [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117946193/grouphome/home.html Journal of Field Robotics]
==External links==
<!-- ATTENTION! Please do not add external links without discussion and consensus on the talk page. Undiscussed links will be removed. -->
{{Sister project links|wikt=robot|commons=Robots|b=Robotics|n=no|q=no|s=no|v=Anthropomorphic Robotics|species=no}}
* {{dmoz|Computers/Robotics|Robotics}}
;Research
* [http://www.ifrr.org International Foundation of Robotics Research (IFRR)]
* [http://www.ijrr.org International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR)]
* [http://www.ieee-ras.org Robotics and Automation Society (RAS)] at [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|IEEE]]
* [http://kn.theiet.org/communities/robotics/index.cfm Robotics Network] at [[Institution of Engineering and Technology|IET]]
* [http://robotics.nasa.gov Robotics Division] at [[NASA]]
*[http://robotics.eas.asu.edu/ Human Machine Integration Laboratory] at [[Arizona State University]]
{{Robotics}}
{{Science fiction}}
[[Category:Robotics| ]]
[[Category:Robots| ]]
[[Category:Words originating in fiction]]
{{Link FA|ar}}' |
