The word Robot finds its origin from the Czech word robota which when translated, literally means serf labor. The word Robot was introduced by Karel Capek in his play Rossums Universal Robots which premiered in Prague in the year 1921.
In this play, robots are shown to help human beings and then later on rebelling and causing unrest in society.
The word robotics first appeared in a short story by the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. The story was called Runaround and was published in the year 1942.
Concepts of robots existed even in ancient history as early as 4th century BC.
Modern day robotic science has evolved considerably. However the popular notion of robots taking over society and becoming more intelligent than human beings still remains in the realm of science fiction.
Robots are more or less machines with some amount of built in artificial intelligence. These machines are used in automobile assembly lines for repetitive tasks requiring a consistent degree of precision. Since robots are not humans they will never become tired or bored on account of tasks which are of monotonous nature.
They are used for dangerous and potentially hazardous tasks at nuclear power plants. Robots are also used to defuse explosive devises or to search for land mines.
The first true robot was designed and invented by George Devol in 1954 and was called the unimate. It was sold to General Motors and was used to lift automobile metal bodies from a die casting machine.
Robotics is a fascinating field of study. Reading on robotics and the latest advances in this area will help remove the commonly misunderstood notions about robots, and help separate myth from reality.
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