A robot is a machine, especially one programmable via a computer, capable of automatically carrying out a complex series of actions. A robot can be guided by an external or internal control device. Robots may be humanoid, but most are task-performing machines prioritizing functionality over aesthetics. Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, medical operating robots, patient assist robots, dog therapy robots, collectively programmed swarm robots, UAV drones such as General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and even microscopic nanorobots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought of its own. Autonomous things are expected to proliferate in the future, with home robotics and the autonomous car as some of the main drivers. The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing is robotics. These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble humans in appearance, behavior, or cognition. Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics. These robots have also created a newer branch of robotics: soft robotics. From the time of ancient civilization, there have been many accounts of user-configurable automated devices and even automata, resembling humans and other animals, such as animatronics, designed primarily as entertainment. As mechanical techniques developed through the Industrial age, there appeared more practical applications such as automated machines, remote control and wireless remote-control. Electronics evolved into the driving force of development with the advent of the first electronic autonomous robots created by William Grey Walter in Bristol, England, in 1948, as well as Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools in the late 1940s by John T. Parsons and Frank L. Stulen. The first commercial, digital and programmable robot was built 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 in the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey. Robots have replaced humans in performing repetitive and dangerous tasks which humans prefer not to do, or are unable to do because of size limitations, or which take place in extreme environments such as outer space or the bottom of the sea. There are concerns about the increasing use of robots and their role in society. Robots are blamed for rising technological unemployment as they replace workers in increasing number of functions. The use of robots in military combat raises ethical concerns. The possibilities of robot autonomy and potential repercussions have been addressed in fiction and may be a realistic concern in the future.
Etymology The term robot came from the Czech language in 1923. The word was coined by Czech author Karel Capek, first used in his play R.U.R. (translated as Rossum's Universal Robots). The term comes from the Czech word robotník ('forced worker'), from robota 'forced labor, compulsory service, drudgery,' from robotiti 'to work, drudge', from an Old Czech source akin to Old Church Slavonic rabota (работа) 'servitude,' from rabu 'slave'. From Old Slavic *orbu-, from PIE *orbh- 'pass from one status to another'.
Summary
There is no consensus on which machines qualify as robots but there is general agreement among experts, and the public, that robots tend to possess some or all of the following abilities and functions: accept electronic programming, process data or physical perceptions electronically, operate autonomously to some degree, move around, operate physical parts of itself or physical processes, sense and manipulate their environment, and exhibit intelligent behavior, especially behavior which mimics humans or other animals. The word robot can refer to both physical robots and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually referred to as bots. Related to the concept of a robot is the field of synthetic biology, which studies entities whose nature is more comparable to living things than to machines. Simpler automated machines are called automatons, like animatronics, often made to resemble humans or animals. Humanoid robots that resemble humans esthetically, possibly even organically, are called androids, while android can be shortened to droid, referring to robots with a broader likeness. On the other hand, a human that is augmented with artificial machines is called a cyborg, which is a particular type of transhuman.
History
Early beginnings
Many ancient cultures described artificial people in their writings. Examples from Greek mythology include Galatea (the mythical statue carved by Pygmalion that came to life), Talos (a man of bronze who guarded Crete from pirates), and the mechanical servants built by the Greek god Hephaestus. Giants made of stone or clay are found in Jewish and Norse mythology.
Greek engineers During classical antiquity, Greek engineers contributed many innovations. For example, in the 4th century BCE, Archytas described a steam-operated mechanical bird he called "The Pigeon", while Ctesibius improved the clepsydra and produced the first hydraulus several decades later. Philo of Byzantium described a washstand automaton. Hero of Alexandria (10–70 CE) created numerous user-configurable automated devices and described machines powered by pneumatics, hydraulics, and steam, even including a "speaking" automaton. Greek engineers also built the Antikythera mechanism — the oldest known example of an analog computer — during this period.
Chinese texts Ancient Chinese texts described automata, some of which were capable of flight. For example, the Han Feizi reports that 5th century BCE Mohist philosopher Mozi and his contemporary Lu Ban built artificial wooden birds that could fly. The Liezi (attributed to Lie Yukou, a 4th-century BCE Chinese philosopher) describes humanoid automata.
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