What is robotics?

Definition of a 'robot'
"A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks"
Robot Institute of America, 1979

Obviously, this was a committee-written definition - dry and uninspiring. A better definition for 'robotics' might include:

Force through intelligence.
Where AI meets the real world.

The Webster Dictionary says:

An automatic device that performs functions normally ascribed to humans or a machine in the form of a human.

Derivation of the word "robot"

The term "robot" was coined by the Czech playwright Karel Capek (pronounced "chop'ek") from the Czech word for forced labor or serf. It has been reported that Capek on several occasions was a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was clearly a very influential and prolific writer and playwright in his homeland. He died in 1938 before the Gestapo could get to him for his anti-Nazi sympathies.

The word Robot was introduced in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) which opened in Prague in January 1921. The play was an enormous success and productions opened uo throughout Europe and the U.S. R.U.R's theme reflected the dehumanization of man in a technological civilization. It may be surprising that the robots in his play were not mechanical but instead, were created through chemical means. In fact, in an essay written in 1935, Capek strongly believed that this idea was impossible and said, in the third person:

"It is with horror, frankly, that he rejects all responsibility for the idea that metal contraptions could ever replace human beings, and that by means of wires they could awaken something like life, love, or rebellion. He would deem this dark prospect to be either an overestimation of machines, or a grave offence against life."
[The Author of Robots Defends Himself - Karl Capek, Lidove noviny, June 9, 1935, translation: Bean Comrada]

There is evidence that the word "robot" was actually coined by Karl's brother, Josef, also a writer. In a letter, Capek wrote that he asked Josef what he should call the artifical workers in his new play. Karel suggested Labori which he felt was too 'bookish'. and so his brother muttered "then call them Robots" such that from a curt response we have the word robot.

R.U.R is found in most libraries. The most common English translation is that of P. Selver from the 1920's which is not completely faithful to the original. A more recent and accurate translation is in a collection of Capek's writings called Towards the Radical Center published by Catbird Press in North Haven, CT.

The term "robotics" refers to the study and use of robots. The term was coined and first used by the Russian-born American scientist and writer Isaac Asimov (Jan. 2, 1920 - Apr. 6, 1992). Asimov wrote on a wide variety of subjects, but he was best known for his science fiction work - the most famous of which were I Robot (1950), The Foundation Trilogy (1951-52), Foundation's Edge (1982), and The Gods Themselves (1972), which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards.

The word "robotics" was first used in Runaround, a short story published in 1942. I, Robot, a collection of several of these stories, was published in 1950. Asimov also proposed his three "Laws of Robotics", and later on, he added a "zeroth law".

  1. Law Zero:
    2. A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
  2. Law One:
    3. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, unless this would violate a higher order law.
  3. Law Two:
    4. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with a higher order law.
  4. Law Three:
    5. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with a higher order law.

An interesting article has been written on this subject:

Clarke, Roger, "Asimov's Laws for Robotics: Implications for Information Technology", Part 1 and Part 2, Computer, December 1993, pp. 53-61 and Computer, January 1994, pp.57-65.

It contains an interesting discussion of the Laws of Robotics, how they came to be in Asimov's books, and what are their implications for technology today and in the future.

When did robots come into existence?

The first industrial robots were called the Unimates.  Developed by George Devol and Joe Engelberger in the late 50s and early 60s, the first applications were for parts-transfer between milling machines. Engelberger formed a company called Unimation to market robots. As a result, Engelberger is known as the "father of robotics".

Modern industrial robot arms have steadily increased their capability and performance through controller and language development, improved mechanisms, better sensors, and new drive systems. In the early 1980s the robot industry grew very fast due to large investment by the automotive industry, but early inroads into the factory turned to a plunge when integration and economic viability proved disastrous - maintenance cost escalations proved exorbitant. Fortunately, the robot industry has recently regained its mid-80s revenue levels, but there has been an enormous shakeout in the industry. For example, only one US company, Adept, remains in the production industrial robot-arm business. The rest went bankrupt, were consolidated into parent companies, or were sold to European or Japanese companies.

In the research community the first automata were Grey Walter's machina (1940s) and the Johns Hopkins beast. Teleoperated or remote-controlled devices had been built earlier with the first radio controlled vehicles created by Nikola Tesla in the 1890s. Tesla is held in high regard for inventing the induction motor, AC power transmission, and many other electrical devices. Tesla also envisioned smart mechanisms as capable as humans. An top-quality biography of Tesla is Margaret Cheney's Tesla, Man Out of Time, Published by Prentice-Hall, c1981.

SRI's Shakey robot navigated highly-structured indoor environments in the late 60s and Hans Moravec's Stanford Cart was the first to attempt to interpret natural outdoor scenes in the late 70s. Since then, work on autonomous vehicles cruising at highway speeds and navigating outdoor terrain in commercial and military applications have been prolific.



Articles on the history of personal robots:

What ever happened to ... Personal Robots? by Stan Veit The Computer Shopper, Nov 1992 v12 n11 p794(2)

What ever happened to ... Personal Robots? (part 2) by Stan Veit Computer Shopper, April 1993 v13 n4 p702(2)