Robots have evolved out of simpler automatic devices, and many are now capable of decision-making, self-programming, and carrying out complex operations. Many have sensory devices. They are widely used in industry for mass production, including welding, grinding, paint spraying, and die casting. Tey can work in environments that are dangerous or unpleasant to humans, and can peform manipulation tasks faster and more accurately than humans without tiring. As time goes on, advances in artificial intelligence will allow robots to become more flexible, and they will become capable of performing an even greater variety of tasks, decision-making and autonomous operation. They will be equipped with increasingly sophisticated sensors for artficial vision, touch, etc.
The word "robot" is both a coinage by an individual person and a borrowing. It has been in English since 1923 when the Czech writer Karel Capek's play R.U.R. was translated into English and presented in London and New York. R.U.R., published in 1921, is an abbreviation of Rossum's Universal Robots; the word "robot" itself comes from Czech robota, "servitude, forced labor," from rab, "slave." Interestingly, the artificial beings in Capek's play would today be considered more akin to androids rather than robots.
Related category COMPUTERS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND CYBERNETICS
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