We think of robots as modern aspects of our technology-driven culture, but the concept of the mechanical man goes back to antiquity and recurs in many cultures and civilizations throughout the ages. Today we take robots almost for granted. They are staples of literature and entertainment as well as essential elements in the production of goods.

What is a robot, anyway? Do they have to look like people? How did they get their name? When did the concept of mechanical man first surface? What makes a robot work? What can they do well, and where do they fail in comparison with living creatures? How have robots influenced popular culture? And what do you expect from robots in the future?

Robots exist in many forms and perform many functions, from entertainment and education to manufacturing and service. Here you can learn about robots past and present - from the earliest appearances of mechanical men and animals to robots that the military uses today to explore caves in Afghanistan.

The notion of artificial or mechanical men is at least as old as ancient Greece, but the word "robot" was not coined until the early 20th century when it appeared in the play R.U.R., for Rossum's Universal Robots, by Czech playwright Karel Capek. Shortly afterwards German filmmaker Fritz Lang showed a bleak vision of a totalitarian future in his film Metropolis, featuring a beautiful female robot named Maria.
In the United States, science dominated and robots took on a more practical aspect. At the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York, Westinghouse exhibited the robotic man Elektro and his dog, Sparky. These robots were clearly here to serve mankind, not to dominate.

Since then, engineers have developed robots that can assemble automobiles, do surgery, perform precision handling of semiconductor components and chemical substances, and explore other planets. Authors and movie-makers have incorporated robots, both friend and foe, into works to amuse or terrify us, such as R2D2, HAL, B9, Robby, Gort and other cyber-stars of film and TV.