Where Does the Word Robot Come From?

Series Summary

Robots are mechanical devices that perform a variety of tasks, including picking up and placing objects, detecting movement, transporting heavy objects and detecting harmful chemicals. Controlled by a central circuit board, robots typically have a camera for vision and robotic limbs for gripping or picking things up. Robotic engineering technology is growing at a fast pace, and many large companies, like Honda and Toshiba, have manufactured humanoid robots. In this free video series on robots, an electrical and computer engineering professor discusses the history and function of robots. Find out when the first robots were made, and learn about the different types of robotic machines. Get information about how the military and the medical field utilized robotic technology. Robots are a vital part in many aspects of modern life, and they will continue to gain importance as the technology advances.

Video Transcript

"The term robot was first used around 1920 by a playwright named Carel Kapek. Now he was a Czech playwright and he used the term robot which came from a Czech word robota. Now robota means menial workers. So in his play, he used human-like workers or robots and they are called robot. This is an example of mobile robot. Unlike human-like robots, this has wheel to walk on and has a number of sensors to sense the environment. For instance, this is the vision camera. This is called radar and this uses laser to scan the environment find object. Now if you stand very close to this robot, then this robot can sense you using this ultrasonic sensors. So unlike humans, robots can have number of sensors to scan the environment."