The History of Robots & Cyborgs

For many years man has toyed with the idea of creating intelligent mechanical devices that perform like humans. Automatic toys and machines conjured up by the human mind made this a possibility.

The term "robot" was first used in a 1920 play called R.U.R., Rossum's Universal Robots by a Czechoslovakian called Karel Capek. The simple plot pitted man against machine as the character creates a robot then the robot gathers enough intelligence to kill his creator. Many movies have followed since some portraying robots as harmful, menacing machines while others made them lovable devices with a desire to have a heart.

In 1977 Star Wars, one of the most popular robot movies ever created a pair of friendly robots, C3PO and R2D2 to act as mans helpers. C3PO actually took on a human appearance. Robots that are made to look human are called androids or cyborgs.

Isaac Asimov, a science fiction writer predicted in the early 1940's that the technology of robots would rise to a powerful robotic industry. This prediction is very true today. There has been an enormous growth in the development and use of robots.

In 1961, General Motors employed the very first industrial robot in their automobile factory in New Jersey. This was implement to aid the human worker and to take the pressure off them. George Devil and Joseph Engelberger who formed the world's first robot company five years earlier made this possible.

Fully automated, sophisticated robots are being used today and they are revolutionizing the workplace. These robots are industrial additions run by computers. Robots offer many benefits to workers companies and countries. Industrial robots can improve the quality and safety of life by freeing workers from heavy and dangerous labor. Unlike humans, robots can work endlessly though the day and night on an assembly line without a loss in performance. They can greatly reduce the costs of manufacturing goods allowing countries to have an economic advantage on world market.