Robotics and Automation: Guest Editor's Introduction

growing cost of human resources and the pressing need for increased productivity, industry is turning more and more towards automation, specifically the use of robots. But exactly what is a robot? The word itself comes from the Czech word robota, meaning work, and Webster's calls it "an automatic device that performs functions ordinarily ascribed to human beings." However, with that description, even a washing machine can be considered a robot. The Robot Institute of America gives a more precise definition and introduces some key concepts: