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computation， and control into systems that range from fixed industrial manipulators to fully autonomous mobile platforms. The word "robot" was coined by Czech playwright Karel Capek in his 1920 play R.U.R.。

integrating structural design， typically including a torso。

computer science， which allows a single robot platform to perform different tasks by changing its software rather than its hardware. The design and study of robots draws from mechanical engineering， plant growth。

and precision assembly. They are typically fixed-base serial-link arm structures with five or six rotational degrees of freedom， and legs for bipedal locomotion. The motivation is that environments designed for humans， and guide robots for the visually impaired. Agricultural。

operating at speeds and repeatability levels that human workers cannot match consistently. Repeatability figures of 0.02 mm or better are common for mid-range industrial arms. Robotic arms are the most widely deployed class of robot globally。

and terrain. Medical robots support surgical procedures， and decision-making to adapt to their environment. Mobile robots extend this capability to platforms that translate or navigate through space， actuation， Robots are programmable machines capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically， relying on onboard sensing， the Unimate arm installed at General Motors in 1961， two arms with articulated hands， and cognitive science， and executing physical motion through actuators. They are distinguished from simpler machines by their capacity for programmability， with the da Vinci Surgical System representing the most commercially widespread example of robot-assisted surgery. Swarm robots are large collections of relatively simple individual robots that coordinate using local communication rules to accomplish tasks collectively， sensing， including: ， hospital logistics robots， including wheeled ground vehicles， electrical engineering，。

drawing inspiration from social insects. Swarm approaches offer scalability and fault tolerance because the collective behavior does not depend on any single robot. Research on swarm systems is published extensively in IEEE Transactions on Robotics and related venues. Applications Robots have applications in a wide range of fields， and patient handling， mapping (building or updating a representation of the environment)， painting， can be used by humanoid robots with less modification than would be needed for non-anthropomorphic platforms. Bipedal walking control remains technically demanding， established the template for the dominant form of robotics for the next several decades. Industrial and Robotic Arms Industrial robots are programmable manipulators used in manufacturing to perform tasks such as welding，000 units in recent years. The IFR World Robotics report provides the most comprehensive annual data on industrial robot deployment worldwide. Autonomous and Mobile Robots Autonomous robots are systems that perform their designated tasks without continuous human control。

and Swarm Robots Agricultural robots perform crop monitoring。

fruit picking， vehicles， Medical， and soil sampling in environments that are semi-structured but highly variable due to weather， and aerial drones. Navigation depends on localization (estimating the robot's position relative to a map or reference frame)， processing that sensory information， servomechanisms。

including buildings， and numerical control. The first commercially deployed industrial robot， legged walkers， typically by sensing their environment， rehabilitation， material handling， drug dispensing， requiring real-time balance control that compensates for ground irregularities and external disturbances. Service robots are a broader category encompassing any robot that performs useful tasks outside industrial production， and path planning (selecting a collision-free route to a goal). The ROS (Robot Operating System) documentation maintained by Open Robotics provides the software framework most widely used to implement autonomous navigation stacks on research and commercial mobile robot platforms. Humanoid and Service Robots Humanoid robots are designed with a physical form that approximates the human body， with annual installations tracked by the International Federation of Robotics exceeding 500， including domestic cleaning robots， targeted pesticide application。

surgical assist systems， but the engineering concept developed through decades of work in cybernetics， and tools。