Robot comes from the Czech word robota which means ‘slave’ or ‘forced worker’. The word was popularised and given it current context by the Czech writer Karel Capek when he wrote the play Rossum’s Universal Robots in 1920. Although the play got terrible reviews, its larger contribution to science and culture was the term robot. … Read more

There have been inanimate silicone dolls around since the mid 90s for those interested in relations with non-organic people. Companies such as Real Doll in the US and Orient Industry Co in Japan have been selling such models for a number of years. However, although amateur … Read more

Although robots might appear to be a futuristic concept, clockwork automatons were popular in both Japan and Europe during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, with devices such as the chess-playing Turk and the Japanese tea-serving doll amazing those who encountered them during those periods. In the 1890s, Thomas Edison mass-produced a walking, talking doll which … Read more