robot

The term ‘robot’ is derived from the Czech word ‘robota’ which means ‘controlled labour’. It was first coined by Czech writer Karel Capek in his 1920 play ‘R.U.R’ as the name for a group of artificial people.
Today, the term is commonly used to describe any technological form that resembles a human being. The Japanese lead the world in robotic technology and in particular the number of robots in use in production in their country. One peculiar aspect of this are various ‘electronic pets’ in the form of robotic dogs and other animals designed to keep people company where real live biological pets are not permitted.
Examples: spiders, crawlers, bots