Robot

A mechanical device that automatically performs human actions, utilized across industry, medicine, military, and daily life, and rapidly evolving through AI integration.

Robot

Overview

A robot refers to a mechanical device that automatically imitates the actions of humans or other living beings or independently performs tasks. Robotics is the discipline that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, and is a representative advanced technology field integrating mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, computer science, and artificial intelligence (AI). Today, robots are evolving beyond simple automated machines into intelligent systems that learn, adapt, and interact with humans.

Main Content

History of Robots

The term "robot" was first used in 1920 in the play R.U.R. by Czech writer Karel Čapek, derived from the Czech word "robota," meaning "forced labor." The first actual industrial robot is known to be Unimate, introduced at a General Motors factory in the United States in 1961. Subsequently, through the 1970s and 1980s, industrial robots spread rapidly, mainly in Japan, and since the 2000s, with advances in artificial intelligence and sensor technology, humanoid robots, collaborative robots, and service robots have emerged.

Components of a Robot

A robot generally consists of a structure (links, joints), actuators (motors, actuators), a control system (computer, microcontroller), sensors (cameras, LiDAR, pressure sensors, etc.), and software. Recently, cloud robotics has also emerged, where robots are connected to cloud computing to exchange external data and collaborate.

Types of Robots

  • Industrial robots: Vertical articulated robots that perform welding, assembly, painting, and material handling in manufacturing are the most representative. They demonstrate excellent precision and repeatability.
  • Collaborative robots (cobots): Equipped with safety features, they work alongside humans in the same space, and their easy installation and simple programming are driving their spread in small and medium-sized manufacturing environments.
  • Service robots: These encompass robots that assist in daily life, such as household chores, guidance, delivery, caregiving, and education. Examples include robot vacuum cleaners, guide robots, and food delivery robots.
  • Medical robots: These include surgical assistance robots (da Vinci), rehabilitation training robots, and microrobots for diagnosis and drug delivery.
  • Military robots: Used for hazardous missions such as explosive ordnance disposal, reconnaissance, and unmanned combat vehicles. Notable examples include small legged robots and unmanned surface vehicles.
  • Humanoid robots: Robots that imitate human form and movement, such as Boston Dynamics' Atlas, Tesla's Optimus, and Agility Robotics' Digit. They are expected to be deployed in industry, logistics, and domestic labor.

Application Fields of Robots

  • Manufacturing/Logistics: In smart factories, collaborative robots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs/AMRs) maximize production efficiency. Hundreds of thousands of robots are operating in Amazon fulfillment centers.
  • Medical/Rehabilitation: Surgical robots enable minimally invasive surgery, and wearable exoskeleton robots help people with walking disabilities in rehabilitation.
  • Agriculture/Environment: Drones and autonomous tractors perform seeding and pesticide spraying, while underwater robots are used for marine debris collection and ecological monitoring.
  • Defense/Security: Robots are deployed in hazardous missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, and landmine detection to reduce human casualties, and patrol robots are also being tested in civilian areas.

Robot-Related Technologies

Core robot technologies include SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), computer vision, reinforcement learning, natural language processing, and multi-joint control algorithms. In particular, advances in artificial intelligence have reached a level where robots can independently judge and act even in unstructured environments.

Latest Trends

In the robotics industry of 2024–2025, the integration of generative AI technologies into robots is particularly prominent. For example, large language models (LLMs) and multimodal models developed by OpenAI and others are being used for robot command interpretation, task planning, and motion generation, evolving toward a direction where anyone can easily control robots. Notably, since 2024, several startups have introduced large language models into robots, demonstrating technologies that can grasp objects or explore environments using only natural language commands.

Moreover, the practical implementation of humanoid robots is accelerating. Tesla's Optimus has moved beyond performing battery sorting tasks in factories to significantly improved walking performance, and Boston Dynamics has retired the hydraulic Atlas and unveiled a new electric Atlas model. In China, a competition is underway to develop humanoid robots with mass production targeted around the first half of 2025, and cities such as Shanghai are building robot ecosystems with national support.

In parallel, discussions on robot ethics and institutional frameworks have also intensified. The EU's "AI Act," proposed in late 2024 and officially implemented in 2025, established a regulatory framework for high-risk AI systems, including robots. International standardization efforts are underway concerning personal information protection, safety assurance, and liability issues, and Japan and South Korea have each announced policies that promote robot utilization while innovating regulations. In South Korea, amendments to the "Intelligent Robots Development and Distribution Promotion Act" were discussed in 2025, promoting the expansion of regulatory sandboxes for humanoids and autonomous mobile robots.

In addition, since 2024, numerous pilot services have begun to expand the use of humanoid robots from logistics and manufacturing sites into service areas such as homes, hospitals, and nursing facilities, and there are prospects that the popularization of high-performance robots will arrive sooner due to improvements in battery life and power density, as well as declining prices of highly integrated sensors.

Related Topics

  • [[Artificial intelligence]]
  • [[Autonomous driving]]
  • [[Industrial robot]]
  • [[Humanoid]]
  • [[Internet of things]]