Robots, as we all know, are usually written about in the future. The main form of any robot would be the anthropomorphised (human like) versions we are usually familiar with, which of course I mean from films.
A robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry. Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, collectively programmed 'swarm' robots, and even microscopic nano robots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought of its own.
The two most likely candidates for the obvious robot genre is I, ROBOT and the Terminator series and trilogy. Robots are usually made entirely from metal, or at the very least has metal componants. Humans have been trying to manufacture a synthetic skin for robots to make them appear organic, though it instead makes them creepy looking. Robots have replaced humans in the assistance of performing those repetitive and dangerous tasks which humans prefer not to do, or are unable to do due to size limitations, or even those such as in outer space or at the bottom of the sea where humans could not survive the extreme environments. Human robots which are made for 'civil service' and are usually involved in ficiton writing are more or less programemd with the Three Laws:
1- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
In other words, robots are slaves to our well being! But these three rules were originally set by author Issac Asimov and were introduced in his 1942 short story 'Runaround', although they had been foreshadowed in a few earlier stories, thus becoming the foundaiton for all robotic signiture modelling in fiction nowadays.
The original laws have been altered and elaborated on by Asimov and other authors. Asimov himself made slight modifications to the first three in various books and short stories to further develop how robots would interact with humans and each other. In later fiction where robots had taken responsibility for government of whole planets and human civilizations, Asimov also added a fourth, or zeroth law, to precede the others:
0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
The Three Laws, and the zeroth, have pervaded science fiction and are referred to in many books, films, and other media.
