Introduction

From time immemorial, human beings have been fascinated with building and employing machines with human-like capabilities. As far back as 300 B.C., Greek philosophers, mathematicians, and inventors were postulating or designing mechanical contraptions that had steam or water-based actuation as well as some level of autonomy. Around the middle of the last millennium, Leonardo da Vinci and others built mechanical devices primarily for amusement purposes. Cut to the industrial age, the great scientist Nikola Tesla built and demonstrated a remote controlled submersible robot boat at Madison Square Garden in the year 1898. The word “robot” (which actually means “forced labor” in Czech) was introduced into our vocabulary by playwright Karel Capek in a satirical 1920 play entitled Rossum’s Universal Robots. Science fiction fans are, of course, very familiar with the work of Isaac Asimov who first popularized the term “Robotics” and was responsible for proposing the three fundamental laws of robotics.