Robohub.org
 

Robot centenary – 100 years since ‘robot’ made its debut


by
12 March 2022



share this:

Robotics remained at the leading edge of technology development in 2021, yet it was one hundred years earlier in 1921 that the word robot (in its modern sense) made its public debut. Czech author Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) imagined a world in which humanoids called ‘roboti’ were created in a factory. Karel’s brother, the artist and writer Josef Čapek had first coined the term robot before Karel adopted it for this theatrical vision.

The Slavic root of the word is even older and even its first known appearance in English dates back nearly two hundred years. During the time of the Habsburgs and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, robot referred to a form of forced labour similar to slavery. In Čapek’s play, the roboti were being manufactured as serfs to serve human needs.

Nowadays we would see Čapek’s creations more as androids rather than robots in the modern sense. However, the outcome of the play, with the robots rebelling against the humans and taking over the world, has since become a trope of science fiction which persists to this day. And yet the intended message in Čapek’s play wasn’t about the inherent risks of robots but of the dehumanising dangers of rampant mechanisation. We know that popular culture has taken a different reading from the play, of course, with robots on screen and in print more likely to be cast as the bad guy, although there are some notable exceptions, too. It’s interesting to wonder how different the mainstream image of robots might be today if Čapek’s play had placed his roboti and their owners in a more mutually benevolent relationship.

Čapek’s robots first appeared on the screen in a BBC television production of R.U.R. in 1938. Three years later the word ‘robotics’ was first used as a term for the field of research and technology that develops and manufactures robots. Like ‘robot’ in its modern sense, ‘robotics’ also has its origins in the creative imagination, thanks to a man who was born in the same year that the Čapek brothers were bringing the modern ‘robot’ into the world. Science fiction writer Isaac Azimov famously coined his three laws of robotics, which continue to resonate in discussions about the ethical use of robots, in 1941. Incidentally, Azimov wasn’t a fan of the play itself but his laws were designed precisely to prevent the kind of tragedy imagined in Čapek’s play.




euRobotics AISBL is a Brussels based international non-profit association for all stakeholders in European robotics.
euRobotics AISBL is a Brussels based international non-profit association for all stakeholders in European robotics.





Related posts :



Interview with Zahra Ghorrati: developing frameworks for human activity recognition using wearable sensors

and   08 Oct 2025
Zahra tells us more about her research on wearable technology.

Women in robotics you need to know about 2025

  06 Oct 2025
This global list celebrates women's impact across the robotics ecosystem and globe.

Robot Talk Episode 127 – Robots exploring other planets, with Frances Zhu

  03 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Frances Zhu from the Colorado School of Mines about intelligent robotic systems for space exploration.

Rethinking how robots move: Light and AI drive precise motion in soft robotic arm

  01 Oct 2025
Researchers at Rice University have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks.

RoboCup Logistics League: an interview with Alexander Ferrein, Till Hofmann and Wataru Uemura

and   25 Sep 2025
Find out more about the RoboCup league focused on production logistics and the planning.

Drones and Droids: a co-operative strategy game

  22 Sep 2025
Scottish Association for Marine Science is running a crowdfunding campaign for educational card game.

Call for AAAI educational AI videos

  22 Sep 2025
Submit your contributions by 30 November 2025.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence