Robot

Cosma / Communication / Media / Simulation / Hardware / Robot

One, a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; Two, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; Three, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. — Isaac Asimov, Laws of Robotics in I, Robot

—————————

Introduction¹

Tech Policy Lab, University of Washington, YouTube Channel)
Tech Policy Lab, University of Washington, Official Website)

Dictionary

robot : a mechanism guided by automatic controls — Merriam-Webster See also OneLook

Robot (FOLDOC: Free Online Dictionary of Computing)

Thesaurus

Roget’s II (Thesaurus.com), Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, Visuwords

Encyclopedia

Robot is a mechanical intelligent agent which can perform tasks on its own, or with guidance. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine which is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and come in those two basic types: those which are used for research into human-like systems, such as ASIMO and TOPIO, as well as those into more defined and specific roles, such as Nano robots and Swarm robots; and helper robots which are used to make or move things or perform menial or dangerous tasks, such as Industrial robots or mobile or servicing robots. Another common characteristic is that, by its appearance or movements, a robot often conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own. — Wikipedia

Robot (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Outline

Outline of Robotics (Wikipedia)

———————–

Adventures

Explore related posts on Cosma …

Furby Hacking - It’s odd how some toy fads come and go as one hit wonders while others seem to stick around and take on a life of their own. Of course, there’s no question that one of the oddest toys with the longest track record is Hasbro’s Furby. Whether you’re a Furby lover or hater, you have … Continue reading Furby Hacking

———————–

Inspiration

10 Amazing Robot Animals That Will Blow Your Mind (EverythingTop10, YouTube Video)

Robobee (Wyss Institute, Harvard)
Pleurobot (EPFL)
Spot (Boston Dynamics)
Robotic Fish (MIT)
Cheetah 3 (MIT)
Mini Cheetah (MIT)
Bionic Kangaroo (Festo)
TentacleGripper Gripper (Festo)
Miroe (Consequential Robotics)
Aibo (Sony)

Talks about Robots (TED: Ideas Worth Spreading)
Articles about Robots (Big Think)

———————-

Innovation

Robotics (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, YouTube Playlist)

Technology

How Engineering Robots Works (Crash Course Engineering, YouTube Video)

Product

Robot (Etsy)
Robot Gifts (Zazzle)

————————–

Preservation

—————————

Participation

Education

Robotics (Science Trek)

Robotics (PBS Learning Media)

Robots (Crash Course Computer Science, YouTube Video)
How Engineering Robots Works (Crash Course Engineering, YouTube Video)

MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Course

ECOMP 5018 Introduction to Educational Robotics ²

Mechanical Engineering 2.12 Introduction to Robotics (Harry Asada and John Leonard, MIT OpenCourseware)

Robotics and Control Systems (MIT OpenCourseWare)

Robotics Courses (edX)

Occupation

Robotics Engineers (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)

Organization

International Federation of Robotics
IEEE Robotics & Automation Society

News

Robotics News & Articles (IEEE Spectrum)
Robots (EurekaAlert, AAAS)
Robots (JSTOR)
Robotics (Science Daily)

Recent News from Science Daily …

New AI blood test predicts heart disease 15 years...
on July 19, 2026 at 2:58 pm
A new AI-powered blood test could give people a remarkably early warning of serious heart and circulation problems. Developed by researchers at the University of Hong Kong, CardiOmicScore analyzes thousands of proteins and metabolites to estimate the risk of six major cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. Unlike genetic risk scores, which remain fixed throughout life, the system captures biological changes linked to a person’s current […]
Alan Turing's biggest AI assumption may have been...
on July 14, 2026 at 3:12 am
A new book claims AI has been built on a flawed assumption dating back to Alan Turing's famous 1950 paper. Peter J. Denning argues that the most important parts of human intelligence, including common sense, intuition, culture, and practical know-how, cannot be encoded into computers. He believes this makes true human-level AI impossible, regardless of how large language models become.
Scientists discovered the brain doesn't make...
on July 13, 2026 at 12:12 pm
A new study suggests the brain begins making decisions much earlier than scientists previously thought. Researchers found that even primary sensory regions are influenced by higher brain areas through rapid feedback loops, rather than simply passing information forward. This more dynamic view of brain function could help engineers design future AI systems that think more like biological brains while using far less power.
Harvard scientists turn a silicon chip into a DNA...
on July 9, 2026 at 2:48 am
Scientists have created a silicon chip that can write dozens of DNA sequences simultaneously using electricity and water-based enzymes, offering a cleaner alternative to conventional DNA manufacturing. The breakthrough could eventually support portable DNA-writing devices and even massive DNA data storage, although new chemistry will be needed to scale the technology further.
Scientists used AI to crack one of water's...
on July 8, 2026 at 10:31 pm
Water’s odd behavior becomes even more dramatic when it is supercooled, but scientists have struggled to compare the many different ways of describing its microscopic structure. Researchers at the University of Osaka used an AI model trained on computer simulations to evaluate 16 different structural descriptors. The system identified the most effective ways to distinguish between water’s two competing liquid states, providing a clearer framework for studying one of nature’s most […]

———————-

Expression

Arts

DW Euromaxx (YouTube Channel)
DW Euromaxx (Official Website)

Origin and Develoopment of Robotic Art (Eduardo Kac)
Robotic Art (Wikipedia)

——–

Here are links to pages about closely related subjects.

Media

Function	Communications	Computation	Storage	Creation	Simulation
Analog	Mail	Device	Paper	Type, Print	Automaton
Electronic	Network	Calculator	Tape	Record	Elektro
Digital	Internet	Computer
Hardware	Modem	Microprocessor	Memory	Peripheral	Robot, XR
Software	Service (Web)	Program (OS, SS)	Database	Application	AI, VW

Format Multimedia (Video, Animation) Image (Object) Scent, Flavor, Audio (Text) Haptic, “Other“

——

Notes

1. The resources on this page are are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma.

2. This page was compiled by M. E. Hopper for ECOMP 5018 Introduction to Educational Robotics while serving as a faculty member of Technology in Education at Lesley University. It has been expanded and updated since then.