So much so that they sent one of their own back in time to exterminate the root of all their problems: the woman who would one day give birth to the man who was to become the leader of said resistance.

This is how the Terminator - the quintessential “bad guy” who came to kill, without mercy - burst onto the scene in 1984. And with the Terminator came that image of the robot as a threat, an enemy… an image that spread like wildfire in pop culture.

Fast forward to 2022, seven years before that scenario envisioned by director James Cameron… and we can confirm that robots are, indeed, among us. But not to take over the world and enslave and kill us.

As early as 1942, science fiction master Isaac Asimov defined the laws that the robots he imagined in his stories should obey. We’re still talking about fiction here, but the truth is that these three laws actually had a significant impact on the development of real robotics. The author wrote the following: “(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”. The science fiction writer later added another law, known as the “fourth” or “zeroth” law, which superseded the others: “a robot may not harm humanity or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm”.

Regardless of how influential Asimov may have been, today we no longer fear mass killings or rebellions by the robotic community. However, it seems that we’re not so sure about whether one day we may find ourselves replaced by them. The Royal Spanish Academy defines robotics as follows: “A technique that applies computing to the design and use of devices that, instead of people, perform operations or work, generally in industrial facilities”. We can see that this discipline is more like a colleague or an assistant. Who are these “close strangers” anyway?

THEY ARE WASHING MACHINES, A CHARACTER ON GREY’S ANATOMY, AND THE ROOMBA (WHICH IS ALWAYS CRASHING INTO THINGS)

In The Jetsons, a cartoon series that portrayed a futuristic 2062, a friendly robotic maid cleaned the house, watched over the child, and even talked. But not all robots are like Rosie, who looked human, complete with a white apron. So, yes, the super-famous Roomba vacuum cleaner is a full-fledged robot (even if it bumps into everything and looks a bit clumsy). And, when it comes to taking care of the home, the Roomba is not alone: there are robots to wash dishes, keep an eye on things, answer calls, clean up, and cook…. Do the washing machine and the Thermomix ring a bell?

Robots like Rosie don’t live in our homes yet, but they do exist. Toyota has developed a “partner robot” with an arm that can grab and lift things, like a vacuum cleaner, and that responds to voice commands. Meanwhile, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology has created Mahru-Z, a robot with a human-like body that cleans, puts clothes in the washing machine, and heats up food in the microwave. Who wouldn’t want one that does all that?

Moreover, with the ageing of the population, robots that offer company and care are gaining more and more momentum. They’re there at one of the times when humans are most vulnerable and defenceless, supporting us “in sickness and in health”. If anyone doubts that robots are our friends, those doubts can be easily dispelled. And yet, the truth is that, for now, robots are one of those friends that are a little cold – the kind that freeze up when we try to give them a hug. Perhaps they could become more than just a tool, someone like Bender from Futurama, but there are still a lot of emotions that need programming.

Medicine is another field in which robots shine. They seem like fiction to us when we see them on some of our favourite hospital TV dramas, but they’re very real. Robotics makes it possible to automate the tasks of doctors, surgeons, and other healthcare professionals. In surgery, specifically, they help to make procedures (like incisions) more precise and less invasive, proving to be extremely important. Have you ever been to an automated pharmacy? Robots also swing into action in them, carrying out processes like drug storage, replenishment and distribution, as well as research into vaccines and new treatments.

THEY ARE CULINARY WHIZZES, FARMERS, AND THE NEW CHARLIE CHAPLIN

These objects love repetitive tasks, and were born for them. This is why we have them in shops, crop fields, and factories. Robots optimise business processes by reducing the amount of repetitive work performed by people so that they can focus on other types of higher-value tasks.

There are already robots serving customers in restaurants – especially in Asia. Fast food chains are also banking big on these new “employees” given the difficulties they have finding staff in this sector. In the United States it is possible to order at some McDonald’s drive-thrus without any human intervention. Meanwhile, thanks to a deal between KFC and Hyundai Robotics, we’ll see metal arms cooking chicken wings at the restaurant in the future. Other businesses have robotics to manage online orders (Inditex is one of the groups that is starting to implement this), handle parcels, and keep track of inventory.

In agriculture and the food industry, robotics are equally popular. Though the field has recently attracted people venturing into small-scale crop cultivation, this is a sector that is also losing personnel. Robots replace people and ensure performance, productivity, flexibility, and 24-hour availability. In addition to taking care of repetitive tasks such as moving merchandise, they capture information about plantations, apply chemical products that can be harmful to humans, and harvest food.

And, in manufacturing processes, of course, their use is widely known. In the end, industry is robotics’ main sphere. Here, these machines guarantee speed, accuracy, and safety in casting, material transfer, assembly, and much more, making them the perfect replacement for Charlie Chaplin’s character in Modern Times.

THEY’RE NOT MARY POPPINS, BUZZ ALDRIN, OR G.I JOE/JANE

Computers and tablets have already invaded the classroom, but technology can go much further. Educational robotics is used, above all, to facilitate the development of thought and knowledge, and the discipline also helps students to better understand technology. Learning programming and mathematics is now possible with some robots, and the NAO humanoid can teach classes on any subject, from childhood to the university level. There is some resistance to using these machines in this context, however, which is not surprising.

Robots, obviously, lack certain uniquely human characteristics, but with some nuances. Although many of us may like NAO, and we fell in love with WALL-E when the movie came out, expert professor Masahiro Mori proposes the “Uncanny Valley” hypothesis, which states, to sum it up, that we like robots with cute metal faces, but we find ones that look and behave too much like humans creepy.

Returning to teaching and learning, this is much more than simply passing on knowledge – especially when we think that students are in the midst of developing as people.

While robots may not fit in so well at schools, the opposite is true in space, as they’re right at home outside our home: Earth. They explored Mars and the Moon in the form of rovers, and they undertake autonomous tasks in gravity-less places, like NASA’s International Space Station (the star of the show is the Bumble Astrobee robot) and satellites. Operating on the surface of planets and moons, they perform demanding and repetitive tasks that humans cannot reliably and safely perform due to space’s hostile conditions.

Hostility also characterises war scenarios, where military robots play a very important role. Their applications include the exploration of land, the deactivation of explosives, searching for and rescuing people, etc. Research aims to design robots that are even better prepared for these situations, and ones designed for the battlefield already exist. Their mission is a noble one: to minimise people’s exposure to risk. However, their use raises ethical, legal, and security issues… so, for now, the defence ministry will not have its own robotic G.I. Joe/Jane.

ARE WE ROBOTS?

In addition, human beings are bordering on cyborgs nowadays: we take our mobile phones everywhere, they have all our information, and they help us with a myriad of tasks; they’re so integrated into our lives that they can almost be considered extension of our anatomy.

Even more so than in futuristic applications, we interact with robotics on a daily basis in processes such as RPA (Robotic Process Automation), which we use, for example, to send a series of automated emails.

The relevance of the discipline and what is yet to come makes one thing clear: this is a professional area with a great future. Though, for the moment, we’re not exactly cyborgs, we’ll move closer and closer to them when it comes to our professional aspirations. A degree in Robotics Engineering is a promising option for imaginative people who are good at mathematics, opening up a variety of opportunities in the manufacturing field and at Artificial Intelligence development companies and research and development centres for new technologies, as well as in the field of Digital Systems Administration.

This is a rapidly growing field, as many companies and industries are investing in research and development related to robotic devices. Right now there is massive market demand for graduates in this area, so finding a job isn’t difficult.

The Universidad de Deusto is one of the many that offer a degree in Robotics Engineering. Anyone who wants to delve into this world – which is both futuristic and fascinating – will find subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, and Electronics. For an introduction to robotics, and for all those passionate about the subject, the Government of Biscay, together with the Basque Government, is promoting BIC Bizkaia, an incubator specialising in bio/micro/nano technologies, advanced manufacturing, and clean technologies. Among many other activities, it offers a practical workshop on collaborative robotics to teach people about this field’s uses and applications in industry.

ROBOTICS FOR MORE CONVENIENT LIVES

Ever since the world’s first robot, Elektro, created in 1939, to the most advanced one in history (Spot, by Boston Dynamics), these machines have always sparked both curiosity and mistrust. But one thing is for sure: while Elektro was hardly useful, today all the robots that are created share the common goal of making life easier for us.

The great fear associated with these machines seems to be, really, that they will take away our jobs…,but, just as we wouldn’t go back to washing our clothes in rivers, we also don’t want to go back to tedious processes that have already been automated, such as keeping accounts in a ledger.

It’s difficult to foresee what impact the development of robotics will have on the workforce. Tesla is one of the companies that are developing smart humanoid robots. The first ones will be used to carry out

“jobs that are dangerous, boring, repetitive… things that people don’t want to do”,

in the words of Elon Musk himself. When TED’s Chris Anderson asked the Tesla boss in April of this year if we should worry about this rise of robots, Musk was categorical in his response:

“I wouldn’t worry about putting people out of a job. I think we’re actually going to have, and already do have, a massive shortage of labour. But this really will be a world of abundance. Any goods and services will be available to anyone who wants them. It will be so cheap to have goods and services, it’ll be ridiculous”.

Most probably, something similar to what happened with the growth of the Internet will occur: a lot of jobs will be lost, but a lot more will be created. We’ll have to wait a few more years to find out for sure. We already know the rest. Robots are there to automate processes, to help, and to continue changing the world – even if they lack a heart. It’s up to us, as people, to keep our hearts as human as possible.