In almost all depictions of the future, one technology plays a prominent role - the robot. Science fiction movies and stories tell us that, in the not so distant future, robots - from Robbie the Robot to C3PO to the Terminator - will be everywhere, taking care of every human need. Those are projections of the future. But robots have a history as well, and The Robot: A Life Story of a Technology tells their story. During the Englightenment, automata were mechnical toys that could simulate human actions. Robots became essential parts of factories, performing tasks perfectly that would be either too dangerous or boring for humans. And recent advances in artificial intelligence have made robots that can behave with intelligence.