Asimov was one of the three grand masters of science fiction and the creator of the term "robotics". He is known in the field for his Four Laws of Robotics and the large body of fiction he wrote about robots. He envisioned a future in which robots were (usually) safe, well-controlled servants of man.

Director of the MIT CS and AI Lab. CTO of iRobot. Involved in a wide range of robotics research initiatives. Best known as the creator of Subsumption Architecture in which layers of simple behaviors create complex emergent behaviors.

Czech author and playwright who popularized the term robot in his 1920 play, RUR: Rossum's Universal Robots.

Researcher at the CMU Robotics Institute who believes intelligent machines will be the descendants of the human race. Author of several books on the nature of evolving robot intelligence. Current work involves 3D mapping and stereoscopic vision.

A summary of Nikola Tesla's work in robotics done as part of a PBS documentary on his life. Includes information on his teleautomaton and his predication of mechanical, automated men.

Tesla demonstrated a robotic boat that he called a teleautomaton in 1898 that many consider to be the first robot.

Creator of BEAM robotics, a controversial philosophy of robot building that advocates the use of "nervous nets" instead of conventional microprocessors as controllers, the use of recycled parts, and solar power.

A respected neurophysiologist who did early work on autonomous mobile robots in the 1940s.

Biography of one of the pioneers of robotics. Includes historical information and photos of many of the robots Walter created in the 1940s and 1950s.

Generally known as the "father of cyborgs". Wiener was the originator of the term cybernetics and part of a group of scientists who originated the field. He was also an MIT mathematician, science fiction author, and designer of an early chess-playing robot.