Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A visual survey of the scientific developments and cultural significance of robots documents the history of automatons, androids, and other forms of artificial intelligence, both of the fictional and real-world arenas, in a volume that features interviews with scientists, doctors, toy creators, science-fiction writers, and more.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Fictional and real robots have been capturing the imagination of adults and children since the 1920s through literature, comics, television, films, and other expressions of pop culture. Writer, journalist, and musician Ichbiah presents a compelling visual survey of the birth of the "age of intelligent machines." In succinct prose accessible to lay readers, he combines historical coverage of personalities and milestones in robotics and artificial intelligence with interviews with scientists, engineers, surgeons, science fiction writers, artists, and toy designers to explore where we've been, where we are, and where we're probably headed. Ichbiah maintains a balance between the technical and the social aspects of artificial intelligence, animatronics, androids, industrial robots, robotic pets, robot-mediated surgery, surveillance drones, interplanetary probes, bionics, and engineering competitions. Successfully translated from French, it exposes readers to pioneers from outside the United States; its visuals alone make it an inspiring unconventional coffee-table book. Strongly recommended for YA and adult collections in public libraries and for academic library collections at all levels.-James A. Buczynski, Seneca Coll. of Applied Arts & Technology, Toronto (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Robots of all shapes, forms and functions are presented in this comprehensive but difficult-to-read work, which traces the evolution of robots?from the hydro-powered automatons of the Renaissance and the automatic looms of the 18th century to the self-guided vacuum cleaners, space explorers and artificial pets of today. The book is organized loosely by topic (Robots in Fiction, Robots in Industry, etc.) and embellished with numerous interviews with writers, inventors and even people who perform plays with robots. Though just about every kind of robot?either in reality or in imagination?receives its due, this coffee-table tome has many drawbacks. Some of the most interesting full-color pictures are put forth with little or no discussion of the portrayed creation, and the translation sometimes results in awkward passages and phrasings. In addition, much of the text and pictures do not stand on their own, which makes browsing difficult. Overall, while the information found here is varied and often intriguing, the book?s unfortunate organization greatly detracts from one?s enjoyment of it. 1,500 color illustrations. (June) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

CHOICE Review

This thick, comprehensive volume about artificial mimics sparks a question: have humans really done this much? Ichbiah discusses the history, present, and possible future of the field of robotics via an abundance of photographic and factual elements. Robots are classified loosely in several chapters (domestic, industrial, security, playful, etc). Plentiful are the interviews with some of the present gurus of the field. Despite the desperate need of an index or inventory of any kind for quick reference, this voluminous book makes the reader see clearly the amount of work and experimentation done in robotics over the years, as well as the development of thought on artificial beings, which is much older. These beings slowly start to look and act like humans; they slowly start to emerge in people's immediate lives. For the researcher, this book is a catalog of the achievements in the field to date; for the enthusiast, a pictorial guide of things to watch, read, and participate in. A definite candidate for the coffee table, at home or in the lab. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through professionals. G. Trajkovski Towson University