Robots

Karel apek's 1920 play Rossum's Universal Robots introduced the world to the idea of automata, or artificial people, and coined the word "robot." In the play, the robots destroy humanity as we know it. This final detail has, thankfully, remained untrue, but it is undeniable that robots are a part of the modern world — from the Roomba that vacuums your carpet to the next generation of unmanned military aircraft such as BAE's Taranis. One of the most lifelike humanoid robots is dubbed ASIMO, in homage to author Isaac Asimov, who devised the Three Laws of Robotics.