# robotics

> design, construction, operation, and application of robots

**Wikidata**: [Q170978](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q170978)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotics)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/robotics

## Summary
Robotics is an interdisciplinary field of study and industry focused on the design, construction,operation, and application of robots. As a subclass of mechatronics and control engineering, it combines principles from electronics, mechanics, and artificial intelligence. The field is practiced by professionals known as roboticists.

## Key Facts
- **Classification:** Robotics is classified as an academic discipline, an academic major, an industry, and a field of study.
- **Core Subject:** The field is dedicated to the study of robots.
- **Hierarchical Position:** Robotics is a subclass of mechatronics (a combination of electronics and mechanics) and control engineering.
- **Practitioner:** A professional in this field is known as a roboticist.
- **Library of Congress ID:** The Library of Congress Authority ID for robotics is `sh85114628`.
- **Dewey Decimal Classification:** The field is categorized under the Dewey Decimal number `629.892`.
- **Distinction:** Robotics is considered a different field from cybernetics.
- **Subfields:** The field encompasses numerous specializations, including nanorobotics, swarm robotics, soft robotics, and biorobotics.

## FAQs
### Q: What is robotics?
A: Robotics is a field that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots. It is an interdisciplinary area that is considered a part of mechatronics and control engineering.

### Q: What fields does robotics combine?
A: Robotics is inherently interdisciplinary. It is a subclass of mechatronics, which combines electronics and mechanics. Various subfields also explicitly combine robotics with other disciplines, such as neuroscience and artificial intelligence (neurorobotics) or biomedical engineering and cybernetics (biorobotics).

### Q: What are some examples of robotics subfields?
A: Robotics has many specialized subfields. Examples include nanorobotics (robotics at the nanoscale), swarm robotics (coordination of multiple robots), telerobotics (remote control of semi-autonomous robots), and soft robotics (building robots from highly compliant materials).

## Why It Matters
Robotics is significant because it provides the framework for creating automated systems that can perform tasks in a wide range of environments. By integrating electronics, mechanics, and artificial intelligence, the field enables the development of solutions for complex challenges across numerous sectors. The existence of subfields like Manufacturing robotics, Urology robotics, and telerobotics highlights its direct application in industry, medicine, and remote operations.

Furthermore, robotics explores the boundaries of automation and intelligence. Specializations such as Cognitive robotics, which focuses on learning architectures, and Human-robot interaction, which studies the relationship between people and machines, are critical for developing more advanced and integrated robotic systems. From the microscopic scale of nanorobotics to the coordinated behavior of swarm robotics, the field's breadth demonstrates its fundamental role in advancing technology and automation.

## Notable For
- **Interdisciplinary Foundation:** Robotics is fundamentally a combination of multiple fields, primarily as a subclass of mechatronics (electronics and mechanics) and control engineering. Subfields like biorobotics and neurorobotics further integrate it with biomedical engineering, cybernetics, neuroscience, and AI.
- **Vast Range of Scale:** The field operates across an enormous spectrum of sizes, from nanorobotics and microbotics, which deal with components at the nano and micro scale, to large-scale industrial applications.
- **Focus on Human Interaction:** Robotics includes several branches specifically dedicated to its relationship with humans, including anthrobotics (human-like robots), human-robot interaction, and social robotics.
- **Biologically Inspired Design:** A significant portion of the field, including bio-inspired robotics, biomorphic robotics, and biorobotics, draws principles from nature and biology to design and build robots.
- **Open-Source Community:** The discipline includes open-source robotics, a subfield dedicated to developing robots using open-source hardware and software, where blueprints, schematics, and source code are shared publicly.

## Body
### Definition and Scope
Robotics is defined as the design, construction, operation, and application of robots. It is recognized as an academic discipline, an industry, and a field of study. The primary subject of robotics is the robot, and its practitioners are called roboticists.

### Relationship to Other Fields
Robotics is a subclass of both mechatronics and control engineering. Mechatronics itself is a field that combines electronics and mechanics. Robotics is also formally distinguished from the field of cybernetics. Its classification under multiple MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) tree codes indicates its connection to electronics, automation, and artificial intelligence.

### Subfields and Specializations
Robotics is a broad discipline with numerous specialized branches. These subfields can be categorized by their approach, scale, or application.

- **By Scale:**
    - **Nanorobotics:** A branch of robotics dealing with components at or near the scale of a nanometer.
    - **Microbotics:** A branch of robotics dealing with components at the micro scale.
- **By Biological Inspiration:**
    - **Biorobotics:** An interdisciplinary science combining biomedical engineering, cybernetics, and robotics.
    - **Neurorobotics:** The combined study of neuroscience, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
    - **Bio-inspired robotics:** A field in robotics that draws inspiration from biological systems.
    - **Necrobotics:** The practice of using biotic materials as robotic components.
- **By Intelligence and Interaction:**
    - **Cognitive robotics:** Focuses on robots with a processing architecture that allows them to learn.
    - **Human-robot interaction:** An interdisciplinary research field studying the interaction between humans and robots.
    - **Behavior-based robotics:** A branch that incorporates modular or behavior-based AI.
    - **Social robotics:** A subfield focused on robots that interact with humans and each other.
- **By Architecture and Control:**
    - **Swarm robotics:** The coordination of multiple robots as a system.
    - **Telerobotics:** The control of semi-autonomous robots from a distance.
    - **Open-source robotics:** Robotics developed with open-source hardware and software, sharing blueprints and code publicly.
- **By Physical Form:**
    - **Soft robotics:** A subfield dealing with constructing robots from highly compliant materials.
    - **Anthrobotics:** The development and study of robots that are entirely or partially human-like.
- **By Application or Region:**
    - **Manufacturing robotics:** A field of research focused on industrial applications.
    - **Urology robotics:** A specialization for medical applications in urology.
    - **Japanese robotics** and **Italian robotics:** Categories for robots developed in specific countries.

## Schema Markup
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "robotics",
  "description": "An interdisciplinary field focused on the design, construction, operation, and application of robots.",
  "image": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Shadow_Hand_Bulb_large.jpg",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotics",
    "https://golden.com/wiki/Robotics-W4BGMPD",
    "https://www.britannica.com/technology/robotics",
    "http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85114628"
  ],
  "additionalType": [
    "industry",
    "academic major",
    "academic discipline",
    "field of study"
  ]
}

## References

1. Nuovo soggettario
2. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
3. Integrated Authority File
4. BBC Things
5. YSO-Wikidata mapping project
6. [#robotics - Twitter Search / Twitter](https://twitter.com/hashtag/robotics?src=hashtag_click)
7. Quora
8. [Source](https://golden.com/wiki/Robotics-W4BGMPD)
9. National Library of Israel
10. KBpedia
11. [robotics  latest news & coverage - CNA](https://www.channelnewsasia.com/topic/robotics)
12. [OpenAlex](https://docs.openalex.org/download-snapshot/snapshot-data-format)