Robots

Technology

A key technology driving Amazon's predicted success in 2026, as the company increasingly replaces human labor with automation.


First Mentioned

1/10/2026, 6:21:01 AM

Last Updated

1/10/2026, 6:24:10 AM

Research Retrieved

1/10/2026, 6:24:10 AM

Summary

Robots represent a dual-faceted technological domain encompassing both digital protocols and physical autonomous systems. The Robots Exclusion Protocol, implemented via the robots.txt file since 1994, serves as a voluntary standard for websites to communicate with web crawlers, managing server load and, more recently, restricting data scraping for generative AI. In the physical world, robotics has evolved from the first autonomous mobile robots in the 1940s and the Unimate industrial arm in the 1950s to modern collaborative robots (cobots) and warehouse systems like Amazon's Proteus. The technology is increasingly integrated into global supply chains, with forecasts for 2026 suggesting that aggressive robotic deployment will be a primary driver of business success for major corporations like Amazon.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Digital Protocol

    Robots Exclusion Protocol (robots.txt)

  • Fastest Robot Arm

    Omron Quattro

  • 2022 Market Leader

    China (over 405,000 industrial units installed)

  • Strongest Robot Arm

    Kuka Titan

  • First Industrial Robot

    Unimate (3,000 lbs, hydraulically actuated)

  • Modern Warehouse Robot

    Proteus (Amazon)

  • First Autonomous Mobile Robots

    Elmer and Elsie (created by W. Grey Walter)

Timeline
  • W. Grey Walter builds the first autonomous mobile robots, nicknamed 'tortoises'. (Source: Web Search)

    1940-01-01

  • George Devol creates Unimate, the first industrial robot arm. (Source: Web Search)

    1950-01-01

  • Unimate is partnered with Joseph Engelberger for industrial application. (Source: Web Search)

    1961-01-01

  • The Robots Exclusion Protocol (robots.txt) is developed to guide web crawlers. (Source: Wikipedia)

    1994-01-01

  • Fourth-generation robots emerge, featuring advanced computing and collaborative capabilities. (Source: Web Search)

    2000-01-01

  • Websites begin using robots.txt to block bots collecting data for generative AI. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2020-01-01

  • China installs over 405,000 industrial robot units, leading the global market. (Source: Web Search)

    2022-01-01

  • Forecasted period where Amazon is predicted to be a major business winner due to aggressive robot use. (Source: Document 5bce0809-68e1-42ae-bd57-caef72a9db47)

    2026-01-01

Robots.txt

robots.txt is the filename used for implementing the Robots Exclusion Protocol, a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the website they are allowed to visit. The standard, developed in 1994, relies on voluntary compliance. Malicious bots can use the file as a directory of which pages to visit, though standards bodies discourage countering this with security through obscurity. Some archival sites ignore robots.txt. The standard was used in the 1990s to mitigate server overload. In the 2020s, websites began denying bots that collect information for generative artificial intelligence. The "robots.txt" file can be used in conjunction with sitemaps, another robot inclusion standard for websites. Search engines use crawlers (bots) to index website content. Without guidance, these bots may crawl unnecessary or irrelevant pages. The Robots.txt file helps control what search engines should or should not index.

Web Search Results
  • Robots (2005 film) - Wikipedia

    Robots is a 2005 American animated science fiction comedy film directed by Chris Wedge and written by David Lindsay-Abaire, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. Produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios, it stars the voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Amanda Bynes, Drew Carey and Robin Williams. The story follows an ambitious inventor robot named Rodney Copperbottom, who seeks to work for his idol Bigweld's company in Robot City, but discovers a plot by its new leader Phineas T. Ratchet and his mother to forcibly upgrade the city's populace and eradicate struggling robots, known as "outmodes". [...] Հայերեն "Ռոբոտներ (մուլտֆիլմ) – Armenian") हिन्दी "रोबोट (2005 फ़िल्म) – Hindi") Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia "Robots (film) – Indonesian") Íslenska "Vélmenni (kvikmynd) – Icelandic") Italiano עברית ქართული "რობოტები (2005 წლის ფილმი) – Georgian") Қазақша "Роботтар (мультфильм) – Kazakh") Kiswahili "Robots (filamu) – Swahili") Kreyòl ayisyen "Robots (fim, 2005) – Haitian Creole") ລາວ Latviešu "Roboti (filma) – Latvian") Magyar "Robotok (film, 2005) – Hungarian") മലയാളം "റോബോട്ട്സ് (ചലച്ചിത്രം) – Malayalam") मराठी "रोबोट्स (२००५ चित्रपट) – Marathi") Bahasa Melayu Монгол မြန်မာဘာသာ "စက်ရုပ်များ (၂၀၀၅ ရုပ်ရှင်) – Burmese") Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча "Robotlar (film) – Uzbek") پښتو "روبوټونه (فلم) – Pashto") ភាសាខ្មែរ "រ៉ូបូត (ខ្សែភាពយន្ត) – Khmer") [...] 25. ^ "ROBOTS (2005) A". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. 26. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 7, 2005). "Robots". Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2015. 27. ^ "Robots". January 2000. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019. 28. ^ "Robots". TheGuardian.com. September 23, 2005. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019. 29. ^ "Robots - Movie Review". September 14, 2009. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019. 30. ^ "AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2016. 31. ^ Robots: Original Motion Picture Score at AllMusic "AllMusic (identifier)"). Retrieved September 17, 2011.

  • Types of Robots - ROBOTS: Your Guide to the World of Robotics

    ## Educational Robots# Educational robots include a variety of hands-on robotics modules and kits. You can find them in classrooms, STEM programs, and homes. Popular models include programmable robots like Cubelets, Dash and Dot, and Root. These robots use movement, lights, and sound to help students learn problem-solving and coding skills. The educational category also includes robotics sets from Lego, 3D printers like MakerBot, and even teacher robots like EMYS. ## Entertainment Robots# [...] Industrial robots perform repetitive tasks like picking, moving, and assembling parts, plus cutting, welding, painting, polishing, packaging, and other jobs typically found in manufacturing. A common type of industrial robot consists of a manipulator arm that moves fast and precisely. An example is the Unimate, the grandfather of all factory robots. Kuka's Titan is the world's strongest robot arm, and Omron's Quattro is one of the fastest. There are also collaborative robots, or cobots, like ABB's YuMi and the UR series from Universal Robots, which are safe to operate alongside human workers. In addition to manipulators, the industrial category has been expanding to include warehouse robots like Amazon's Proteus, inspection quadrupeds like Spot and ANYmal, and even humanoids like Digit. [...] ## Consumer Robots# Consumer robots are robots you can buy and use just for fun or to help you with tasks and chores. One of the most famous consumer robots is Roomba, which vacuums your floor autonomously. Other examples include the garden weeding robot Tertill, mechanical pets like Sony's Aibo robot dog, and AI-powered companions like LOVOT and Vector. Consumer robots also include a growing variety of camera drones, 3D printers, and robotic toys and kits for both beginners (like Lego sets) and advanced users (like TurtleBot). ## Delivery Robots#

  • Robot - Wikipedia

    The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing is robotics. These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble humans in appearance, behavior, or cognition. Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics. These robots have also created a newer branch of robotics: soft robotics. [...] Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, medical operating robots, patient assist robots, dog therapy robots, collectively programmed swarm robots, UAV drones such as General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and even microscopic nanorobots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought "Agency (philosophy)") of its own. Autonomous things are expected to proliferate in the future, with home robotics and the autonomous car as some of the main drivers. [...] General-purpose autonomous robots can perform a variety of functions independently. General-purpose autonomous robots typically can navigate independently in known spaces, handle their own re-charging needs, interface with electronic doors and elevators and perform other basic tasks. Like computers, general-purpose robots can link with networks, software and accessories that increase their usefulness. They may recognize people or objects, talk, provide companionship, monitor environmental quality, respond to alarms, pick up supplies and perform other useful tasks. General-purpose robots may perform a variety of functions simultaneously or they may take on different roles at different times of day. Some such robots try to mimic human beings and may even resemble people in appearance; this

  • History of Robotics: Robotic Generations, Coding, and More

    largest industrial robot market, with over 405,000 units installed in 2022 (International Federation of Robotics). One of the largest industrial robotics players in the world, FANUC (Fuji Automatic Numerical Control), is Japanese. AMRs: The First Autonomous Mobile Robots The first autonomous mobile robots were built by W. Grey Walter, a neuroscientist, in the 1940s. Walter’s simple robot “tortoises” are the ancestors of the Roomba and nearly all industrial AMRs. Considered his greatest contribution to the field, these robots were prototyped by Walter in the late 1940s and improved in 1951 with the help of electrical engineer W. J. “Bunny” Warren. Walter gave them the names Elmer and Elsie, a somewhat convoluted acronym of electro-mechanical robots, light sensitive, with internal and [...] can be programmed to move along continuous paths or from point to point, and they use programming languages that enable them to interact with computers. These machines work well for “intelligent” tasks where they may need to adjust interactions with the part, like adaptive welding, freehand machining, and assembly. They can also give the operator clear directions on where errors occur. Fourth-Generation Robots (2000-2019) These robots can do advanced computing, logic, and learning. Some are used to work collaboratively alongside humans as cobots (Gasparetto). Fifth-Generation Robots (2020-Today) These last robots in the robotics timeline are still mostly theoretical at this point; they represent fully autonomous robots. These robots depend on AI large language models and deep learning [...] robots depend on AI large language models and deep learning (Benavente). Evolution of Robots: From Simple to Complex While the history of robots stretches over the past century, many forms of robots from each generation remain in use. Simple robotic arms still perform machine unloading and spot welding. Today’s autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) began as two light-sensitive robots with only two vacuum tubes’ worth of processing power. Cobots are designed to work alongside humans to avoid the risk of injury, and adaptive robots use AI to interact and change tasks. Robotic Arms The first step in industrial robot evolution was a robot arm called the Unimate, a hydraulically actuated arm weighing 3.000 lbs created by George Devol in the late 1950s. In 1961, he partnered with Joseph Engelberger,

  • A History of Robots in the Warehouse: From da Vinci to the Future

    ## The New Age of Warehouse Robots Cutting-edge technologies have spawned a new generation of intelligent warehouse robots. Today’s robots integrate artificial intelligence (AI), sophisticated sensors, cameras and navigation systems like LiDAR to help the robot move throughout a warehouse without being pushed or pulled. This enables full autonomy, allowing the robots to operate safely alongside human associates. For instance, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) can smoothly navigate dynamic warehouse environments. AMRs move safely around human associates and inventory to transport material or assist with picking and sorting. Some AMRs like LocusBots can even collaborate with humans, taking over repetitive tasks and enabling workers to upskill and focus on more rewarding activities. [...] Mary Hart, Sr. Content Marketing Manager Although robots may be something you haven’t considered for your warehouse with manual operations, the concept of robots has been around for a while. In fact, the term “robot” has been in use since before anyone reading this was born – unless you’re 103 or older. We’ve seen robots evolve from far-fetched science fiction to an indispensable part of modern supply chain and warehouse operations. Here’s a look back at how robots started, when they entered the industrial world, and what’s next for warehouses of the future. ## The Beginning of Robots [...] ## Smart Warehouse Robots are Here The innovation driving today’s smart warehouse robots has its roots in Greek mythology and science fiction, but it’s also making the future world a reality. From mythological beginnings to da Vinci’s sketches, robots have transformed into helpful and critical components of any warehouse, enhancing environments and making warehouses a “cool” place to work. The integration of AI with robotics hasn’t just revolutionized operations; it’s beaming a light on a future where robots continue to amaze and help us in currently unimaginable ways. As robots evolve from fictional characters to warehouse heroes (alongside their human coworkers), they steer us towards a future that is interconnected, productive, and full of possibilities.

Location Data

Universal Robots & MIR, Odense, Odense Kommune, Danmark

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Coordinates: 55.3435497, 10.3849069

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