Isaac Asimov first used the word “robotics” in his 1941 short story “Liar!” for the science of robots.
Asimov’s story appeared in the May 1941 issue of Astounding Science-Fiction. In it, he used “robotics” as the name for the field concerned with robots. The word later became the standard term for the design, construction, operation, and use of robots.
Asimov had already helped popularize the word “robot” in science fiction through stories that developed his fictional Three Laws of Robotics. The word “robot,” however, was created earlier by Czech writer Karel Čapek and his brother Josef in the 1920 play R.U.R., short for Rossum’s Universal Robots.
“Robotics” is not the same as cybernetics, which studies control and communication in animals and machines. Asimov’s fictional laws also do not serve as real engineering standards, although they strongly influenced public discussion of robot ethics.