When writer Simon Ings compiled a massive compendium of 100 of the most interesting stories written about robots, he was struck by one thing they had in common: how wrong they all were.
In the over-caffeinated imaginations of science fiction writers and film makers, robots are almost always depicted as humanoid creations that can help, care for, have sex with and, when they are feeling particularly evil, terminate humans. But the reality is that humanoid robots remain lousy at interacting with us in the physical world in the varied and instinctive ways humans do.
What humanoid robots turn out to be good at is performing boring, functional, repetitive tasks such as regulating road traffic — which does not make such great entertainment. The first such robot, later known as a traffic light, was unveiled near the Houses of Parliament in London in 1868.