WE: ROBOT

In We:Robot, David Hambling discusses the myriad of ways that robots and humans already work together and what the future may hold for robot-human interactions. He provides a variety of specific robotic examples under four categories: robots at work, robots at war, robots in your life and robots beyond. Each robot example includes a page sized diagram (and sometimes a photograph), its dimensions, construction material, power source, processor, year of first use and then a summary of the robot's history and uses.

Examples of specific robots include:
(1) industrial robots such as those that help put cars together, those that are designed to pick strawberries, skyscraper window washers (aptly named the Gekko Facade Robot), pilotbots, the alpha burger-bot, and the robot that herds and milks cows!!;
(2) household, lifestyle and medical robots such as the Roomba "vacuum cleaner", the Automower 450X, the Da Vinci Surgical System, the kiddies entertainment unit (IPAL - not sure letting a robot raise your child is a good idea, but it's there!), bionic hands;
(3) war robots such as drones, the packhorse replacement packbot, exoskeletons; and
(4) robots in the future such as the robonaut, underwater dolphin robot, a remote controlled lifeguard robot, Curiosity Mars rover, the soft, squishy octobot, swarming kilobots, and the Dubai police robots.

I found this book to be particularly fascinating - I had no idea there were that many robots running around! The writing style is clear and conversational, with no technobabble. The illustrations are beautifully (and colourfully) rendered and accompanied by colour photographs of a selection of the stranger robots.

This is an interesting book that takes a look at some specific robots, how they work, how they fit into our lives and what the future holds for us and them. I suspect even technophobes will find this book interesting.

We Robot: “The day is coming when they will rival and surpass us in all sorts of fields.”

First seen in 1495 in Da Vinci’s sketches of a mechanical knight, robots are increasingly everywhere. From over 400,000 industrial robots made by one manufacturer to the future of skyscraper window cleaning. Even motion capture surgery and pilotless air taxis are available or soon to be available. Robots are moving across the human landscape like a Kilobot swarm. We Robot focuses on robots at work, in life, at war and in the future. It includes photographs, basic schematics and descriptions for 50 robots all with different functions.

We Robot would be useful for authors or illustrators if robots appear in their work. It is also just interesting how far we have come in the decades since the Jetsons’ Rosie or R2D2 and C3P0 from Star Wars. 4 stars!

Thanks to Quarto/Aurum and NetGalley for a copy.

What a timely book! As we are becoming increasingly concerned about the use of robots in everyday life and in particular their ability to take over our jobs without the need for remuneration, we are torn between advancing and enriching our lives through robotic advancement and the possible cost we could face as a species should his occur. You can see why many businesses would support the advancement of robotic technology as it would cut their costs substantially if they were able to employ robots to do most of the workload. But could this lead to humanities downfall? It's a provocative and interesting question.

Whenever I think about robots I tend to think of the synths on the TV programme Humans or those freaky looking types that can be found manning the reception at various Japanese hotels but I do realise that most robots are not made or meant to resemble human beings. This book opened my eyes as to exactly what contraptions are around these days. Robots are not only assisting our surgeons, helping out the armed forces, and working in our factories, they are also helping us out at home with the chores e.g. free-roaming hoovers, that have been available to purchase for a few years now, and are set to be an even bigger part of our lives as time goes on.

"WE: ROBOT" was as intriguing as I thought it would be and I was totally engrossed from the very beginning, in fact it surpassed my expectations. There is information on how robots are currently being used around the world but plenty of discussion about upcoming releases that may take the world by storm. Hambling talks about fifty unique robots such as the Reem Robocop who polices the Dubai streets to the drones that deliver our parcels and not forgetting the nightmare inducing Gemonoid Hi-4 built to look just like a human (very similar to the ones I mentioned above).

I absolutely adored reading this and was a little sad when it came to an end. Everything about it was perfect to me, the information on both robots that already exist and ones that are in the making was accessible and engaging and Hambling also touched on why robots have become so embedded in our culture, how they work and what they tell us about our society and its future.

This is a fantastic read for anyone interested in the specifics of robotics and the advances made in the technology field towards us being much more reliant on these devices. As aforementioned, it is a very accessible book that I think most people would find engaging, well written and meticulously researched. The beautiful illustrations and colour photographs really complement the writing. I have to give it five-stars as it thoroughly deserves it. I've ordered a copy for my already overstuffed bookshelves and will definitely read it once again when I receive the physical copy.

Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - Aurum Press for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I have been fascinated by robots ever since I read Čapek's R.U.R. at school. Keen to learn about the current developments in robotics I picked up WE: ROBOT, and I was not disappointed. WE: ROBOT provides a comprehensive overview of what the different robots can currently do and also, what will robots be able to do in near future. I found the bit about the future developments particularly interesting as it highlights that the robotics as we know it currently, is barely the beginning.

The book was easy to read as the writing style is very clear, the language is simple with minimal jargon which should appeal to a wide range of readers. The book is split into four sections - robots at work, robots in your life, robots at war, and robots beyond. There are illustrations of each robot mentioned in the book, clearly showing their components and indicating the different functions, which makes the reading easy to follow.

I really enjoyed this book, it was quite eye-opening to see how many robots there are already around us and how they are progressively becoming an integral part of our everyday lives without us often realising it. I would highly recommend the book to anyone who is curious to discover the latest robot advances.  

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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WE: ROBOT is a fascinating and quite topical look at how robots have taken over our lives. It details 50 unique robots and their current applications ... from the operating room to the armed forces, from the Reem robocop that polices Dubai to postal drones, and the Gemonoid Hi-4 designed to look just like us. A highly entertaining and informative look at the current robotic revolution, with an eye to what the future will bring. And it brings THEM! 5/5

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Aurum Press and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#We:Robot #NetGalley

I really enjoyed WE: ROBOT.

David Hambling reveals the robots that exist all around us doing everyday tasks that are difficult or dangerous for humans to achieve, It's a unique book with beautiful illustrations, and colourful and modern graphics by Liron Gilenberg’s graphics.
An interesting and informative book that shows how fast technology changes the world. I really enjoyed it.