The term automation came into use in the late 1940s to designate the use of systems for controlling processes with reduced human intervention. [Page 2975]Automation has transformed our world by allowing the use of mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical devices, and computers—either individually or in various combinations—to control processes in industry, transportation, communication, and so on, with limited or even no human involvement. At the point where there is little or no human intervention, automation’s most extreme exemplification manifests itself in the form of artificial agents usually referred to as robots.

Robots are usually mechanical or virtual electromechanical machines that are controlled by electronic circuits and/or computer programs. Such circuits and programs often function as embedded systems that have specified roles in the context of a ...