To pass the Turing Test, a computer must act like a person in a written conversation so well that it fools people into thinking its responses are coming from a person. The invention of computers in the early 1940s made robots a real possibility. The early robots were made by researchers in laboratories. For example, the Rancho Arm was designed at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in 1963 to aid a paralyzed person. Most robots used today are actually robot arms.
Robot arms do factory jobs that require doing the same task over and over.
They weld parts of cars together, put together plastic toys, package bread, and perform many other repetitive tasks. A spill occurs at a nuclear waste site. Perhaps a robot can. Scientists are developing robots that can work in situations that would be dangerous or impossible for human workers. Robots can work with harmful chemicals, explore the ocean floor, and travel into space.