Robots are approaching the usefulness of their sci-fi and celluloid ancestors, though not their versatility. Most robots have a single-purpose, though their capabilities are expanding almost as fast as the computers on which they rely. Real robots tend to look less human than 3-CPO and more like a gizmo with a metal boom that bends and clasps like an arm and hand. Humans haven't been the model for most robots, because we are too tall for stability unless equipped with a wonderful inner ear. The few real robots we see in the news are exploring Mars or the deep blue sea.
Most robots have more mundane jobs.
They help us keep warm and our society moving and nonpolluting by checking the insides of oil pipes and gasoline tanks for leaks and weak spots. Others swing back and forth picking up parts to assemble cars. There are robots that move test tubes into and out of laboratory analyzers, and others that build transformers or golf balls. Robots are often used for dangerous work. American robots are cleaning out radioactive sludge at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.