Robots in Industry

Gr 3–5—Though the authors resort to repetition and subject overlap to fill out these surveys, the topic is high in interest and likely to become higher as robotic devices become more widespread. The Spilsburys open each volume with a summary of the multiple ways robots are faster, safer, more reliable alternatives to human effort in a chosen technological or industrial field, then go on to make the same points in slightly greater detail. The term robot—translated correctly but without comment in Industry as "forced labor"—is interpreted broadly enough to include radar guns and "smart highways," in Law Enforcement, and powered exoskeletons or prosthetics both there and in Medicine and Military. In each volume, several specific devices or systems get closer looks, as do upcoming developments in sidebars unequivocally titled "Robots Are the Future." The authors do at least bring up issues, such as whether industrial robots take jobs or create them, but rarely for more than urging readers to think them over. Aside from brief resource lists and indexes, there is no back matter, and the illustrations generally offer external views rather than glimpses of internal workings. The pictures aren't consistently well chosen, either.