Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia
Encyclopedia
Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia is a 1988 book about robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...

 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 by Frederik L. Schodt
Frederik L. Schodt
Frederik L. Schodt is an American translator, interpreter and writer.Schodt's father was in the US foreign service, and he grew up in Norway, Australia, and Japan. The family first went to Japan in 1965 when Schodt was fifteen. They left in 1967 but Schodt remained to graduate from Tokyo's American...

. In 2011, it was also issued as an e-book for the Kindle, Nook,and iBookstore platforms, with a new cover designed by Raymond Larrett, added color photographs, and free-flowing, searchable text.

This book describes the fascination that Japan has had from the very beginning of acquiring technology, from the first visit by Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1853 to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 and the integration of technology into Japanese society, which they, according to the book, feel will strengthen and improve their society, economy and life in Japan and the world. They regard technology, according to the book, as a savior from dangerous and monotonous jobs that robots can be designed to do instead, freeing up the human labor force to do more worthwhile pursuits.

The book mentions Isaac Assimov's proposed Three Laws of Robotics
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories...

, and also talks about the Japanese comic book character Astro Boy as examples of robotic integration into Japanese society.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK