Phil Husbands introduces the field of robotics, where it has come from, and where it might go in the future. Explaining the technology underlying robots and their capabilities today, he also considers both the ethical problems of robots with increasing intelligence, and the wider socio-political challenges they create. the book is accessible, and readers can expect to learn much from it. Husbands has given us a historically informed introduction to robotics, rooted in technological reality and dismissing futuristic hype.