Even in the oldest legends of Greek and Hebrew myth, robots have existed, if by other names. Talos of Greek myth was an artificial man made of bronze that guarded the island of Crete and threw rocks at any approaching ships. In the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, Talos was defeated by removing a nail, one of his parts. Ancient Hebrew myths also speak of golems, artificially created man-shaped automations created by holy men using secrets from God. They worked perfectly and untiringly, but could not speak.
Norse legends also refer to an artificial person, a clay giant named Mistcalf, which Hrungnir built in order to fight the god of thunder, Thor. Unfortunately the clay giant was not very useful in a fight. Today, robots are much more than legends, but the technology is still in its infancy.
Whereas simple computer technology is currently a mature industry with discrete and steady evolution in design and functionality, robotics has yet to find its niche.
But many people believe that the time of the robot will come soon. And there are quite a few who believe that it will come first here in Korea. Robot technology is advancing on many fronts here, but one of the most interesting is involved in the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association.
