Robotics is the science and technology of robots, and their design, manufacture, and application. Robotics has connections to electronics, mechanics, and software.
- The structure of a robot is usually mostly mechanical and can be called a kinematic chain (its functionality being similar to the skeleton of the human body). The chain is formed of links (its bones), actuators (its muscles), and joints which can allow one or more degree of freedom. Most contemporary robots use open serial chains in which each link connects the one before to the one after it. These robots are called serial robots and often resemble the human arm. Some robots, such as the Stewart platform, use a closed parallel kinematical chain. Other structures, such as those that mimic the mechanical structure of humans, various animals, and insects, are comparatively rare. However, the development and use of such structures in robots is an active area of research (e.g. biomechanics). Robots used as manipulators have an end effector mounted on the last link. This end effector can be anything from a welding device to a mechanical hand used to manipulate the environment.

China steps up designing "Accompany & Nursing" robot

BEIJING, April 29 -- Researchers at the Harbin Institute of Technology are teaching a robot to recognize medicine bottles and even "sing" for the elderly in an effort to help care for China's aging population.
According to HIT's Robot Academy, the rapid development of communication technology could make "nursing robots" a reality within 5 to 10 years.
Soundbite: Li Ruifeng, deputy director of HIT Robot "Home-use robot is a new developing direction. As the massive mature application of industry robots, the direction for future development should be service robot，or the robot can serve common people's daily life. For example, there are already some robot-like products in the market, such as the floor-sweeping robot and many families have grass-cutting robots in America."
Research on nursing robots began in 2007.
China's elderly population is expected to reach 248 million, or 17 percent of the general population by the year 2020. (Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Harbin.)