To explore and to serve - Robotics between basic research and the actually useful

There is a wide gap between today's actually working vacuum cleaning robots and the robot butlers hailed by the popular press since the early 20th century. Robotics research it seems has still not managed to put right its perceived image in the eye of the general public and is too often still chasing cheap headlines rather than solid science. In this paper we will take a critical look at some aspects of current advanced robotics research and its presentation to the general public.