Service robotics (the rise and bloom of service robots) [tc spotlight]

We may think that robots were invented to serve humans. Consequently, what is the disparity between the terms service robots and service robotics? Although this is a valid point, to distinguish from the initial wide usage of robots in manufacturing, the term service robotics was invented to show robotics technologies and applications in nonmanufacturing areas. The term service robots was intended to highlight emerging markets for the new types of robots. This was the motivation behind initiating the Service Robots Technical Committee (TC) within the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) in 1995. During the same period, the term intelligent robots appeared in the literature (see [1]) to represent the new trend away from the narrow focus of the robotics community on the control of the robotic manipulators.