About this book

Humanoid robots are some of the most wondrous machines ever built. By imagining and reconstructing ourselves in artificial bodies, we are able to discover what amazing machines we are. But while mirroring our humanity, robots also offer insights into how we have rationalized our technological ambitions, our sense of wonder at ourselves, and our position in a rapidly changing world. 'Robots: the 500-Year Quest to Make Machines Human' explores the surprisingly long history of our obsession with creating machines in human form, from 16th-century mechanized monks to the 'tin man' robots of the 1950s and cutting-edge robots from today's research labs. --Exhibition: The Science Museum, London, United Kingdom (08.02-03.09.2017).