Robotics comes from the word robot, which in turn comes from the Slavic word "robota". "Robota" means labor, or work. Karel Čapek invented the word "robot" to use in a play. This play was called "R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)". The word "robotics" was first used by Isaac Asimov in his story "Liar!" published in 1941.