Focus: Robot technology

They will do the housework, never answer back and could even be trusted with a credit card. Robots - once the stuff of science fiction - may soon become reality. That is the claim of a growing number of enthusiasts who believe the day of the android will soon be upon us, an idea that will be reinforced in the minds of the public with the release of next month's blockbuster - I, Robot - which stars Will Smith and a host of computer-enhanced mechanical humanoids. The film, set in 2035, is based on the classic Isaac Asimov book of the same name and is set in a world dependent upon domestic robots. But is the science of robotics being oversold?