The rise of the robots – in pictures

Robots deliver dishes to customers at a Robot Restaurant in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. Labour costs have climbed in countries such as China that have been popular for outsourcing production, while technological advances for robots allow them to be more flexible and perform more tasks. Sheng Li / Reuters

Roppie the robot plays a game of tic-tac-toe with a member of the public at the Taipei International Robot Show. Nicky Loh / Reuters

A man looks at the HRP-4C Miim humanoid robot. Toru Hanai / Reuters

Japanese toymaker Tomy Company’s ‘Omnibot17u i-SOBOT’, listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s smallest humanoid robot in production, is demonstrated during a news conference in Tokyo, in July 2007. Yuriko Nakao / Reuters

The hitchBOT is seen posed next to Highway 17 north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway. Kenneth Armstrong / Reuters

A hundred humanoid communication robots called Robi perform a synchronised dance during a promotional event called 100 Robi, in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters

Chinese inventor Tao Xiangli controls his home-made humanoid robot with a remote controller. Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

An engineer makes an adjustment to the robot “The Incredible Bionic Man” at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Joshua Roberts / Reuters

A robot Ecce by the Robot studio is pictured at the world’s largest industrial technology fair, the Hannover Messe, in Hanover on April 13, 2015. Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters

An unidentified LS3 team member shoves an LS 3 (Legged Squad Support System) robot that was galloping off course, back on track during a high-speed demonstration in Homestead, Florida. Andrew Innerarity / Reuters

Pingpong-playing robot “Topio” is displayed during the InternationalRobot Exhibition 2009 in Tokyo. Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

A “Nao” humanoid robot by Aldebaran Robotics sits in a corner while its batteries are being charged during a presentation at a branch of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) in Tokyo. Thomas Peter / Reuters

Toyota Motor Corporations’s partner robots play instruments at the company’s showroom in Tokyo. Toru Hanai / Reuters

A visitor waves in front of the sensor that triggers the joints of a dummy that is part of “PWM1”, an art creation by Taiwan artist Huang Zan-lun, during the Art Taipei 2010. Pichi Chuang / Reuters

Honda’s latest version of the Asimo humanoid robot walks up stairs during a presentation in Zaventem near Brussels. Francois Lenoir/ Reuters

Three-fourths of robot installations over the next decade are expected to be concentrated in four areas: transportation equipment, including the automotive sector; computer and electronic products; electrical equipment and machinery.