Identifying Technology Advancements and Their Linkages in the Field of Robotics Research

Robots have been developed and merged various sophisticated technologies such as mechanical engineering, control systems, electronics, and software for about half a century, and have played a significant role on automation of manufacturing industries and substantial improvement of productivity. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has also been developed rapidly and is expected to apply to various fields including robot technologies. The recent rapid advancement of information and communication technology (ICT) and emergence of the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence (AI), are expected to make robots more intelligent as well as more autonomous, and to contribute to healthcare, construction, logistics, agriculture, and other service sectors. The purpose of this paper is to detect trends of technology advancements and their linkages between the field of robotics research and that of AI, and to identify main areas where Robot has contributed to scientific sectors, and has put impacts on by applying a citation network analysis.