A futuristic play by Czech playwright, writer, and philosopher Karel Capek.
In this play, RUR is an acronym for Rossum's Universal Robots. The name Rossum is derived from the Slavic word "rozum", or rational mind.
The word robot was created by Capek, specifically for this play, and has since spread to just about every language, though not exactly in the same meaning Capek gave it. It is derived from Western Slavic word "robota" - hard labor.
The robots in this play were artificially produced humanoids or androids, designed only for hard labor and exploitation by humans.
They were not mechanical devices but biological beings capable of reproduction.
Though exploited by humans, and viewed as inferior to man, the robots had a mind, and eventually rebelled against their human slave masters.
The play is a powerful study of human arrogance toward other beings.