Introduction

The word “robot” is derived from the Czechoslovakian language, in which it means “worker” [2]. The rst commercial robot was manufactured by Planet Corporation, in 1959 [3]. As robots use mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical, and electronic parts, their reliability-related problems are very challenging because of the sources of failures are many and varied. Although there is no clear-cut denitive point for the beginnings of the eld of robot reliability, articles by J.F. Engelberger and K.M. Haugan, in 1974, could be regarded as its starting point [4,5]. In 1987, an article presented a comprehensive list of publications that were directly or indirectly related to robot reliability [6] and, in 1991, a book titled Robot Reliability and Safety covered the topic of robot reliability in considerable depth [7].