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"Concepts of religion may now be goals of science and engineering."
- Bart Kosko

Childcare Robot  
  A robot constructed to take care of a small child.  

This is probably the first reference in science fiction to the idea of a robot as a childcare provider; see the caveat below.

Robbie nodded his head - a small parallelepiped with rounded edges and corners attached to a similar but much larger parallelepiped that served as a torso by means of a short, flexible stalk - and obediently faced the tree. A thin metal film descended over his glowing eyes, and from within his body came a steady, resonant ticking.

"Don't peek now - and don't skip any numbers," warned Gloria, and scurried for cover.

With unvarying regularity seconds were ticked off, and at the hundredth, up went the eyelids and the glowing red of Robbie's eyes swept the prospect...

"Please, Robbie, please give me a ride." She encircled his neck with rosy arms and hugged tightly...

Robbie gave in immediately and unconditionally before this ultimatum and nodded his head vigorously until the metal of his neck hummed. Carefully he raised the little girl and placed here on his broad, flat shoulders.

Gloria's threatened tears vanished immediately and she crowed with delight. Robbie's metal skin, kept at the constant temperature of seventy degrees by the high resistance coils within, felt nice and comfortable and the beautifully loud sound her heels made as they bumped rhythmically against his chest was enchanting.

Technovelgy from Robbie (Strange Playfellow), by Isaac Asimov.
Published by Super Science Stories in 1940
Additional resources -

This story also emphasized the first of Asimov's famous laws of robotics.

But is it right to entrust your little girl to a robot?

"You listen to me, George. I won't have my daughter entrusted to a machine - and I don't care how clever it is... A child just isn't made to be guarded by a thing of metal."

"Dear! A robot is infinitely more to be trusted than a human nurse-maid. Robbie was constructed for only one purpose - to be the companion of a little child.

Compare to Philip K. Dick's Nanny Robot, from a 1950's story collection.

See also the entry for psychophonic nurse from a 1928 story by David H. Keller.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Robbie (Strange Playfellow)
  More Ideas and Technology by Isaac Asimov
  Tech news articles related to Robbie (Strange Playfellow)
  Tech news articles related to works by Isaac Asimov

Childcare Robot-related news articles:
  - Robot Nanny - The Fact, The Fiction
  - Asimov's First Law Of Robotics Real-Life Beta
  - Robot Designed To Break First Law - In Order To Save It
  - Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk

Articles related to Robotics
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores
Bambot Open Source Cheap Delivery Robot
Robot Collective Acts Like A Smart Material

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