When was robot first used?

The term "robot" was first used in the play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Czech writer Karel Čapek, which premiered in 1920. The play introduced the concept of artificial beings created to serve humans, although they eventually revolt against their creators. The idea of mechanical automatons, however, dates back much earlier, with inventions like mechanical dolls and clockwork figures existing since the 18th century.