This course is designed to give students with little or no technical background a general understanding about robots and their potential impact. Our society is on the verge of a new era of technology convergence: robotic devices are envisioned to become a nearly ubiquitous part of our day‐to‐day lives. New technologies such as wireless communication and voice and visual recognition will make robots become behaviour‐based, cognitive and biologically-inspired humanoids. Fundamental social, economic, and technological issues of a human‐machine society will be identified and discussed in interactive sessions. The learning process is designed to transcend conventional boundaries between technology and other disciplines, and will be facilitated by a series of demonstrative sessions presenting students with opportunities to observe, evaluate, examine, and interact with a variety of commercial robots and humanoids. Guided by internal and external experts, students will focus on a specific social, business or technology issue, identifying and exploring potential solutions enabled by robotic and automation technology. In this exploration process, students will be encouraged to apply their personal background and interests, and possibly experiment with robot kits.