While some robots learn to deliver pizza, others are saving lives

Washington

WHILE Silicon Valley touts new robots that will greet you at the airport, deliver Cheetos to your hotel room or get you a pizza in a hurry, other machines have had more serious jobs for decades.

Take Northrop Grumman Remotec's products. The robotics division of the defence contractor started life more than 20 years ago as a maker of machines that move radioactive materials around government research labs. From there, the devices evolved into bomb-disposal aids, and were sent into other situations that the military or law enforcement deemed too risky for humans.