This article surveys traditional research topics in industrial robotics and mobile robotics and then expands on new trends in robotics research that focus more on the interaction between human and robot. The new trends in robotics research have been denominated service robotics because of their general goal of getting robots closer to human social needs, and this article surveys research on service robotics such as medical robotics, rehabilitation robotics, underwater robotics, field robotics, construction robotics and humanoid robotics. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the evolution of research topics in robotics from classical motion control for industrial robots to modern intelligent control techniques and social learning paradigms, among other aspects.The work of the first author is supported by a postdoctoral CSIC-I3P contract granted by the European Social Fund.S2009/DPI-1559/ROBOCITY2030-IIPart of this work has been possible with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science under Grant DPI2004-05824Peer reviewed