PITTSBURGH-A new class of robots has been inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame, an institution that honors both real and fictional robots and their creators in recognition of the increasing benefits robots are bringing to society. This year's inductees include Honda's humanoid robot ASIMO; Shakey, the first mobile robot with reasoning capability; Astro Boy, a Japanese cartoon robot with a soul; Robby the Robot, from MGM's 1956 science-fiction epic "Forbidden Planet"; and C-3PO, the gold-colored, multilingual robot from the "Star Wars" series.

The robots join previously inducted hall-of-famers the HAL-9000 computer from "2001:A Space Odyssey"; NASA's Mars Pathfinder "Sojourner"; Unimate, the first industrial robot; and R2-D2, C-3PO's vertically challenged sidekick.