Robots of every size and description have been used to perform routine construction and mining tasks since the days of the Terran Hegemony. While lacking intelligence, they have often been equipped with sophisticated discernment programs (an outgrowth of the "expert system" of the early computer age) that permit them to carry out their tasks without direct supervision. These robots are intended for use in hostile or vacuum environments, thus dispensing with the need for human workers there, but in modern times only the richer concerns use them.