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Forming the basis of the new film starring Will Smith, Isaac Asimov's original 1950 collection makes a new appearance as a talking book.

I, Robot: Volume One contains the first five stories from the original 1950 short story collection from one of the grandfathers of modern science fiction: Isaac Asimov, author of the world-famous Foundation series.

Forming the basis of the new feature film starring Will Smith – which is being billed on hoardings as ‘suggested by Isaac Asimov's books’ – meaning it incorporates a couple of central notions from this and the second such collection: The Rest of The Robots - most important of which are the Asimov’s three laws of robotics.

Developed by Asimov, in collaboration with fellow science fiction author – and his editor – John W. Campbell, the laws were designed to enshrine the behaviour of artificial intelligences in his fiction.

The three laws of robotics central to these – and many other Asimov tales - state explicitly that:

“A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

“A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law

“A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”

Such has been the success of the laws that they have largely been adopted by novelists and short story writers ever since they first appeared – showing up in countless authors’ works and appearing in television, on radio drama and in feature films.

By turns both humorous and suspenseful in tone, they follow the progress of robot technology in the 21st century. Isaac Asimov's collection of short stories explores the human condition and our changing understanding of it, vis-à-vis the robot. Each tales is linked by the reminisces of Susan Calvin - a robo-psychologist with the US Robot and Mechanical Men, Inc. company.

On one level the collection I, Robot is an examination of the social pessimism and anxiety that holds back potentially beneficial advances. A timeless classic, it has profound insights for our times, charting the trials and tribulations of the robots of tomorrow, which strangely resonate with the problems of today’s society.

BBC Audiobooks now offer this collection of timeless and gripping science fiction stories in this 4 disc CD set. Read here by actor Garrick Hagon - whose sci-fi film exploits include appearances in Star Wars, Batman, Doctor Who and Cambridge Spies - this collection provides an intriguing introduction to the I, Robot phenomenon and a tantalising taster of the thrills set to hit the big screen with the blockbuster movie this summer.

Other Asimov ‘robot’ stories can be found in the following novels and short story collections:

I, Robot (1950)
The Caves of Steel (1954)
The Naked Sun (1957)
The Rest of the Robots (1964)
The Complete Robot (1982)
The Robots of Dawn (1983)
Robots and Empire (1985)
Robot Dreams (1986)
Robot Visions (1990)

As well as these volumes (available in diverse editions, numerous languages and from a variety of publishers) Asimov is the author of well over 500 volumes. These range from non-fiction to purely academic and ecological treatises – as well as vast amounts of science fiction. His work A Choice of Catastrophes in particular is worthy of mention, for anyone interested in real scientific explanations of the dangers – big and small, man-made and natural – which face mankind.

I, Robot: Volume One is out now, as a 4-CD boxed set, RRP £15.99, from BBC Audiobooks - and can be purchased directly from the BBC Shop.

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