I came across this whimsical book last week, and I really enjoyed reading it. It has a lot of simple graphic, black and white photos and amusing text. I do believe this book was the kind of reading that made a big difference for the general public of the '70 ( 45 years ago!) and helped science to come near the working class readers.
This is a charming little bit of fluff from 1978. It's less about robots and more about how amazing washing machines and clocks are but the history of automation was a fun read.