The aging of the population imposes a growing burden on the healthcare system and families. Assistive robotics is identified as a decisive technology to reduce this burden by freeing caregivers from routine tasks with little added human value as well as promoting the autonomy of people with mobility or cognitive limitations. In the book, the author gives a personal account of the evolution of the research field of assistive robotics, from the precursor automata and the initial developments in social robotics to the current state-of-the-art in physical and cognitive robotic assistance, devoting special attention to the current techno-scientific challenges and how they are being addressed by the research community, as well as the social and ethical implications of their deployment in real environments. Initiatives to teach ethics related to social robotics and AI are also covered, some based on science-fiction narratives to engage students and generate debate.