Tape and optical disk storage systems frequently have many more storage media elements than read/write devices. To move the media to and from the devices robotic apparatus are used, in what is often termed a 'Juke Box'(g). The robots in these systems are capable of hig speed and very accurate movement of items, but are subject, like the rest of a storage solution, to the ravages of time.

If the chosen storage medium is updated, the robot may or may not need to be replaced. Updating media within a given manufacturers range of products will often allow the retention of the same robotic systems, with a greater or lesser degree of reconfiguration required. Changing the type of media used radically, for instance by shifting from tape to optical storage, will almost certainly require the complete replacement of the total physical installation.

It should be remembered that the robotic systems frequently come in complete physical enclosures- very large boxes in which the media are stored and the read/write devices housed in a controlled environment. This closed box also allows the robot to move at high speed without endangering human staff who might be in the way.

Clearly therefore, replacing a robotic system can also include replacing the storage space, the device housing, and the environmental management systems, as well as involving the replacement of a very large metal box or boxes. Robotics replacement can be a very major undertaking.

There is an additional pressure that acts upon robots more than any other component of an archive storage system; wear and tear on these machines, even in their managed environments, can be quite severe. Although most systems can recalibrate themselves if tolerances begin to slip, eventually hardworking mechanical components do wear out. A robot that is kept running for a very long time may eventually become very expensive to keep operational, as replacement parts and maintenance skills become more rare with encroaching obsolescence.