Section A of the special issue consisting of 13 papers covering a wide field is devoted to the topic of languages and software in robotics, with an emphasis on practical applications. Diverse themes are analysed and discussed, such as neural networks, fuzzy approaches, object-oriented programming, simulation and modelling, graphical robot languages and other pertinent topics. Authors from a number of countries have contributed papers describing recent research and different approaches to this important field, particularly in view of the potential applications in various areas.