Robots return to Earth as part of a star by star search to find their roots. It's just a so-so story. However, it's early, 1938, so it could have been an innovator of some of the tropes/cliches I bring up below. If so, I cut it some slack. These ideas have sure proved enduring!
First, the starship has the usual problem of being both a starship and landing on earth. In this case the miracle is called gravity bending, and the individual robots who are the crew can do it too. They can float when they want to.
Second, there is no remote sensing. These robots look around after they land, not from space. The description of the ruins they land on is ho-hum -- very conventional post-apocalypse for its era. Once again, not using any remote sensing is annoying.
Third, mankind has succumbed completely and suddenly to a single virulent disease. This predates the term virus so it's called a mutant bacteriophage. The only exceptional thing here is all of life succumbs to this disease, not just mankind. Ho-hum again, literary ancestor to "grey goo", the nanotech version of this same world-destroying disease concept. Worse, the first and only rocket to leave the planet, the one that carries these robot's ancestors, is ready just in the nick of time. Even more ho-hum.
And finally, this story demonstrates how early on the wonder of atomic power began. These robots are atomic powered.
Once again, ho-hum, except that it may have been the first. In that case its impressive how many enduring themes Williams managed to incorporate in this one piece.