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Is THIS a robot?

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Rocketmagnet:
Hi all,

I'm interested to hear from people what machines they think should qualify as a robot.  Which of the following do you personally consider to be robots?

1. A washing machine.

2. A washing machine with temperature control.

3. A washing machine with a conveyer belt to automatically load/unload.

4. A washing machine with an arm/gripper to automatically load/unload.

5. A washing machine which can move around and collect clothes, with an arm/gripper to automatically load/unload.

6. A washing machine which is sentient and can have a conversation with you.

7. A washing machine which is sentient and can have a conversation with you, with an arm/gripper to automatically load/unload.


Many thanks - Hugo

Steve Joblin:
Wikopedia defins a robot as an "electro-mechanical or bio-mechanical device or group of devices that can perform autonomous or preprogrammed tasks."

A washing machine is an electro-mechanical device that performs preprogrammed tasks, so all 7 of your choices qualify as a "robot".

Next question please.

Rocketmagnet:
Thank you for your answer.

I am still interested to hear thoughts from other people too.

Hugo

Admin:
I think the average Joe would define a robot by how it looks, not by what it does.

The terminator doing your laundry looks like a robot, but a fully autonomous washing machine just looks like a washing machine :P

To me, a robot is an autonomous device that can sense and interact, through feedback control, with its environment autonomously. The fact that the bot can sense something, and then make a decision on what to do on its own, is key for me. So I guess 2 through 7 count.

ed1380:
I second that.

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