Society of Robots - Robot Forum

General Misc => Misc => Topic started by: IvyW on September 16, 2016, 10:09:57 AM

Title: Definition of robot?
Post by: IvyW on September 16, 2016, 10:09:57 AM

I'm an editor on WhatIs.com. We cover definitions of robotics terms and I'm looking for clarification on the basic definition of robot. Here's our current definition of robot: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/robot-insect-robot-autonomous-robot (http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/robot-insect-robot-autonomous-robot).

I have always considered a robot to be a physical system but I'm increasingly seeing references to software -- expert systems, for example -- as robots. I've also seen "robot" defined as "any system that replicates a human capability," which seems pretty broad.

Can anyone help me clarify this issue or point me towards a good source?

Title: Re: Definition of robot?
Post by: hadiesper on December 16, 2016, 01:28:26 PM

I like the information you have on your website. I suppose I'm a sense the term robot is an extremely general term. I would say you can a program or machine a robot if it has the capability to make decisions or run tasks independent of human intervention or in a way a robot is a machine that displays autonomy.