What Are Robots?
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with robots, their design, manufacture, and application. Robotics relies heavily on computer science and electrical engineering and is constantly evolving as more new technologies are developed. Robotics is responsible for many applications including entertainment, healthcare, manufacturing, military defense, and even space exploration. How could one definition be sufficient for all of these examples?
There are numerous types of robots. Some examples of common categories used to group robots include drone, humanoid, security, military, medical, and aerospace robots. Because a definition of the word “robot” would have to include all of these things, there is not one definition universally agreed upon.
For instance, the Merriam Webster dictionary has two definitions of robots. The first is “a machine that resembles a living creature in being capable of moving independently (as by walking or rolling on wheels) and performing complex actions (such as grasping and moving objects)”, while the second definition is “a device that automatically performs complicated, often repetitive tasks (as in an industrial assembly line)”. Both definitions fail to address all of the types of robots. The Robot Institute of America also attempts to find a universal definition for robot. In 1979, they defined a robot as “a reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks”.
Additionally, experts in the field of robotics do not have a consensus regarding the definition of “robot”. Anca Dragan of UC Berkeley defines a robot as “a physically embodied artificially intelligent agent that can take actions that have effects on the physical world”. However, Kate Darling of MIT Media Lab differs in her opinion: “My definition of a robot, given that there is no very good universal definition, would probably be a physical machine that’s usually programmable by a computer that can execute tasks autonomously or automatically by itself”.
Every person’s definition of a robot represents how they envision robots. How did you picture a robot? If you pictured a humanoid robot, you may find yourself agreeing with the first Merriam Webster definition. If you pictured an autonomous drone robot, you probably agree with Dragan’s definition of robot. If one’s definition of “robot” depends on their own ideas surrounding them, what would a good definition of robot be?
While there is no consensus on what the word robot means, most agree to a few basic ideas. First, most people and organizations agree that a robot must have physical components, meaning that they cannot only be software. Second, robots must be able to interact with or have an impact on the world. Finally, most concur that robots must have some degree of autonomy, though the level is disputed.
In short, there’s no universally accepted definition for the word “robot”. While most agree that a robot must have some hardware, be able to affect the world, and have some autonomy, we’ve yet to come up with one definition that fits what everyone would think of when asked to picture a robot.
