Robots, Robots, Robots

We have switched from the Electronics unit to the Automation and Robotics unit at last.
Before we start into the building phase you need to understand that the most common type of "robot" many people don't consider a robot at all. This is the automated machine.
An automated machine is a machine that doesn't require a human input or a human to repeatedly press a button or lever to tell it to run. It automatically preforms an operation and only needs minimal supervision to make sure things are running smoothly. This allows things to go much faster.
When most people think of robots they think of R2D2 from StarWars or the Terminator. As you learned yesterday, there have been a large number of robots in the movies especially over the last twenty years. Most movie robots are either Androids, robots that have a human appearance, or true robots, which are capable of programmed responses and tasks and can move around. (Automated machines, which are the 1st type of robot, are fixed in place).
Cyborgs, or combinations of man and machine, are generally either considered to be androids or not considered true robots at all. Cyborgs are generally blurring the line. Would a man with a fake arm be considered a robot? What about a man with an prosthetic arm that can sense muscle movement in the "stump" and will turn the wrist or open and close the fingers? Or what about a man with wires running into the "stump" that connect to the nerves and the arm acts real. All of the three types of prosthetic arms I mentioned are real, although the last is still in testing and development.
Are you ready to start building automated machines?