Good question.dictionary.com
Good question.
dictionary.com defines robot as “a machine that resembles a human and does mechanical, routine tasks on command.” I don’t think that explains it very well although I am still trying to refine this in my own mind as to what makes a robot.
If you define a robot as something that can sense and interact with your environment, I think that is close, but not quite it. A piece of software that runs once a week to send out an email alert with a report, ok, that probably isn’t a robot. But what if the job sends it to the printer so every Friday morning there it is on the printer? It is interacting with the environment. I don’t see that as a robot though, I see it as a scheduled job or as automation.
Is an Alexa a robot? I think the same argument pertains. You can order stuff and it appears on your doorstep two days later if you have Amazon Prime so it can interacts with your environment. You can also talk to it so it is interacting with you which is a part of the environment, it can play music which changes the environment, integrate with home automation, etc. It definitely is a robot by that definition.
I think ultimately the term “robot” is subjective and something different for each person. For me, it is something that moves itself within its environment. So, a robot is a manmade device or machine that physically moves, and can sense and interact within its environment. So, by that definition, a Roomba is a robot, Alexa is not.
But how does one define an industrial robot like are used in automotive factories? They are stationary. Also, where I work we have pick and place machines that put together two factor authorization and identity tokens like you might have on your key ring to log into your work VPN. Neither of these physically move, but they move other things to fulfull their purpose. I think those are robots so how about revise that above:
"a robot is a manmade device or machine that physically moves itself or other things, and can sense and interact within its environment."
Feel free to disagree or agree. I will stick with that until I change my mind!