Robots are artificial man-made agents that can either be virtual or mechanical in nature. But as what most people have commonly believed, robots are usually composed of electromechanical systems that allows them to perform certain tasks . And through it, robots have the capability of movement which gives it a certain level of independence and with its own capacity to act.

Basic Properties

The definition of robots may not be as clearly defined as most may believe. Scientists believe that there are certain properties that may help them determine what a robot is. It takes the following properties to clearly determine what and what is not considered a robot. Robots should be:

• man-made

• able to sense and interact in its environment

• able to make decisions and choices based on pre-programmed rules

• reprogrammable

• able to move with coordination and from one or several points of rotation

• able to move without direct human intervention

• able to have its own sense of intent and agency

Even if one considers all of these properties, a simpler and basic concept or definition of what a robot is still remains elusive.

There are certain programs developed that can operate and make decisions based on certain rules programmed and re-programmed to it and would still not be considered a robot.

There are also other electromechanical objects that seem to have the capability to move and with having its own sense of intent but would still not be considered a robot.

General Types

Despite the lack of a better definition for robots, scientists have continued on developing the technology that has brought about their development. Currently, most robots are generally either of two types:

General Purpose Autonomous Robots- these are the robots that typically try to mimic and imitate some human behaviors, particularly movement. Such robots are usually build to look physically similar to humans. Although movements may be considered as rudimentary compared to humans, these robots still have an ability to navigate independently. General purpose robots can also be programmed and re-programmed to do a variety of tasks that can increase its usefulness.

Purpose Build Robots- these are robots that are made to perform certain tasks. A great number of such robots can be seen in many factories today and are more commonly called as industrial robots. These robots usually have a specific task to perform and do it so as to take over tasks previously done by humans for better efficiency.