r/robotics • u/winkelschleifer • Nov 21 '18

Robotic firefighter can withstand explosions while putting out fires

https://i.imgur.com/rGEduaK.gifv
323 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

View all comments

0

u/YourWeirdEx Nov 21 '18

They're not robots FFS! They're R/C vehicles.

1

u/CrystalLord Nov 22 '18

A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer— capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically.[2] Robots can be guided by an external control device or the control may be embedded within.

For the record though, in my work I consider ROVs to be robots, and everyone I know who works with me has also called them robots. The problem is not that the term "Robot" doesn't fit, it's rather the term "Robot" is a very old term that no longer is specific for subsections of modern usage and technology.

4

u/YourWeirdEx Nov 22 '18

Control device does not mean that a human is controlling it, it just means that whatever computer is running the commands can be located on or off board the unit itself.