Broken away from another thread, this topic warrants a thread on its own.

 

Seems to extend the classic meaning of robot into dumb actuators of various clever types.

https://robots.ieee.org/learn/what-is-a-robot/

So what makes a robot? Here’s a definition that is neither too general nor too specific:

A robot is an autonomous machine capable of sensing its environment, carrying out computations to make decisions, and performing actions in the real world.

 

Nano robots are right up there with fusion power and quantum computing.

Bob

 

Seems to extend the classic meaning of robot into dumb actuators of various clever types.

https://robots.ieee.org/learn/what-is-a-robot/

So, these nano-robot guys are saying a piece of plastic that moves because a near-IR laser causes thermal expansion. I wonder if they would call the plastic sunroof our RV a "robot", after some weeks of thermal cycles in the sun, the sunroof manages to "walk/creep" out of the bezel.

Luckily, the RV is just a rental or the situation would be less of a fascination and more of an aggravation.

 

Nano robots are right up there with fusion power and quantum computing.

Bob

Add world peace, disease cures, end to hunger, ...