Please navigate to:
http://www.robotics.utexas.edu/rrg/learn_more/history/
and you get:
According to the Robot Institute of America (1979) a robot is:
"A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks".
With this debate, we will see what the community thinks when the BSA Robotics Merit Badge is published April 2011.