FRC Robots Aren't Real Robots?

[bEdhEd]

I searched CD for a thread with a similar topic and could not find one, so here we go. I was on YouTube viewing the Sronghold reveal once again so I could gauge field element scale and decided to browse through the comments this time. This isn't the first time I've started a thread with a possibly controversial topic with regard to YouTube comments, so please don't reply with something along the lines of "they're YouTube comments, what do you expect?" as this does nothing to contribute to the discussion. My post in 2013 titled "UNgracious UNprofessionalism" is the thread that I am talking about, and it turned into quite a heated discussion.

So here is the comment that I saw:

Here we go again... sigh Those are not robots. Those are telebots. A robot is a machine that can carry out a sequence of actions automatically. These are r/c cars.
I really wish people wouldn't misuse the word "robot" like this.

This is not the first time I've seen or heard someone refer to FRC robots as simply r/c cars. I don't wish to detail the short lived and sassy conversation between OP and another fellow FIRSTer about how OP was not impressed at how the robots had only a 15 second autonomous period, but this is what I had to reply:

Sigh....I really wish you wouldn't misuse your assumptions like this. These machines that students build are not merely "r/c cars" as your benign ignorance of the program leads you to believe. However, I can understand this misguided assumption. Most people don't get the chance to really look at the guts of these robots (and yes, these are undoubtedly robots). Take any high performing robot in a competition, and you'll find plenty of automation integrated into most if not all subsystems. Many teams use gyros, potentiometers, encoders, infrared sensors, cameras, and a whole host of other automation solutions. This automation is used in BOTH autonomous and teleoprated period. If a team were to give their drivers a switch or button for every little movement or decision the robot does on its own throughout the match, you'd have drivers that would go insane after just a few minutes of driver practice. Your strictness of the definition of "robot" tells me that you are interested in robotics in some way, and I encourage you to attend the nearest FIRST Robotics Competition to you. Please talk to the students and mentors who make these robots. If you seek out the best performing robots at a competition and go to their pit and have a conversation with these young bright minds, I'm sure the automation that goes into their robot will convince you that they are not merely "r/c cars." I guess I'll have to end this by saying, SEE YOU AT THE COMPETITION!

My main reason for starting this thread is to ask this:

Do you, members of CD and the FIRST community, think that FRC Robots fit the definition of "robot" or are they just expensive, glorified, industrial r/c cars? I personally believe that these are robots of course!

What is your opinion, and what are the reasons for why FRC robots are indeed robots, or why they can be regarded as more r/c cars than robots?

I've made my case in my quoted comment, so what's yours?