FRC Robots Aren't Real Robots?

[Rich Kressly]

Others have said it above - there is no one agreement here. To add my two cents, as my work/career has evolved from teacher/FRC mentor toward "STEM/robotics education professional" (whatever the heck that may mean ), I've become increasingly more interested in defining these types of terms, especially for/within the confines of the K-12 robotics education market.

The "Standards-Based Robotics Competition Curriculum Development Framework" defines a robot as, "An electro-mechanical device that can perform tasks. A robot may act under the direct control of a human and/or autonomously under the control of a programmed computer."

The framework is a product of an NSF funded project (Abstract here: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0455835) that I was a part of and it was first published in 2006-07. The document is now used as a reference document for robotics education in many places, including here: https://resources.tstc.edu/j/BEST/pu...cs_Rubrics.pdf

Over the years since the Framework was established, my work has included a need to refine this definition so it's a little more easily understood, and the most recent iteration is a part of the VEX IQ Curriculum which defines a robot as "any man-made machine that can perform work or other actions normally performed by humans." The IQ Curriculum then goes on to break down three categories of robots: "teleoperated", "autonomous", and "hybrid".
pertinent information found here: http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexiq/edu...at-is-robotics

Like others have said here, there are many folks who will disagree, define, and redefine based on their expertise, interest, and perspective. This is also an evolving field that is certain to keep undergoing change. However, from a K-12 education standpoint (and perhaps beyond), this is the best definition/explanation I can offer today .