Are they really robots?

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Taylor

Autonomy seems to come up often in this discussion. This brings me to three questions:

Is there a distinction, as far as autonomy and the classification thereof is concerned, between closed-loop and open-loop programming?

I don't think such a distinction would be important when deciding whether or not a machine counts as a robot. There are many examples of open-loop robotic "pick and place" machines in assembly lines, for example. But there's definitely room for debate on the topic, and one could make a valid comparison between totally open-loop systems and clockwork wind-up mechanisms.

Are the controls (joysticks) considered to be sensors, or simply inputs?

I would consider that a matter of semantics rather than of essence. The system analysis could be done with either choice of label.

Is there a distinction between sensors and inputs?

I probably wouldn't use the word "sensor" to describe an input device such as a keypad. Sensors typically measure or detect a quality of the environment, while inputs can be pure information without a definite physical analog.