- published: 26 Sep 2015
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Droids are fictional robots, possessing some degree of artificial intelligence, most commonly referred to as such in the science fiction franchise Star Wars. Created by special effects worker John Stears, the term is a clipped form of android, a word originally reserved for robots designed to look and act like a human. The word droid is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd.
The term Droid was first used in a 1952 sci-fi story by Mari Wolf, "Robots of the World! Arise!", published in "If Worlds of Science Fiction", July 1952.
The Star Wars franchise features a variety of droids fulfilling roles. The humanoid robot C-3PO is a "protocol droid", which specializes in translation, etiquette and cultural customs. R2-D2 and BB-8 are "astromech droids", which are "generally used for the maintenance and repair of starships and related technology".HK-47 is a humanoid soldier robot designed as a violent killer.
The term "Droid" has been used by Verizon Wireless under licence from Lucasfilm, for their line of smartphones based on the Android operating system. Motorola's late-2009 Google Android-based cell phone is called the Droid. This line of phone has been expanded to include other Android-based phones released under Verizon, including the HTC Droid Eris, the HTC Droid Incredible, Motorola Droid X, Motorola Droid 2, and Motorola Droid Pro. The term was also used for the Lucasfilm projects EditDroid, a non-linear editing system, and SoundDroid, an early digital audio workstation.
Droid or DROID may refer to:
A robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry. Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from humanoids such as Honda's Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO) and TOSY's TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot (TOPIO) to industrial robots, medical operating robots, patent assist robots, dog therapy robots, collectively programmed swarm robots, UAV drones such as General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, and even microscopic nano robots. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot may convey a sense of intelligence or thought of its own.
The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing is robotics. These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resemble humans in appearance, behavior, and/or cognition. Many of today's robots are inspired by nature contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics. These robots have also created a newer branch of robotics: soft robotics.