alt Hacker NewsWhat's wrong with a cruise missle being defined as a robot? It is one.
Also I'd argue that a CNC machine is a robot as well, no different than a programmable industrial robotic arm.
IMHO, a dishwasher isn't a robot because it is neither versatile in its objective, nor programmable.
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I think the distinction is about the interaction with physical world. I robot must change its own position and/or can be able to manipulate other objects.
A washing machine does’t care about the pose of the laundry inside. No direct manipulation. It just rotates the drum with a motor.
A self driving car locates and moves itself. A robotic arm manipulates objects. They are like half-robots. A “robot” robot can do both.
A cruise missile is much less versatile and programmable than a dishwasher.
You can program a diswhasher to brew beer.
> neither versatile in its objective, nor programmable.
how programmable does it have to be for the robotic classification to stick? A cruise missile also cannot be programmed to be general - you can only program it to follow a trajectory. Just like you can only program a dishwasher to do dishes in a particular way.
> CNC machine is a robot
Who ever controls the CNC machines will win The War Against the Machines.
> Also I'd argue that a CNC machine is a robot as well, no different than a programmable industrial robotic arm.
It's true - a robot arm is not so different from a CNC machine.
But a 5-axis CNC is not so different from a 3-axis CNC, a 3-axis CNC is not so different from a laser cutter, a laser cutter is not so different from a vinyl cutter, a vinyl cutter is not so different from a large-format printer, and a large-format printer is no so different from an inkjet printer.