What is a robot?

This is a synopsis with excerpts from Parts I & II of Systema Robotica, a new treatise by Ali Ahmed published as a book on Amazon as well as an open access public work.

Six years ago, at a tech conference in Dubai, I got into a spirited debate about what defines a robot. We were showcasing Gala, our first self-driving store at Robomart, and were sharing the show floor with other robots from across the world. In the booth right next to us, was Sophia the android with human like skin. After ‘she’ walked over and tried hailing the robomart, the founders present got into another argument on whether Sophia could be called a humanoid, or if that word exclusively applied to mechanical androids in the shape of a human, like the Boston Dynamic’s Atlas robot or Honda’s Asimo.

Those discussions kicked off a multi-year project in which I set out to define the true nature of robots, come up with a better classification structure and taxonomy for all robots past, present and future, and explore the role of robots in a future of non-human superintelligences.

That project has now culminated in Systema Robotica, my treatise on the order and evolution of robotkind. The treatise seeks to better define what a robot truly is and find answers to the following questions. Do robots deserve to be defined by biological markers? How can we differentiate between a mechanical android versus one with synthetic skin? Will robots be our servants, equals or superiors? Will we merge with them to become human-robot hybrids? When robots become superintelligent will they be regarded as sentient? How can we even define sentience? What is a robot?

Defining a robot is not an easy task. If you ask ten different people you’ll get ten different answers. It will also vary depending on whether you ask a roboticist, a science fiction author, or a member of the public.

My definition of a robot hinges on its ability to be encompassing, yet clear in its scope, and one that considers a robot’s origin, design, and future capabilities.

A robot is an artificial material construct designed to autonomously sense, decide, and operate within the physical world.

This definition helps not only specify what constitutes a robot, but critically allows us to consider what a robot is not, by comparing it to other things, such as machines, artificial intelligence, humans and cyborgs.

Neuralink has recently shared efforts in implanting their first two human patients, who can control physical objects simply by thought. This level of virtual-physical manipulation will eventually become more like a form of telekinesis through advanced brain-computer interfaces, unlocking new senses beyond the five basic ones humans experience. The trend of augmentation will only grow over time, further blurring the lines between what it means to be a robot, human, or cyborg, and how each of these will evolve in the future.

To make better sense of this, we need to consider forms of intelligences as a separate realm, that sit above the animal kingdom and biological domains. There are three theorized realms of intelligences that have the capacity to evolve: biotica, all natural biological intelligences, robotica, all constructed artificial intelligences, and exotica, all hybrid exotic intelligences. With the top level hierarchy defined, we can then start to codify robots past, present and future into a taxonomy under the realm of robotica.

The vast majority of taxonomies for robots to date have classified robots based on functionality. This is a fool’s errand, in that there will be considerable overlap making any taxonomy completely unusable. Androids designed for the kitchen can just as easily work in a factory, and drones built for agriculture can easily be reprogrammed for aerial photography. Instead, by focusing on a robot’s “designform” — its design, form, countenance, size, shape and branding, we can create a taxonomy that works for all robots.

If we were to create a taxonomy of humans, we wouldn’t classify them by functionality. Humans can do so much, hold so many roles, but we all have a specific visual countenance and appearance. The logical approach is to classify based on design and form rather than functionality.

The Robot Taxonomy defines six major types that all robots fall under. Within those six types are 22 schemes, based on a robot’s schematic designform.

The schemes not only span traditional robots that we’re familiar with like androids with synthetic skin (synthoids), factory arm robots (articulators), self-driving vehicle robots (autons), and flying robots (drones) but also considers future robots and edge cases, such as robots that can morph, or change their appearance, countenance, size or form. MIT’s M-Blocks is one example of a shape-shifting robot. These robots are classified as morphbots, under spectra, one of the six major robot types.

Under spectra are also virtuoids. These are virtual or holographic robot entities, within a physical housing. Since they have an embodiment and meet the definition above, they are robots. These virtuoids are not science fiction but rather a reality. A company called Gatebox out of Japan has created a robot that projects an anime character imbued with artificial intelligence, that can talk to you, manage tasks for you, and even welcome you when you get home.

Another example of a virtuoid (this time from science fiction) would be Joi from the movie Blade Runner 2049, which was released a year after Gatebox introduced their virtuoid.

Joi is a holographic representation of an artificial intelligence, yet one that has a physical presence and embodiment through projectors that can interface with the physical world, and because of that, it is a robot.

As more and more startups get into robotics, we now need a clear naming system within the taxonomy. Joi would be the robot’s model name, as there can be dozens or hundreds or thousands of different individual unique robot units that are all the same model. Similarly when we think about a robomart self-driving store, our first robot is named Gala. This refers to the specific individual robot unit within our first generation model.

Confucius is often quoted to have said that true wisdom begins with the proper naming of things. In the near future of non-human superintelligences, this has never been more important and pertinent, as a precursor to the automation age that is upon us.

Ali Ahmed is a roboticist, inventor of the self-driving store, co-founder & CEO of Robomart, mentor at Singularity University, robotics expert to Wefunder, and author of Systema Robotica, a treatise on the order and evolution of robotkind.

Systema Robotica has been published as a book on Amazon, as well as an open access public work. Visit systemarobotica.com to learn more or read the treatise in full here: