Android  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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An android is a robot made to resemble a human (See gynoid), usually both in appearance and behavior. The word derives from the Greek andr-, " meaning "man, male", and the suffix -eides, used to mean "of the species; alike" (from eidos "species").

Although the term "android" appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature humanlike toy automations, the term was popularized by the French writer Villiers in his 1886 novel L'Ève future.

The word droid, a robot in the Star Wars universe, is derived from this meaning. Thus far, androids have remained within the domain of science fiction, frequently in film and television. However, some humanoid robots now exist.

See also

• Actroid
• Agalmatophilia
• Android (disambiguation)
• Android science
• Artificial intelligence
• Audio-Animatronics
• ASIMO
• Cyborg
• Cylon
• Domestic robot
• Droid (robot)
• EveR-1
• Gynoid
• HUBO
• Humanoid robot
• MAHRU
• RealDoll
• REEM-B
• Replicant
• Robot
• Robot fetishism
• Synthoid
• TOPIO
• Transhumanism
• Uncanny valley
• The Turk