[[quoteright:195:[[Film/ForbiddenPlanet https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Robbie_4900.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:195: There was a time when [[JustForFun/RobbyTheRobot this sort of thing]] was [[{{Zeerust}} taken seriously]].]]

->''"In comes a Price Club-sized tin can with Slinky arms and legs, looking like the grandfather of [[Series/LateNight Pimpbot 5000]], buzzing with a menace that suggests he flunked [[Creator/IsaacAsimov Asimov]] 101."''
-->-- '''Jim Wright''''s ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' review of "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E1Night Night]]"

The opposite of those human-looking robots such as the RobotGirl. This is a robot designed with function over form in mind -- or at least, designed to ''look'' like it is.

Though most historical examples are technically humanoid in form,[[note]]remember: CG was a new thing back then, and puppets are expensive, so you gotta be able to get a costumed actor to play these machines[[/note]] they still generally look like a trashcan or boiler with arms, legs[[note]][[Series/DoctorWho if it even]] [[Franchise/StarWars gets those]][[/note]] and a head -- either distinct or [[{{Cephalothorax}} fused to their torso]] -- pasted onto it. This robot is usually not painted and it's often possible to easily see screw heads holding it together. Bonus points if the robot's arms are made of flexi-tube with pincers at the end.

Nowadays usually done to make the 'bot look [[GoodOldRobot amateur-made or old-fashioned]], as the unwieldiness such machines (especially those played by costumed actors) displayed on-screen almost completely discredited this trope to modern audiences. However, in older {{Zeerust}}, it was often played straight.

Compare UsedFuture, RealRobotGenre. Compare and contrast with StarfishRobots. See also ForgotHeWasARobot for when this robot starts acting like a {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}}. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No relation to]] TinmanTypist.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}:'' Blikmon, which looks like a child's wind-up toy robot.
* ''Anime/{{Gigantor}}'' is a clear example of this. His body exactly resembles a tin can, being perfectly cylindrical (except for his rockets) and made of bare metal, while his arms and legs are similar.
* Likewise, Creator/MitsuteruYokoyama's other early SuperRobot, Poseidon from ''Manga/BabelII''.
* Mechazawa from ''Manga/CromartieHighSchool''. Despite being shaped like a large tin made of metal and needing to be constantly oiled, he and everyone else is blissfully unaware of his true nature. ...Or at least everyone's afraid to [[BullyingADragon broach the issue with the school's toughest fighter directly.]]
* Although Manga/AstroBoy himself doesn't count, many robots in his world do.
* Auta Magetta in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' sports this look, though various authority figures imply he's not actually a robot but naturally looks this way. Nevertheless, he makes a lot of mechanical sounds as he moves and speaks only in onomatopoeia of those mechanical sounds. As one of Universe 6's strongest fighters, Magetta is seemingly indestructible and has MagmaMan powers, but he is very bulky and cannot fly.
* Anime/ZatchBell made a toy one out of chopsticks and a Pretz[[note]]A stick cracker snake similar to Pocky but not sweet[[/note]] box, which he named Vulcan 300.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
** Spider-Man once has to deal with the robot XP-2000, who is really obsolete compared to androids like Comicbook/TheVision and Ultron. Keep in mind that Ultron was designed in the 1970s, and Vision was built ''by Ultron''. This says a lot about XP-2000 being ''designed obsolete''. The original Ultron design was actually pretty in-line with this aesthetic, though.
** Also the cobbled-together robots built by Future Max in ''Web of Spider-Man Annual'' #1. The one on the cover looks like the ''original'' Iron Man armour, with added hydraulic tubes.
** Finally there's the silver-age Spider-Man villain The Living Brain, featuring the greatest mechanical mind 1964 could offer in the shape of a green box with arms, legs and a domelike head.
* ''ComicBook/MagnusRobotFighter: 4000 AD'' by Creator/GoldKeyComics has a future lousy with robot servants, almost all of them of the tin-can-humanoid variety, generally with flexi-tube or armored-cable limbs.
* The lumbering warbots of Ashley Wood's ''ComicBook/WorldWarRobot'' fit this trope to a T.
* Tin Can Tommy from ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' doesn't only fit this trope but has a name to match.
* Elektro from ''Tales of Suspense'' and ''Fin Fang Four'' is a huge, roughly humanoid metal figure covered in visible rivets.
* Gyro Gearloose's helper Little Bulb from the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse has a metal torso, jointed limbs, and a lightbulb for a head.
* The original version of Computo from ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' was a box on wheels, covered in dials, with another box for a head and hosepipe arms. Later versions generally avert this; in post-Zero Hour continuity C.O.M.P.U.T.O first appears as an angry face on a computer screen before possessing Triad, and the version that later appears as the leader of Robotica looks like a guy in armour with KirbyDots for a head. The New 52 incarnation of Computo follows the latter appearance, despite having an almost competely different origin.
%% * Doctor Doom's purple MechaMooks.
%% * ''ComicBook/XMen'': The Sentinels.
* [[ComicBook/FantasticFour The Mad Thinker]] and [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Leader]] seem to prefer using OrganicTechnology, but they still sometimes build metal robots, which always come out looking like this.
* Ironhorse from ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' is like this, built with a steam locomotive motif.
* ''ComicBook/IronMan'': Titanium Man's PoweredArmor has this look, resembling a [[GreenAndMean green]] [[MadeOfTitanium titanium]] can with arms, legs, and a computer monitor head bolted on, a result of [[SovietSuperscience Soviet engineering]] being primitive compared to what Iron Man is capable of.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* The robots in ''ComicStrip/BrewsterRockitSpaceGuy'' frequently fit this trope, especially Oldbot and the Killbots.
* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin once builds a robot using a tin can for the head. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to make one that does anything.
[[/folder]]
%%
%%[[folder:Films — Animation]]
%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''
%%[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
!!!'''In General:'''
* The [[https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Satan%27s_Robot?file=Satan%27s_Robot.jpg "Republic Robot"]], from the Creator/RepublicPictures film serials of the 1930's-1950's, is the TropeCodifier, appearing in ''Film/UnderseaKingdom'' (1936), ''Film/MysteriousDoctorSatan'' (1940), ''Film/ZombiesOfTheStratosphere'' (1952) and ''Film/CommandoCodySkyMarshalOfTheUniverse'' (1953). Spoofed with [=R2ScrewU=] in ''Film/JMenForever'', a GagDub of the above movies.
--->"Uh oh -- an enraged water heater!"
* Robby from ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'', who has been [[PropRecycling reused in many films and TV series]] and even has his own [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1119475/?ref_=nv_sr_2 IMDB actor page.]]
!!!'''By Movie:'''
%%* Newman from ''Film/AndYouThoughtYourParentsWereWeird''.
* B.O.B. and V.I.N.CENT from Disney's ''Film/TheBlackHole''.
-->'''Lt. Pizer:''' I never thought I'd end up [[SnarkyNonHumanSidekick playing straight man to a tin can]].
* Chani from ''Film/DevilGirlFromMars'' is more of the giant mailbox variety.
* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'': [[Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla The original Mechagodzilla]] [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/Mechagodzilla_1974.png (pictured here)]] was revealed as an incredibly clunky sixties style robot once the fake skin was removed. He was also a WalkingArmoury and HeroKiller who proved that even the most old school robot could be bloody horrifying, nearly killing Anguirus, slaughtering thousands of people in Japan, and giving Franchise/{{Godzilla}} himself a fight the likes of which only [[TheJuggernaut Destoroyah]] and [[ArchEnemy King Ghidorah]] can match.
* Otto's robot in ''Film/HighSchoolUSA''. Of course, [[SmartPeopleBuildRobots it was built by an amateur in his basement]], so the design can be expected to be a little crude.
%%* Box from ''Film/LogansRun.''
* ''Film/TheManWhoSavesTheWorld'' has one of these (in a rubber costume) as the villain's servant.
%%* The hero of the short film action-comedy ''Robot Bastard''.
%%* Torg in ''Film/SantaClausConquersTheMartians''
%%* Huey, Dewey and Louie from ''Film/SilentRunning''.
%%* Many of Dr Totenkopf's robots in ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow''.
* Many droids in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe arguably count.
** Power droids, and in particular the "gonk" droids.
** R2-D2 is the ultimate example, being not much ''more'' than a metal cylinder on wheels. Doesn't stop him [[DoAnythingRobot packing plenty of hardware]] though.
* Too Much, the robot from ''Film/TooMuchTheRobotWithAHeart'', who bears a strong resemblance to R2-D2 from ''Franchise/StarWars''.
* In the 1982 schlocky Hong Kong comedy film, ''Film/WinnerTakesAll'', the protagonist who is TheGambler challenged a crime boss to an AbsurdlyHighStakesGame of mahjong, where the loser will get decapitated by a descending blade. The crime boss agreed, but then reveals he had a tin-can robot assistant (who is programmed with the brains of six different mahjong champions) playing in his stead. No, the movie doesn't really make any sense.
* The Tin Man from ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. Whether or not he [[UnbuiltTrope counts as a robot himself]], he's quite possibly the TropeMaker.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/JanetAsimov's ''Literature/TheNorbyChronicles'': Norby is built into an old barrel of nails, and Jeff was able to [[RobotBuddy purchase him]] for cheap because the salesman insists it "doesn't work right". He has a short head that pops out of the lid, with two eyes [[TwoFaced both front and back]]. He also has telescoping arms and legs that can retract fully into the barrel. He's almost literally a tin can turned into a robot.
* Norwegian-English author Creator/PhillipNewth has written several books about a constantly-malfunctioning domestic servant robot named Matilda, who is described at least once a book as having a body shaped like a tin can and a head shaped like a smaller tin can. Matilda is a bit of an oddity in her books; robots are plentiful but usually look a lot more sophisticated or even just like humans. Matilda looks the way she does (and malfunctions so often) because she's old, "almost an antique."
* The robots in ''Literature/AndyBucketsRobots'' look like this, because Andy made them with tin cans.
* ''Literature/LandOfOz:'' Tik-Tok is one of the first robots to appear in modern literature, and he qualifies for this trope, being a riveted clockwork-powered sphere with a human-ish head and arms and legs bolted on. The Tin Woodsman also looks the part, but he is technically more a cyborg.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* The Federation security robot in ''Series/BlakesSeven'' which unfortunately was never as menacing as it was supposed to be, given the tendency of its arms to flap up and down as it moved, and the flamethrower that dropped out of its groin region which caused the production crew to dub it "The Flasher". Eventually the poor bot was restricted to a couple of close-up scenes in the early episodes.
%%* TWIKI from ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury'' probably counts.
%%* Tobor from ''Series/CaptainVideo''.
* This is a common monster template in ''Series/DoctorWho'', as they're a relatively easy "obviously non-human but ''not'' obviously just [[PeopleInRubberSuits a guy in a suit]]' monster design:
** The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Daleks]] certainly deserve a mention, despite technically being {{cyborg}}s. They're sort of bizarre by being roughly 1.6 metres tall and having odd hemispherical protrusions, but there's a reason they are often dubbed "pepperpots".
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E8TheChase Mechonoids]] are spherical, flamethrower-equipped robots the size of a small shed. There was some hope they'd be the next Daleks.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E4TheKrotons The Krotons]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E3TheSontaranExperiment the Sontaran scout robot]], the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators Quarks]], the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E7TheWheelInSpace servo robot]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E1Galaxy4 the Chumblies]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E10TheWarMachines the War Machines]], the robot in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot "Robot"]]...
** Parodied gently in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E7TheCelestialToymaker The Celestial Toymaker]]", where the Toymaker's robot servant is a giant wind-up tin robot.
* Robot, from the Captain Helix ShowWithinAShow in ''Series/{{Hyperdrive}}''; unsurprising, given that it's a parody of ''Franchise/StarWars'' and cheap imitations of the same.
* Robot from the original ''Series/LostInSpace''; danger, Will Robinson! '''''Not''''' Robby, but definitely InspiredBy him (though Robby himself appeared as an alien robot in one episode).
* The robot that [[MadScientist Grandpa]] and Eddie build in ''Series/TheMunsters'' episode "Tin Can Man" literally had arms and legs built out of tin cans.
* In ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', Tom Servo's body is made out of a barrel-shaped piggy bank and a toy car engine block resting on a Halloween "Boo Bowl" base. He has an EyelessFace and no feet; while the tiny hands on the end of his spring arms are human-shaped, they're quite useless.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** Orbus and Klank from ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'', plus Prince Sprocket and King Mondo himself. This is in contrast to the much less tin can-ish members of the Machine Empire.
** Toy Org from ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce''. He resembles a toy robot, yet is one of the Rangers' strongest foes.
* Andy, the tin ''box'' robot on ''Series/{{Quark}}''. In the pilot episode, it mistakes a garbage control box for a potential LoveInterest.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonXIGiveAndTake Give And Take]]" gives us Snacky the snack-dispenser robot, who looks like a barrel with legs and feet and has an egg flipper on his head. Rimmer even comments that he looks like something out of a cheesy sci-fi movie.
* Steampunk, one of the combatants in ''Series/RobotCombatLeague'', is a nod to this type of robot.
* [[https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/File:Sam-the-robot.jpg Sam the Robot]] from ''Series/SesameStreet''. This being ''Sesame Street'', of course, he still has googly eyes and a bowtie.
* In the ''Series/ShiningTimeStation'' episode, "Schemer's Robot", Schemer buys this kind of robot, which he names Robbie, to run his arcade. Robbie keeps talking about food and falls in love with Schemer's jukebox. In the end, Schemer gives Robbie to Barton Winslow to work at his general store when Robbie falls in love with Barton's motorcycle.
* Portrayed quite literally in ''Series/TheSiflAndOllyShow'', where Sifl builds a robot actually made out of a tin can to use as a stand-in while he runs some errands, until Olly (who'd been getting increasingly annoyed with the arrangement) goes ballistic and destroys the robot in the middle of it singing the 1980s song "I Know What Boys Like" by The Waitresses.
%%* The Venus Probes from ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan''.
%%* Giz from "The Edge of Space" segments on ''Series/{{Starstuff}}.''
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. [[http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:EmqAnxv_WXnRcM:http://www.ottens.co.uk/forgottentrek/images/VOY/Captain%20Proton4.jpg&t=1 Satan's Robot]] from ''The Adventures of Captain Proton'' holodeck ShowWithinAShow in "[[{{Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E12BrideOfChaotica}} Bride of Chaotica!]]". The holodeck characters act like it's a terrifying KillerRobot, but in reality it's slow-moving, easily disabled and rather pathetic. To be fair this is PlayedForLaughs, as it's a holodeck recreation of an in-universe 1930's movie serial that the characters are playing to relieve boredom. Only the computer-generated characters are afraid of the robot, the crewmembers think it's ridiculous. Out of universe, the whole thing is an AffectionateParody of real 1930's serials, with Satan's Robot inspired by the Republic Robot.
* Cheezoid from ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'', which makes sense as he was made in a shed.
** Parodied with the Replidroids later in the series — they look like a standard Tin Can Robot, but everyone in the ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' spoof sketch behaves as if they're RidiculouslyHumanRobots.
* TIM from ''Series/TheTomorrowPeople1973'' had a mobile unit that looked a bit tin-canny.
%%* [[Series/TheWhitestKidsUKnow SEX ROBOT]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzO2mi4uHAs SEX ROBOT.]]
%%* Plex from ''Series/YoGabbaGabba''.
* [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcSD-wHkKlDY3DsKhPtZdRO9k-3npgbqGlFTtaUqS7wxRav9EFLf Builgamo]] from ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'' is a Tin-can kaiju MadeOfIndestructium.
* ''Series/TheMandalorian'': The design of IG-11, an assassin droid, was definitely inspired by the classic TinCanRobot. However, [[JustifiedTrope it actually serves a purpose here]]. IG's skinny, bare limbs mean he is not weighed down by extra armor, and his cylindrical design allows him to rotate parts of his body independently of each other. His large, cylindrical head is equipped with numerous sensors that can also rotate independently, granting him 360 degree vision. His bare-bones but highly optimized design allows him to be an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32gxelu_aBw incredibly deadly mercenary]].
* In ''Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1981'', Marvin the Paranoid Android has pretty much exactly this look, probably a deliberate attempt to provide another reason for him to be miserable.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Album covers and some ''Music/CaravanPalace'' music videos feature retro-style metal robot.
** In the music video of ''Music/CaravanPalace'' - Rock It For Me, scientists and factory workers develop a very large tin can robot to fight off flying saucers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinball]]
* The backglass art for Creator/{{Zaccaria}}'s ''Pinball/{{Robot}}'' shows a KillerRobot with a humanoid shape and cylindrical design, complete with a head resembling an overturned bucket.
* ''[[Pinball/PinBot Pin*Bot]]'' combines this with HumongousMecha.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Taken one step further with Wrestling/KaijuBigBattel's Robox, a mighty robot built from "Indestructible Cardboardium", i.e. a cardboard box with arms, legs, and a robot face built on.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* Marvin the Paranoid Android from ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'' pretty much consigns himself to this as he's hopelessly taken for granted.
-->'''Marvin:''' Do you want me to sit in a corner and rust or just fall apart where I'm standing?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]
* Robot toys back then were mostly made of tins before the use of ABS and PVC plastics were common, making them the potential TropeCodifier. Back in post-[[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI WWI]] era, Japan and Germany were the primary manufacturers of tin toys, which are inexpensive and easy to create through mass production. While UsefulNotes/WorldWarII halted the production of tin toys in Japan and Germany, it underwent a resurgence when the U.S. toy companies began outsourcing tin toy production to Japan after the war. Japanese toy manufacturers then started to innovate new tin toy designs by creating battery-powered and even remote-controlled toy robots. Nowadays, tin toy robots have become obsolete due to the use of cheaper materials such as ABS and PVC plastics becoming more prominent. However, this turned tin toy robots into valuable collector's items, and Metal House, the sole surviving tin robot manufacturer in Tokyo, is still manufacturing tin robots today.
* This replica of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV5rTg6GHRE Robby The Robot.]]
* The [[http://www.theoldrobots.com/smallbot22.html Mr. Atomic Robot,]] as manufactured by Yonezawa (The predecessor of Tomy and subsequently [=TakaraTomy=]) and distributed by Cragstan in 1962, is an egg-shaped tin robot which moves while wiggling its legs, and it has headlights which changes colour.
* Toys/LegoSpace: Until the release of android minifigures in 1994, all minifigure-scale robots in the setting were necessarily boxy, usually with a headlamp for a face, and a specific 'robot arm' element for the proper flexitube-and-pincers look.
* The [[http://tinbot.com.hk TinBot]] is a series of robot toys developed in Hong Kong, with a ''literal'' tin can as its body for the magnetic head and limbs to attach onto. All of the parts can be stored in the said tin can.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/IsaacAsimovsRobots'': The Sammy-type robot looks like someone is wearing a barrel over their body and flexitubes over their arms. Their fishbowl-like heads have a permanent smiley-face etched onto them, unlike their more realistic counterparts of Giskard or Daneel's design.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'': Jackobots (from "jack of all trades") are intended to be able to do the same physical things as humans, so they're basically humanoid in size and shape, but clearly mechanical. Other bots range from sorta humanoid (docbots, scrubots) to {{Sapient Ship}}s (warbots, flybots).
* Ancient Martian Robomen in ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' can be sleek and graceful, but many of the non-service models were built with practicality and survivability in mind.
* Combat, Janitorial and Animal Care robots in the Classic ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' adventure ''Research Station Gamma''.
* ''TabletopGame/UrbanJungle'': The "Astounding Science" supplement states explicitly that robots built on 1930s Earth should be crude contraptions built from scrap metal by lone crackpots. More advanced civilizations like [[CounterEarth Telluria]] would build more streamlined robots.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
** The Orks have MiniMecha (with an Ork [[ManInTheMachine welded inside]]) aptly known as Killa Kanz. Their HumongousMecha are built to a similar design.
** The Tau attack drones that look like flying trash lids.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AmazonGuardiansOfEden'': B.O.B. looks like two trash cans with added feet and will actually think you're also B.O.B. if you put a trashcan on your head. He was made in the 1950s, after all.
* The final boss in ''VideoGame/BalloonKid'' is this kind of robot.
* ''VideoGame/BlackTheFall'': The RobotBuddy that starts accompanying [[PlayerCharacter the worker]] on his journey after exiting the factory looks like two boxes on four legs.
* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'':
** The [[MegaCorp Atlas]] drones from the Secret Armory of General Knoxx {{DLC}}.
** Most of the Hyperion bots from ''Borderlands 2'', including the [[SeriesMascot Claptraps]].
* The main character in ''VideoGame/{{Bzzzt}}'' is a very boxy metallic robot, complete with flexi-tube arms.
* Malco, one of the control room guardians from ''VideoGame/CaveStory'', is one.
* ''VideoGame/CustomRobo Battle Revolution'' features a literal example in the [[https://customrobo.fandom.com/wiki/Oil_Can Oil Can Robo]], which looks like it's made out of rusty drumbarrels and old pipes. It's a JokeCharacter, being sluggish, weak, and prone to falling over from the slightest damage.
* ''VideoGame/{{Extrapower}}'': Designed with this aesthetic in mind, being boxy and inelegant compared to modern mechanical mooks in Undata's wing. It's specifically marked as an obsolete model, and its physically limiting design even makes it less mobile than other robots.
* The Robobrains from ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' fit the bill, unusually having [[WetwareCPU glass domes filled with a living brain]] for heads and very heavily resembling The Robot from ''Series/LostInSpace''. The Protectron models, meanwhile, look suspiciously like Robbie the Robot from ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet''. The Synths in ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' notably avert this by being distinctly humanoid, especially 3rd Generation Synths, which are nearly completely identical to humans in almost every way. Because AIIsACrapshoot, this is a point of major contention for Wastelanders, who are used to dealing with the obviously artificial tin-can robots of the previous games.
* Cronk and Zephyr, elderly Warbots who first appear in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction''.
* ''[[VideoGame/MetalSlug Metal Slug 3]]'':
** The Mars Robot in the final stage is one, they are intended to be {{expy}} of the Daleks, for being both {{Cyborg}} and this trope.
** Also the giant blocky toy robot that's the end-boss of the factory level.
* Robots from ''VideoGame/{{Machinarium}}'' are very much like that, especially the main character.
* [[PlayerCharacter [=ION=]]] of ''VideoGame/PhoningHome'' has a cylindrical torso.
* ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation'' has a model of robot which is actually called "The Can". It's pretty much a big metal box on legs, with a turret on top.
* ''VideoGame/TrainYourMinibot'': The titular [[PlayerCharacter Minibot]] has a boxy head and torso.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'': The Gearmos are tin robots with cog-shaped heads and gauge-like eyes. While short-tempered, they're actually friendly; some of them will reward Mario and Luigi with Power Stars upon helping them or completing a minigame.
** ''VideoGame/MarioParty6'': The minigame Body Builder has two teams of characters assemble a robot of this type in a factory. The parts used to assemble the robots are provided by a machine, but their pictures pass by like a slot machine, and each team's players have to press switches right when the glowing picture is spot on (as it indicates the next part to be extracted to build the robot). The player on the left has to extract the feet and torso, while the on the right has to extract the legs and head. The first team to assemble their robot wins; but if both manage to assemble them at the same time, the minigame ends in a tie.
* Super Robot Thursday from ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' fits this trope, as he, '''Captain Gordon, Defender of Earth!''', and Jennifer are parodies of early science fiction series.
* ''VideoGame/MadAgeAndThisGuy'': The MechaMooks the PlayerCharacter faces look like boilers and Roombas.
* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'''s [[http://depthsofoddworld.net/cast-greeter.htm "Greeters"]] are a very literal version of the laconic, and resemble nothing so much as [[http://oddworld.wikia.com/wiki/Greeter "a hot water heater on a unicycle."]] They're also the in-universe {{Stepford Smiler}}s.
* ''VideoGame/PilotKids'', a video game where the players are LivingToys piloting RC planes shooting hostile toys, inevitably have plenty of robot toys resembling the classic tin can robots. Notably, the BossRush in the final stage is started with battling a vintage 1950s wind-up robot.
* ''VideoGame/ScrapGarden'' has the appropriately-named Canny. He basically looks like a can with arms and legs.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' has many, most notably the E-100 series such as E-102 Gamma and E-123 Omega. Technically, these can be considered a sort of “self portrait” of [[FatBastard their creator]], but they’re still fairly tin-can shaped (with some embellishments), notably lacking a neck and having their heads stick straight out of their torso.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' features these in the Wrecked Ship. They were round cylinders with legs and no arms.
** The Tinbots, defenders of the SteamPunk planet Elysia in ''Videogame/MetroidPrime3Corruption,'' are exactly that; easily blown apart and even more easily melted once the Plasma Beam is acquired. The Steambots and [[KingMook Steamlord]] are less fragile.
* ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'' has [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Talos]] like the [[VisualNovel/TearsToTiara first game]]. We get one on our team called Calcos.
* In ''VideoGame/TheDeadlyTowerOfMonsters'' one of the three player characters is an old fashioned robot known simply as "The Robot."
* ''VideoGame/CustomRobo'' on the Gamecube features the [[http://customrobo.wikia.com/wiki/Oil_Can Oil Can Robo,]] a clunky, weak, slow JokeCharacter built from old steel drums, tin cans, and lead pipes. It's basically a rusty and barely humanoid mess, useful only for a SelfImposedChallenge or CherryTapping an opponent.
* The Roboids from the Future world of ''Cratermaze'', complete with pincer hands.
* The titular robot of ''Alien 8'' resembles a flip-top rubbish bin with feet.
* The Kohbu(/Eisenkleider/[=STARs=]/etc.) from the ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' series are trashcan-looking HumongousMecha.
* Mettaton in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' is described aptly as a "sexy rectangle"; despite looking like a vending machine on a unicycle with [[Webcomic/RageComics Trollface "shloopy" arms]], he's considered MrFanservice in-universe. Amusingly, he implies on the Genocide path that he considers this form ''more'' attractive than his PrettyBoy EX and NEO forms.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': [[RobotGirl Poppi's]] initial form is like this (apart from the face). Later on she receives some upgrades that take her into RidiculouslyHumanRobot territory.
* ''VideoGame/FunkUnplugged'': [[PlayerCharacter Ampy]] has a friend who is a floating tin can.
* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' has Dr. Kahl's Robot who is metallic war robot designed to look like earlier robots.
* Peppino robots in ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'' are tin can variations of the main character, complete with flexible metallic arms and a single wheel.
* ''VideoGame/{{Wordle}}'''s gameplay analysis tool, [=WordleBot=], which is available to the player after finishing the day's puzzle, is represented as a light gray box with legs and a "face" consisting of a blinking display and three gray knobs.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' features Robo, a burly robot from 2300 A.D. who looks more or less like a futuristic barrel with rubber-hose arms and legs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'' has Cookie, in his first form, who looks much like a cross between [[Film/ForbiddenPlanet Robbie the Robot]] and [[Franchise/StarWars R2-D2]].
* ''VisualNovel/TearsToTiara'' has [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Talos]] guarding Arawn's tomb. But they don't recognize the man's return and start attacking.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': The Cheat Bot is not a real robot (being The Cheat with a metal can on top), but would be a perfect example if he were. [[http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/Visor_Robot The visor robot]] is a better example; in fact, most robots in the series would qualify, down to the Grape Nuts Robot (a "robot" made out of some LEDS and a Speak & Spell shoved inside a box of cereal with a slinky for an arm).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Ourox from ''Webcomic/{{Monsterful}}'' is a golem robot bodyguard that looks a [[http://www.monsterful.com/chapter05page02.php huge walking boiler.]]
* Blunt from ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', to the point that Sam describes him as looking like a big tin can.
* Clango and Red Robot from ''Webcomic/DieselSweeties''.
* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', the robots that Diego created were intricate, ornate, and generally far from this trope. [[SuperPrototype Since no one else fully understood his designs]], subsequent generations of Court robots became more tin-can-like after Diego's death.
* The later generation dingbots from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' start becoming more and more simple and like tin cans as they are built by generations further and further away from those built personally by Agatha.
* [=PROD3000=], the robot "motivator" boss in ''Webcomic/SavageChickens''.
* Roofus the roof-repairing robot in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' The fact that he was built out of parts from a milking machine probably has something to do with it.
* ''Webcomic/{{Tripp}}'': Stats is a hovering metal sphere with a few add-ons.
* ''Webcomic/MediumLarge'' has the recurring "TODD and Son", a "heartwarming" strip about a young boy and his adoptive robot father.
* Earth space program in ''Webcomic/{{Marooned}}'' uses these. At least one GrewBeyondTheirProgramming to become a SnarkyNonHumanSidekick.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* While he's more box-like than can, Pollo from ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' definitely evokes this trope.
* Warlord Cassius, ''WebVideo/WorldsGreatestAdventures''[='s] LittleGreenManInACan, is a blocky, three-feet-tall… thing with hand-less tubes for arms. (Quite obviously made of cardboard, too).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' has literal Trashcan Robots that transport all of Detroit's waste.
* B.O.T. from the infamous ''[[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers G1 Transformers]]'' episode of the same name.
* Hovering medibot MC Rubbish from ''WesternAnimation/WaveTwisters'', with a cylindrical limbless body and a spherical head topped by a red pith helmet. (His names—"Rubbish" and "Thrashcan"—in fact are a LampshadeHanging of his shape.)
* In ''WesternAnimation/DoctorSnuggles'' the robot built by the doctor, named Matilda Junkbottom, is quite literally made of tin cans, a wash basin and an old telephone, her head braided with sewing thread spools.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
** All bending units are perfect caricatures of 1950s-style movie-robots, with tin-can (and [[TheAlcoholic cocktail shaker]]) bodies, flexi-hose arms and legs, typical robot heads, and eyes clearly lifted from [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Crow T. Robot]].
** Fry encounters an ''actual'' trash can who also happens to be a self-aware robot.
* There are several robots in the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' series like this -- for instance, in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfXHV_hPUaA "Robot Rabbit"]] and [[http://www.trilulilu.ro/cartoonlair/f1f8bee75aef19 "Lighter Than Hare."]] (In the latter, WesternAnimation/BugsBunny even uses the robot as a trash can.)
* Rosie the robot maid from ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons''. (There was also a male robot called Mac, made by Henry, the building janitor.)
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': The episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E18And19Legends Legends]]" opens with the League fighting an anime-style HumongousMecha. When the mecha blows up it throws them into a RetroUniverse out of a 1940s comic -- when a giant robot turns up there, it's the classic 1940s Tin-Can Robot.
* The Master Cylinder, from ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat''.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}}'' short "March of the Monsters" had these, but it was never stated who the robots' master was.
* The [[Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer Fleischer]] ''WesternAnimation/{{Superman|TheatricalCartoons}}'' series features "WesternAnimation/TheMechanicalMonsters", used by their inventor for a series of robberies.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E9IAnnoyedGruntBot I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot]]", Homer builds one of these out of a mailbox for Bart to enter in a ''Series/RobotWars''-style TV show. Justified in that Homer was secretly working it from inside, having realized he had not the faintest idea how to actually build a robot. When it doesn't work, he instead wears it like armor and ''pretends'' to be a robot.
* XJ-8 from ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot''. In comparison, her predecessors are mostly StarfishRobots, and her successor is a more streamlined {{fembot}}.
%%* Bot from ''WesternAnimation/TeamUmizoomi''.
* NEPTR from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' literally has a tin can Finn meant to be his "head" and drew a face on. When [[LightningCanDoAnything a lightning bolt]] brought it to life, its actual face ended up being elsewhere and the can-head is purely ornamental.
* H.E.L.P.E.R. from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', the epitome of the robot buddy as seen by pop culture in the 1950s. True to the spirit of the show, he was apparently actually built in the 50's and was described as "geriatric" and "senile".
* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the earliest robots built for Aku looked like they were made of scrap parts, including tin cans. They weren't very reliable and could only move about for a few seconds before breaking down. They were not sentient, however, so there was no worry about it--the roboticists just went back and designed better robots. By the time Jack arrives in the BadFuture, automatons had become advanced enough that the only ones that didn't pass off as RidiculouslyHumanRobots were designed intentionally to be robot-like (some of whom also intentionally invoke Tin Can Robot style, such as Extor's wicker basket robots).
* The Super Robot of ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'' has boxes for its head, body, and feet, extremely boxy hands and fingers, and tube arms. A late-series episode showed him to be the first in a line of several robots, with the most recent being a much sleeker and human-sized RobotKid.
%%* XR, XL and 42 from ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBotsMaster'': While all the BOYZZ [[HomemadeInventions look like they've been assembled from scrap]], most of the more combat-oriented BOYZZ are at least pretty humanoid proportion-wise. Some of the [[NonActionGuy non-combatant BOYZZ]] better fit the bill, while still being roughly humanoid. The biggest standouts from that group are Genesix, with binocular eyes and a mouth that's a simple clamp, and Cook, who has a drum-shaped head with [[EyeOnAStalk stalk eyes]] and a long, skinny neck that connects it to his round body.
[[/folder]]
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