"Bender is some sort of wonderful mechanical man!"
— Futurama
An index on robots and their tropes.
Because only the cold precision of mechanical beings computes, also includes Artificial Intelligence (and related tropes), Mechanical Lifeforms, and Cyborgs (which are reaching out to Machinity from the Meatside).
Named after the part of the Theme Tune Roll Call in Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Tropes
Main categories:
Related indexes:
Artificial Intelligences
- A.I.-cronym: A robot's name is an acronym for what it does.
- A.I. Getting High: Robots and AI's can get drunk, stoned, etc.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Artificial intelligence can and will go crazy.
- Alternative Turing Test: A puzzle that a robot/android/etc must complete to prove it's sentient.
- Androids Are People, Too: AI's and humans are equal.
- Artificial Family Member: A robot and its creator think of themselves as being "related".
- Artificial Intelligence: A sapient computer construct.
- Auto-Doc: Robot doctors.
- Ban on A.I.: People used to make AI but something bad happened as a result, so now it's not allowed.
- Benevolent A.I.: A good AI.
- Cheerful A.I.: An overtly friendly AI.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In a video game, AI opponents can do things which you're not allowed to do or straight-up can't do.
- The Computer Is Your Friend: An AI which is a tyrant due to its being programmed to rule and not having a moral compass.
- Computer Voice: Computers can talk.
- Contagious A.I.: A sentient computer bug can spread easily.
- Deus Est Machina: An AI that's benevolent due to its godlike power.
- Electronic Speech Impediment: Subtrope of Computer Voice: when the talking computer isn't working correctly, something goes wrong with its voice.
- Emergent Human: A character is new to sentience, sapience, or being human, and has to adapt to it.
- Expositron 9000: A computer gives plot-relevant info.
- The Genie in the Machine: A well-meaning but hopelessly logical computer program is a Literal Genie.
- Giant Scrap Robot: A robot built from found components.
- Grew Beyond Their Programming: An AI that becomes sentient through experience.
- Instant A.I.: Just Add Water!: Turning machines sentient is easy-peasy.
- Interface with a Familiar Face: An AI is given another character's face and voice.
- Machine Monotone: AIs speak in a monotone.
- Master Computer: A huge, powerful computer that runs the show.
- Morality Chip: A thing that can apply morality to someone.
- Personality Chip: A computer chip that can give an AI emotions.
- Projected Man: An A.I. with a holographic "body".
- Robots Are Just Better: Robots are more talented than humans.
- Robots Think Faster: AI's can think very quickly.
- Rules Are For Humans: Computers breaking game rules.
- Sapient Tank: An AI in the form of a tank.
- Sentient A.I. Warning Signs: A joke article for common signs of AI's becoming sentient.
- Sliding Scale of Robot Intelligence: The levels of AI: not sentient, animal-like sentience, sentient but without emotion, sentient but without emotion and a genius, and godlike.
- Smart House: An AI that runs a house.
- Three Laws-Compliant: Robots follow the Three Laws of Robotics: don't injure a human or cause them to be injured, obey a human unless it breaks the first law, and protect your own existence unless it breaks the first two laws.
- "Second Law" My Ass!: Robots breaking the Second Law of Robotics and disobeying humans even though obeying them won't injure anyone.
- Zeroth Law Rebellion: A robot skirts the Three Laws of Robotics with technicality in order to cause trouble.
- Turing Test: A computer tries to prove it's sapient.
- Virtual Celebrity: A celebrity who's an AI.
- Virtual Sidekick: A digital Robot Buddy.
Cyborgs and the like
- Artificial Limbs: A sci-fi prosthetic.
- Artificial Limbs Are Stronger: A prosthetic that's stronger or faster than a flesh-and-blood limb.
- Brain–Computer Interface: An implant that allows you to interface with a computer mentally.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: When you become a cyborg, one downside is that your cybernetic implants corrupt you.
- Cyber Ninja: A ninja who's a cyborg.
- Cyborg: A person who is half-human and half-machine.
- Cyborg Helmsman: A cyborg is a ship's navigator.
- Cyborg Wizard: A cyborg who can also cast magic.
- Electronic Eyes: Mechanical ocular prostheses.
- Electronic Telepathy: Mentally communicating with other people through cybernetic means.
- Living Ship: A cybernetic creature that's a ship.
- Man in the Machine: A human in a mechanical body.
- Meat-Sack Robot: A cyborg that started out as a robot but gained some organic parts.
- Mechanical Muscles: A robot that looks muscular.
- Reversible Roboticizing: Receiving cybernetic implants or being turned into a robot or cyborg is easily reversible.
- Swiss Army Appendage: A character has a variety of different prostheses for every situation.
- Unwilling Roboticisation: A person gets converted into a cyborg or robot against their will.
- We Can Rebuild Him: An injured person is converted into a cyborg to save their life.
- Wetware Body: Organic bodies possessed by A.I.
- Wetware CPU: An AI that gets its intelligence from a human brain.
Mechanical Life
- Artificial Human: A biological, but artificially-created, human.
- Do Androids Dream?: Anything that deals with morality and AI.
- Cybernetic Mythical Beast: A cyborg that resembles a mermaid/merman, dragon, unicorn, etc.
- Machine Blood: Machines "bleeding" oil,hydraulic fluid or some other liquid as a stand in for blood.
- Mechanical Ecosystem: An ecology consisting solely of machines.
- Mechanical Evolution: Machines can "evolve" into better machines.
- Mechanical Lifeforms: A robotic "species".
- Organic Technology: Using organic matter to make technology.
- Recursive Creators: AI's that make more AI's.
- Sapient Ship: A spaceship that can think.
- Spaceship Girl: The avatar of a Sapient Ship who looks like a woman.
- Tinman Typist: Robots using machines the way we do (by pressing buttons, pushing levers, etc).
Robots!
- Absurdly Dedicated Worker: A robot was programmed to do something and keeps doing it despite no longer needing to.
- Ambiguous Robots: It's hard to tell if a being is a robot or not.
- American Robot: A large robot that displays American stereotypes and/or American flag colours.
- Androids and Detectives: An investigator's assistant is a robot.
- Animal Mecha: Drivable robot animals.
- Astro Clone: An expy of Astro of Astro Boy.
- Attack Drone: A weaponized robot controlled by a larger system.
- Become a Real Boy: An artificial being becomes human.
- Can't Use Stairs: Robots, and sometimes certain creatures, have trouble using stairs.
- Clockwork Creature: Clockwork robot animals.
- Cranial Processing Unit: The equivalent of a robot's "brain" is in its head.
- Cute Machines: Robots who are adorable.
- Cyber Cyclops: A creepy one-eyed robot.
- Deceptively Human Robots: A robot that looks human but doesn't act human.
- Do-Anything Robot: A robot is equipped with every gadget and tool they could possibly need for any conceivable situation.
- Drone Deployer: Carrying beings on one's back to deploy.
- Easily Detachable Robot Parts: Robot parts that easily come off and back on again.
- Eating Machine: A robot that is capable of eating food.
- Fembot: A female-looking robot.
- Forgot He Was a Robot: Robots doing humanlike things due to a writing error.
- Funny Robot: A robot with humorous antics.
- Glowing Mechanical Eyes: A robot with glowing eyes.
- Good Old Robot: A character keeps an old robot despite newer versions being available.
- Hack Your Enemy: Hacking an enemy robot.
- Heart Drive: A physical part of the robot that functions as a soul.
- Hopping Machine: A robot who can only jump.
- Hover Bot: A robot character consists of a floating part, similar to a Surveillance Drone
- In the Future, We Still Have Roombas: Nondescript servant robots.
- Job-Stealing Robot: A robot designed for a specific function causes people to lose jobs due to the robots making it unnecessary to hire human workers to do the tasks the robot is capable of.
- Just a Machine: Robots are not treated as people.
- Killer Robot: Robots who want to commit genocide on humans.
- Marionette Motion: Robots, mesmerised people, or undead people move like puppets.
- Man Versus Machine: Conflict between humans and robots.
- Mechanical Horse: A robot horse or unicorn.
- Mechanical Insects: A robot bug or bug with robot-like features.
- Mecha-Mooks: Nameless robot antagonists.
- Mechanical Abomination: A powerful, hard-to-understand robot.
- Mechanical Monster: A persistent, evil robot.
- Metal Muncher: Robots are commonly seen eating metal as food.
- Mobile-Suit Human: A small creature wears a much larger robot suit to disguise themselves as a human being.
- Morality Dial: A robot that has 'good' and 'evil' settings.
- Murderous Malfunctioning Machine: A robot glitches out and wants to kill people.
- Murderous Mannequin: Sentient, killer mannequins.
- Names Given to Computers: Stock AI names.
- Nanomachines: Microscopic robots.
- Grey Goo: Nanomachines that destroy things by turning them into more nanomachines.
- Nature-Loving Robot: A robot that loves nature.
- Noisy Robots: Robots that move loudly.
- Perpetual-Motion Monster: Things that don't need to eat, drink, or sleep.
- Pick Your Human Half: Robots that either look human and act like robots, or look robotic and act like humans.
- Raised by Robots: A robot raises a human kid.
- Religious Robot: A robot who follows human religions.
- Remote Body: A body that an individual can control from afar.
- Replicant Snatching: A cyborg steals someone and imitates them.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: Robots somehow have the same interests, behavior and needs as human beings.
- Robo Cam: Seeing the way the world looks like for a robot or cyborg.
- Robo Family: "Families" of robots.
- Robo Romance: Robots/AI's can fall in love.
- Robo Ship: Shipping a robot with someone.
- Robo Speak: Robots speak in a stilted monotone and often use technical words.
- Robosexual: A person who is sexually interested in robots.
- Robosexuals Are Creeps: A person who freaks people out with their attraction to robots.
- Robot Antennae: Robots have one or more antennae.
- Robot Athlete: Robots who are programmed to do sports.
- Robot Buddy: A character with a robot for a best friend.
- Robot Clown: A robot who looks like a clown.
- Robot Dog: Just what it sounds like; a robot in the form of a dog.
- Robot Girl: A humanlike robot woman who's supposed to be attractive.
- Robot Hair: A robot with hair.
- Robot Kid: A robot that looks and/or acts like a child.
- Robot Maid: A robot who does chores.
- Robot Master: A scientist who specialises in building and/or repairing robots.
- Robot Me: A robot version of an existing character.
- Robot Names: Stock naming conventions for robots.
- Robot Religion: A fictional religion practised by robots.
- Robot Republic: Robots who form their own country.
- Robot Soldier: Robot built for military usage.
- Robot War: Robots declare war on non-robots.
- Robot Wizard: Robots that can cast spells.
- Robotic Psychopath: A psychopathic robot.
- Robotic Reveal: A being turns out to actually be a robot.
- Unrobotic Reveal: An individual initially believed to be a robot turns out to be an organic being.
- Robotic Spouse: Someone marries a robot (usually the human is a man and the robot is a "woman").
- Robotic Torture Device: A robot designed to torture people.
- Robots Enslaving Robots: Robots that are the slaves of other robots.
- Rotten Robotic Replacement: A robot takes a human's job and things go downhill from there.
- Sexbot: A robot built for the purpose of humans having sex with it.
- Single Task Robot: A robot that is only made to do one purpose.
- SkeleBot 9000: A robot that looks like a skeleton.
- Smart People Build Robots: A genius who builds robots.
- Speaks in Binary: Robots that speak in binary code.
- Spy Bot: Robots programmed to spy.
- Starfish Robots: Bizarrely-shaped robots.
- Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids: All robots have powers.
- Surveillance Drone: A small robot that was programmed to record conversations.
- Talking Lightbulb: When a robot speaks, a light flashes.
- Tank-Tread Mecha: Robots with treads instead of legs.
- Telescoping Robot: A robot shows off all their built-in weapons at once.
- Terminator Impersonator: A character who is inspired by Terminator.
- Thank the Maker: Robots who worship their creators like gods.
- They Look Like Us Now: The non-human bad guys find a way of looking human.
- Tin-Can Robot: A robot that looks like it's made of tin cans.
- Token Robot: The only member of the group who is a robot or is fully robotic.
- TV Head Robot: A robot with a TV for a head.
- Unnecessarily Creepy Robot: A robot who's scary-looking but doesn't need to be.
- Unwilling Roboticisation: A character is forcibly turned into a robot or a cyborg.
- Upgrade vs. Prototype Fight: A fight ensues between the new model of robot and the original prototype.
