Need members advice RE: Robot or Android?

[Dennis]

Robot VS Android
We just got some feedback from our beta readers, as usual, it was constructive and insightful. Thanks beta readers.

I have two questions and I’m hoping for some comments from the Goodreads book club members.

The book is futuristic, there are humanlike house helpers and then there are the “mechs” who definitely don’t look human, they can be spiderlike or snakelike, etc. A beta read thinks we should call them all androids, we are calling them all robots.

1 – Would it be confusing to you, the reader if we called some robots (the mechs) and some androids (the humanlike)?

2 – Is the term android as popular/recognizable a term as robot for the general reader?

The book is the Neuromorphs [http://dennismeredith.com/the-neuromo...] and please note I do not add the link for promotion, just if you need/want more information.

Regards,

Joni
Joanne Meredith
editor@glyphus.com

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Dennis wrote: "Robot VS Android
We just got some feedback from our beta readers, as usual, it was constructive and insightful. Thanks beta readers.

I have two questions and I’m hoping for some comments from the ..."

I'm reading a book now that has robots, androids, and cyborgs. I think that the important thing is that you give a distinction between the androids and the robots. Androids are well-known, especially with Star Trek's android Data being part of popular culture. Star Wars also has androids, so I don't think people are unaware of them.

In the book series I'm reading now (Cinder), the androids do not have a human appearance, but the fact that they have a personality chip sets them apart from any regular robots. The story took me for a loop at first when the android wasn't human in appearance (what I expected), but it became clear very quickly that the personality chip set it apart from being just a regular robot.

Most sci-fi readers are going to understand the distinction. However, for any reader unfamiliar with the distinction, it's still important to clearly define the difference within the story.

[Dennis]

Amy,

Thanks for your great comments, it was just what we need.

[Ian]

Android Quote: "An android is a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human, especially one with a body having a flesh-like resemblance."

Robot Quote: "A machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a computer."

Asimov, Simak and Dick use the above words in these terms. (In Bladerunner the term used in the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was changed to Replicant which gives you a further idea of the relation of android to humanoid.)

I would certainly expect your audience to be familiar with these terms

Hope this helps and all the best with the project.

Ian

[Dennis]

Ian,

Thanks for your comments.

The story involved three types of "creatures"

-- Humanlike ones that we can call "androids"

-- Human-shaped, plastic-clad Helpers that we can call "mechs."

--Then, there are spiderlike military Defenders. Should they be called "robots"?

[Ian]

There's always a danger in science fiction that the syntax becomes dated. Androids become Droids, Capek's Robots become Bots, Cyborgs become Borgs. Might be safer making up totally new names with no connections. Adds a little mystery and anticipation for the reader... wondering what the Sentinels or Guardians or what ever you choose are explained. (Can't do that with graphic novels because it's immediate recognition.)

[Dennis]

Ian,

Interesting comment, thanks.

[Ned]

The nomenclature I'm familiar with says androids are artificial humans. If it's got skin, it's an android (like Data on Star Trek the Next Generation). Otherwise it's a robot. The battlebots on Robot Wars aren't really robots because they're remote controlled. A robot is an autonomous moving device. R2D2 and C3P0 are robots. Lucas confused the issue by calling them all Droids. The issue is further confused by the manufacturers who want to call their mobile devices androids or droids. Capek's "robots" were artificial humans, and the term "android" was first used to refer to something non-human without skin. So the terms switched
meaning over time, and people are trying to switch them again. So basically you can get away with almost anything.

[Dennis]

Ned,

Yes, you can get away with almost anything, after all it is fiction. Someone suggested ihuman.