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What is an android robot?

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An android is a robot designed to resemble a human being in form. While many industrial robots are built for specific tasks and do not look like people, an android is specifically constructed to mimic human physical appearance and movement.12

The term is derived from the Greek words andr- (meaning "man" or "human") and -oeidēs (meaning "in the form of" or "like"), reflecting its focus on human-like structure. In robotics, androids are often categorized as a type of humanoid robot, a broader classification for machines that possess human-like characteristics.13

The development of robots that closely mimic human features can sometimes trigger the uncanny valley effect, a phenomenon where an artificial likeness that is nearly—but not perfectly—human can evoke feelings of eeriness or discomfort in observers.2