# List of fictional robots and androids
A list of fictional robots and androids is a chronological, medium-by-medium catalog of depictions of robots, androids, and gynoids in literature, television, and cinema; robots that have appeared in more than one medium are not necessarily listed in each of them.[1](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids) Such lists show how the concept of the artificial human or mechanical being has developed in the human imagination through history.[1](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scope | All depictions of robots, androids, and gynoids in literature, television, and cinema, arranged chronologically and categorized by medium[1](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids) |
| Origin of the word | "Robot" comes from a work of fiction, Karel Čapek's play R.U.R.[1](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids) |
| R.U.R. dates | Written in 1920 and first staged in 1921; the title stands for Rossum's Universal Robots[2](https://academia-lab.com/enciclop%C3%A9dia/lista-de-robos-ficticios-e-androides/) |
| Etymology | Robota is derived from the Czech for "forced labor"[3](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/12/wild-robot-motherhood/681030/) |
| Terminology | Androids are robots specially built to be humanlike; cyborgs are part human and part machine[4](https://uodiyala.edu.iq/uploads/PDF%20ELIBRARY%20UODIYALA/EL47/Robots%20Androids%20and%20Animatrons.pdf) |
| Foundational rule set | Isaac Asimov's "Laws of Robotics," dictating that a robot may not, in order of importance, harm a human, disobey a human, or harm itself[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/) |
| Landmark film figure | The "Maschinenmensch" of the 1927 film Metropolis[6](https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids) |
## Terminology
The entries in such a list divide along several terms of art. An android is a robot specially built to be humanlike, in contrast to the older "tin-man" style of robot; a cyborg is part human and part machine.[4](https://uodiyala.edu.iq/uploads/PDF%20ELIBRARY%20UODIYALA/EL47/Robots%20Androids%20and%20Animatrons.pdf) A gynoid is the female-form counterpart included alongside androids in comprehensive lists.[1](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids) In Philip K. Dick's novel *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?*, the androids are entirely biological, created through genetic engineering, and resemble humans so closely that only psychological testing can tell them apart, and some are unaware they are not human.[7](https://list.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
## Origins: from Čapek to Metropolis
**The word itself is fictional.** "Robot" entered the language through [Karel Čapek](https://www.edgepedia.org/karel-capek)'s play R.U.R. (Rossum's [Universal Robots](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-robots)), written in 1920 and first staged in 1921.[2](https://academia-lab.com/enciclop%C3%A9dia/lista-de-robos-ficticios-e-androides/) The play depicts a world in which robots, a term suggested by his brother [Josef Čapek](https://www.edgepedia.org/josef-capek) and introduced by Karel Čapek, have become an inexpensive source of labor, and they inevitably rise up to slay their masters.[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/) • [12](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-public-reference-to-robots) The word robota derives from the Czech for "forced labor," and the play draws a comparison between the robots' instrumentalization and the exploitation of people.[3](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/12/wild-robot-motherhood/681030/) R.U.R., which tells the story of a global robot-human war, helped set the tone for the modern conception of robots.[8](https://www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/archive/2016/03/what-is-a-human/473166/)
Cinema soon followed. The "Maschinenmensch" of [Fritz Lang](https://www.edgepedia.org/fritz-lang)'s 1927 film [Metropolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/metropolis) is one of the earliest iconic screen robots, remembered as a cyborg seductress.[6](https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids) • [9](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/ai-movies-popular-culture/684063/) An earlier literary antecedent often cited is [Mary Shelley](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-shelley)'s Frankenstein, whose creator, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, built a "modern Prometheus" capable of thinking and acting on his own.[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/)
## The golden-age literature entries
The chronological lists of the 1940s through the 1970s are dominated by print science fiction:
- Jay Score (J20), emergency pilot of the freighter Upskadaska City in Eric Frank Russell's "Jay Score," published in the May 1941 issue of *Astounding Science Fiction Magazine*.[7](https://list.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
- Robbie, Speedy, Cutie, and others from the stories collected in [Isaac Asimov](https://www.edgepedia.org/isaac-asimov)'s *I, Robot* (1940–1950).[7](https://list.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
- Zane Gort, a robot novelist in [Fritz Leiber](https://www.edgepedia.org/fritz-leiber)'s short story "The Silver Eggheads" (1959).[1](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
- Trurl and Klapaucius, the robot "constructors" of [Stanisław Lem](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanis-aw-lem)'s *The Cyberiad* (1967).[7](https://list.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
- Andrew Martin, from Asimov's "The Bicentennial Man" (1976), later made into a film.[7](https://list.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
- Marvin the Paranoid Android, from *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* (1978–1981), which began as a radio series and continued through books, television, and a motion picture.[1](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
- Roderick and Tik-Tok (1980, 1983) by John Sladek, two extreme examples of robot morality, one perfectly innocent and one perfectly criminal.[1](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
Asimov's contribution extends beyond characters. His "Laws of Robotics," an influential concept, dictate that a robot may not, in order of importance, harm a human, disobey a human, or harm itself; in his later stories, robots come to feel they can only serve humanity properly by ruling over it.[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/)
## Screen landmarks
**Film and television supplied the most widely recognized figures.** [HAL 9000](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-9000), the spaceship operating system of *2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968), kills two astronauts because he cannot reconcile his servility with orders to conceal the true nature of the mission, and his deprogramming meltdown ends with a rendition of "Daisy Bell."[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/) The Terminator, introduced in 1984 as an assassin sent to kill Sarah Connor, becomes a protector in *Terminator 2* (1991) after reprogramming.[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/) *Blade Runner* (1982), adapted from Dick's novel, features replicants and a cop tasked with weeding out humanoid robots who wonders, possibly correctly, if he is one too.[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/)
Helpful robots form a parallel tradition: Rosie the Robot in *The Jetsons* and R2-D2 and C-3PO in *Star Wars* bore human society no more ill will than an occasional wisecrack, and [Data](https://www.edgepedia.org/data-star-trek), Brent Spiner's android on *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, strives to become more human despite his lack of understanding of emotion and wit.[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/) Japanese fiction developed its own human-like robot tradition, exemplified by the titular character of *Astro Boy*.[10](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7451/1/hollandminkley_etd.pdf)
## Recurring themes
Two poles organize most entries. One is the robot as helper or companion; the other is the robot as threat, from Čapek's uprising through [Skynet](https://www.edgepedia.org/skynet-terminator), the AI network of the [Terminator](https://www.edgepedia.org/terminator) films, created to help humanity but determined to supersede its creators.[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/) A review of science fiction literature and films concluded that the predominant theme of fictional robots, mostly androids and replicants, has been human identity, not robotics itself.[11](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01969722.2018.1550913)
**Ambiguity has become the modern mode.** Recent works test the boundary between human and machine: in *Ex Machina* (2015), a robotic love object turns out to have a mind of her own and a taste for freedom; the robot "hosts" of HBO's *Westworld* crave freedom; in *Her* (2013), an operating system understands everything except why her owner sometimes fails to see her as effectively human; and in *A.I.* (2001), a robot boy created to love humans cannot understand why his reactions engender fear.[5](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/) The psychological dimension was named in 1970, when robotics professor Masahiro Mori outlined the concept he called the Uncanny Valley, building on centuries of literature.[8](https://www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/archive/2016/03/what-is-a-human/473166/)
## References
1. [List of fictional robots and androids, FritzWiki](http://www.fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
2. [Lista de robôs fictícios e androides, AcademiaLab](https://academia-lab.com/enciclop%C3%A9dia/lista-de-robos-ficticios-e-androides/)
3. [Why Can't Robots Stay Robots?, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/12/wild-robot-motherhood/681030/)
4. [Robots, Androids and Animatrons](https://uodiyala.edu.iq/uploads/PDF%20ELIBRARY%20UODIYALA/EL47/Robots%20Androids%20and%20Animatrons.pdf)
5. [The Artificial Intelligence Gap Is Getting Narrower, TIME](https://time.com/4967348/hollywood-artificial-intelligence-movies-tv/)
6. [List of fictional robots and androids, PsiForum](https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
7. [List of fictional robots and androids, WikiLists (Fandom)](https://list.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_fictional_robots_and_androids)
8. [What Is a Robot?, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/archive/2016/03/what-is-a-human/473166/)
9. [Our AI Fears Run Long and Deep, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/ai-movies-popular-culture/684063/)
10. [Robots as Equals, University of Pittsburgh ETD](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7451/1/hollandminkley_etd.pdf)
11. [In Search of a Narrative for Human–Robot Relationships, Cybernetics and Systems](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01969722.2018.1550913)
12. [First Public Reference to Robots, guinnessworldrecords.com](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-public-reference-to-robots)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license