Starfish Robots: Difference between revisions

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* In ''Hellspark'' by [[Janet Kagan]], the robot drone that accompanies the heroine isn't described in detail, but it has a multitude of legs and the in-universe technical term for it is derived from the Greek word for "spider".

* Their general absence is discussed in-universe in one of Asimov's Robot-series books, the justification being that humans have already been designing tools for their own use for thousands of years, so it makes more sense to just design robots capable of using those same kind of tools rather than intensely specialized robots with those tools built in (like a robot that can ride a tractor, instead of a tractor-bot). Starfish robots of varying degrees appear earlier in the setting when robots are used almost exclusively in space for exploration, mining, and terraforming.

** One of the mysteries in the Robot-series actually involves the supposedly ''dire'' implications of starfish robots inevitably leading to sentient interstellar warships that could get around being [[Three Laws Compliant]] (it being impossible to create a robotic brain without the Three Laws in-continuity). Essentially, the argument goes that a sufficiently non-humanoid robot might fail to have any sense of what constitutes a "human," allowing it to violate the Laws out of ignorance.

** One of the mysteries in the Robot-series actually involves the supposedly ''dire'' implications of starfish robots inevitably leading to sentient interstellar warships that could get around being [["Three Laws"-Compliant]] (it being impossible to create a robotic brain without the Three Laws in-continuity). Essentially, the argument goes that a sufficiently non-humanoid robot might fail to have any sense of what constitutes a "human," allowing it to violate the Laws out of ignorance.

* ''Saturn's Children'' by [[Charles Stross]]. After the demise of humanity those robots least attached to their creators have formed the new aristocracy, and the [[Sex Bot]] protagonist is despised for her [[Deceptively Human Robot]] appearance. Most other robots have a more practical appearance for living and working in outer space or other planets.

* [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Vuffi_Raa Vuffi Raa] from L. Neil Smith's ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe|Star Wars]]'' trilogy ''The Lando Calrissian Adventures'' is a perfect example of this trope.