post #794077 post #524011

A robot that consists of an endoskeleton and a mascot costume/shell. Unlike the infiltrator robots like the ones from the Terminator franchise, which were designed to look as real as possible to fool people, these mechanical mimics are intended for entertainment purposes and are employed as automated mascots/entertainers. Their exterior are designed to resemble those of a particular fictional character, usually a mascot character.

While the word itself has been in use for many years in the field of robotics, especially with Disney's long-running and trademarked Audio-Animatronics, the video game Five Nights at Freddy's is largely responsible for its sudden popularity.

For tagging purposes, the difference between an android and an animatronic is that the former are made to resemble humans (or anthros) with "skin" that is integrated into the design, whereas animatronics wear a removable shell or a costume that mask their true robotic appearance.

See also:

• machine
• robot
• android
• animatronic

Forum discussion:

• forum #141131 - Cyborgs, Androids, and Robots. Oh my! (Oct. 2014)
• forum #145008 - Calling all robot, android, mecha, etc. experts! (wiki project) (Dec. 2014)