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Daleks: Controlled by an unsightly homonculus, the Dalek is more properly a cybernetic exoskeleton, or even vehicle, which merely acts as a conveyance for the once-humanoid but now strangely monocular and amorphous natives of Skaro.

Cybermen : The Cyberman is, as demonstrated most vividly on more recent Dr. Who episodes, a radically upgraded human and not - despite appearances - a robot at all. In the original series the Cybermen originated on an Earth-like planet called Mondas whose inhabitants modified their bodies with technology in much the same way as do cult Star Trek favourites The Borg. The Russell T. Davies reboot features a new flavour of Cyberman based on the denizens of a parallell Earth.

Robocop: Like Iron Man, or perhaps the Six million Dollar Man, Robocop is a disabled superhero, relying on his artificial limbs and enhancements to fight crime. Interestingly, an Iron Man comic book is briefly visible during the convenience store robbery scene.

The Replicants from Blade Runner : The film is notoriously unclear on the underlying technology of the Replicants: The complex Voight-Kampff testing implies a creature that is structurally indistinguishable from a human although the enhanced strength, invulnerability to scalding water and trademarks on the cells all point to a very different physiology.

Rossum's Universal Robots : The play that gave the English language the word robot (it means 'worker') actually describes the original robots as biological entities, perhaps clones, without any mechanical components.

Darth Vader: Not a robot at all, just - like his minions the Stormtroopers - a guy in a rather splendid suit.

Kevin Warwick: Yes, he's the Professor of Cybernetics at Reading University. Yes, he's got a chip in his arm. No, he's not a robot.

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