[taylor-tg]

I feel like trying to convince people to use the term 'automaton', when referring to devices that look similar to humans but are non-biological, is a feeble venture. The term 'robot' is just so ingrained in our society to describe a humanoid-like piece of hardware...

[JoeAltmaier]

Isn't the word 'Android' already invented for that class or organism?

[taylor-tg]

They could be used interchangeably, 'automaton' predates 'android' by a margin, primarily because an 'automaton' doesn't necessarily have to be an electronic device. It could be a water-powered wooden nutcracker. So yes, 'android' is probably the best candidate to describe the 'robots' that the author is referring to.

[qbrass]

A roomba is an automaton, but not an android.

Automaton refers to acting on it's own. Android literally means humanlike. Electronics have no bearing on either.