online medical dictionary | definition of automaton

<robotics, mathematics> (Plural automata) A machine, robot, or formal system designed to follow a precise sequence of instructions.

Automata theory, the invention and study of automata, includes the study of the capabilities and limitations of computing processes, the manner in which systems receive input, process it, and produce output, and the relationships between behavioural theories and the operation and use of automated devices.

See also: cellular automaton, finite state machine.

(01 Feb 1996)

Origin: L. Fr. Gr, neut. Of self-moving; self + a root ma, man, to strive, think, cf. To strive. See Mean, v. I.

1. Any thing or being regarded as having the power of spontaneous motion or action. "So great and admirable an automaton as the world." (Boyle) "These living automata, human bodies." (Boyle)

2. A self-moving machine, or one which has its motive power within itself; applied chiefly to machines which appear to imitate spontaneously the motions of living beings, such as men, birds, etc.

(01 Mar 1998)