humanoid

Diavolo-automa di Settala

HONDA ASIMO

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

A humanoid is a hybrid term from Latin humanus "human" and the Greek -oeides expressing likeness. The term was coined in the year of 1918 to refer to fossils considered close to human but not strictly human, including species now classified as Homo such as the Neanderthals.

The term more generally refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a human, including upright stance and bipedalism. This includes anthropomorphic creatures in mythology as well as humanoid robots, especially in the context of science fiction and fantasy fiction. An android or gynoid is a humanoid robot designed to look like a male or female human, respectively, although the words are frequently perceived to be synonymous.

Most of the aliens in television and movies are presented as humanoid. Occasionally a rationale for the similarity of disparate alien races all sharing humanoid body structure is presented. For example, the episode "The Chase" of Star Trek: The Next Generation explained the humanoid denizens of the Star Trek universe by advancing the story of a primordial humanoid civilization, the Ancient humanoids, that seeded the galaxy with genetically-engineered cells that guide evolution toward humanoid life (see panspermia). In Stargate SG-1, many if not all of the aliens encountered are human, and this is explained by them having traveled from Earth in the distant past (See Children of the Gods). In most cases, like the classic Doctor Who serials, the reason for the similarity is not explained (although The Big Finish Productions audio play Zagreus offers a more sinister explanation: that the time lords may have seeded the universe with biogenic molecules so that only intelligent species that approximated the Gallifreyan humanoid norm would develop), and it is regarded simply as a dramatic convention or artistic license, requiring suspension of disbelief.

See also

• Hominid (term)
• Race (fantasy)
• Anthropomorphism
• Robotics
• Naturoid

External links

• Australian UFO Research Network
• Malevolent Alien Abduction Research Homepage
• Humanoid Robot Video
• Albert S. Rosales
• Albert Einstein Hubo: by Hanson Robotics and KAIST
• Humanoid Robots in America
• Virtual Humans Forum
• Robot Info (Directory of Robotics news, books, videos, magazines, forums and products).
• Humanoid in Star Wars context