In the Star Wars space opera franchise, a droid is a fictional robot possessing some degree of artificial intelligence. The term is a clipped form of "android", a word originally reserved for robots designed to look and act like a human. The word "android" itself stems from the New Latin word "androīdēs", meaning "manlike", itself from the Ancient Greek ἀνδρος (andrós) + -ειδής (-eidḗs), itself from εἶδος.
Droids R2-D2 (left) and C-3PO (right), first featured in Star Wars (1977)
A B1 battle droid as shown in the prequel trilogy and Clone Wars-related works
An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids existed only in the domain of science fiction and were frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot technology have allowed the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots.
Repliee Q2 can mimic human functions such as blinking, breathing and speaking, with the ability to recognize and process speech and touch, and then respond in kind.
Early example of the term androides used to describe human-like mechanical devices, London Times, 22 December 1795
Repliee Q2, a Japanese actroid
