Remote control backhoe? Somehow this seems to be bluring a line... if that line realy exists at all.

I'm assuming, dear Ponty, that you're questioning the inclusion of a teleoperated thing in robotics? It's all a matter of definitions. (Which, are a waste of time according to some).

"Robot Wars" really sparked a lot of arguments about radio-controlled things "not being robots," but this kind of ignores history, as well as the way that language works. You can't make a word mean what you want it to mean all on your own. If everyone in the world thinks a robot can be teleoperated, then teleoperated robots are robots. Anyway, it's not a new use of the word at all. Traffic light signs were originally called "robot traffic signals" and I think they still are in South Africa. The British Army have used "bomb disposal robots" for a very long time, and they're not even radio-controlled - there's a big wire!

Of course, you might reasonably say that this website, despite its name, should only be concerned with autonomous robots. That despite the common definition, there's a jargon usage. However true that might be, the only real definition that counts I reckon is use, and in this case that would be is anyone interested in the story...