The rise of the robots

CEBU, Philippines - While everyone knows who the coolest superheroes are, robots also have their share of fans and followers.

From standing out as steadfast defenders of truth and justice, to simply being unique in their own way, here are some the world's most popular robots, iconic characters whose strong presence and memorable personas have appeared in different movies, TV shows, advertisements and comic books.

R2-D2 (from Star Wars)

R2-D2 remains to be one of the most popular robots in the world, easily identified as Luke Skywalker's astromech droid.

First appearing in the 1977-released Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope, Kenny Baker is noted to have played the character, just as the voice talents of Ben Burtt gave life to R2-D2's now-iconic "beep-and-dashed" lingo.

Spending most of his time with C-3PO, understanding what R2-D2 has to say may not be the easiest thing to do, but one thing remains clear - his quirkiness and heroic thirst for adventure has saved Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie from tight spots in more than one occasion.

C-3PO (also from Star Wars)

C-3PO, as a character, is just as popular as R2-D2, with the robot's gold and silver-toned finish definitive in making him just as internationally iconic as R2-D2.

Portrayed by actor Anthony Daniels, C-3PO is a protocol droid in the Star Wars universe, designed to be of service to human beings. He is capable of understanding and translating up to six million forms of intergalactic communication, a nifty skill to have in a universe filled with different alien races and species.

Though his prime directives are geared towards being of service in situations where translation, etiquette and the understanding of customs are important, this hasn't hindered C-3PO in taking part in different missions and adventures.

Wall-E (from Pixar's Wall-E)

As the main character of Pixar's 2008-released Wall-E, Wall-E is a work of art, presented as a maintenance robot (of sorts) with a heart of gold.

Brought to life through the magic of cutting edge computer-generated graphics, Wall-E's dedication in fulfilling his prime directives has propelled his popularity to stellar heights, with Wall-E's human-like sense of responsibility proving to be definitive of why many have become fascinated with his being as a character.

Optimus Prime (from The Transformers)

Making his debut in 1984, lengthy introductions are not necessary for this Autobot.

Leading the Autobots in their crusade against the sinister Decepticons, Optimus Prime has saved the world in more than one occasion, just as the character has seen countless incarnations and versions since its debut.

Michael Bay's reboot of The Transformers stands to be the most recent reinvention of the character, but, for sure, you already know about this.

"Robot" is 92 years Old

The word "robot" is actually 92 years old.

First noted to be used in the 1921 play, "Rossum's Universal Robots" (popularly referred to as R.U.R), Czech author Karel Capek is attributed to be the first to use the term, though there are arguments indicating that his brother was involved in its making.

The term is noted to come from the Czech word "robota", which translates to the word "labor".

Given that the "robots" in R.U.R. were depicted as labor-saving machines, the link between "robot" and the word "labor" is easy to spot. (FREEMAN)