History Main / SpyBot

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

%%[[folder:Film]]

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Frequently used by [[GadgeteerGenius Gadgeteers]] and [[MadScientist Devisors]], though at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] they mostly use them to steal each other's ideas; [[https://whateley.academy/index.php/story/ayla-4-ayla-and-the-tests-chap-7 for example]], one is found which slowly moved around the Workshop tunnels, masked by both technological and magical means, eavesdropping on any conversations it came across. The [[Characters/WhateleyUniverseSchoolClubsAndCliques Intelligence Cadet Corps]] (a club for wannabee TeenSuperspy and KidDetective types) use them to keep track of the Bad Seeds, the Masterminds, and anyone else they deem 'suspicious', including some of the teachers - which gets their club into considerable trouble with the school administration.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Frequently used by [[GadgeteerGenius Gadgeteers]] and [[MadScientist Devisors]], though at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] they mostly use them to steal each other's ideas; for example, one is found which slowly moved around the Workshop tunnels, masked by both technological and magical means, eavesdropping on any conversations it came across. The [[Characters/WhateleyUniverseSchoolClubsAndCliques Intelligence Cadet Corps]] (a club for wannabee TeenSuperspy and KidDetective types) use them to keep track of the Bad Seeds, the Masterminds, and anyone else they deem 'suspicious', including some of the teachers - which gets their club into considerable trouble with the school administration.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Hymie from ''Series/GetSmart'', who was programmed by KAOS to impersonate a CONTROL agent and act as a mole for them. He now works for CONTROL, though [[MoralityChip his new programming]] prohibits him from being an agent.

%%[[folder:Web Original]]
%%* They exist in ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''.
%%[[/folder]]

Some robots have it easy; these robots have a mission. They are specifically made for spying or espionage missions. They dodge bullets, perform recon, shape-shift, whatever is necessary to find out what someone else doesn't want them to know. While their design can overlap with the SurveillanceDrone, they are more closely related to AndroidsAndDetectives.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* The Creator/{{Geneon}} dub of Anime/LupinIIIPartII once had a mechanical fly serve as a listening device. Jigen describes it as "[[StealthPun a flying pun]]".

[[folder: Film ]]

* Snooper, Q's experimental robot dog, from ''Film/AViewToAKill''
* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ThePhantomMenace'': Darth Maul's droids.

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

* Hymie from ''Series/GetSmart'', who was programmed by KAOS to impersonate a CONTROL agent and act as a mole for them. He now works for CONTROL, though [[MoralityChip his new programming]] prohibits him from being an agent.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

** Snoopbot: 200 kg, built like a trashcan with three legs. Has a full detection/analysis suite and an expert system [=AI=].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': many drones fit this description.

[[folder: Toys ]]

** The [[Toys/LEGOSpace Spyrius faction]], a group of spies who steal technology for profit, is headed by one named Major Kartofski. They use two giant-sized versions, the Recon Robot and the Robo-Guard, both of which come with claws for grabbing stuff and boxes for stashing stolen data. A magazine feature also mentions an unspecified robot who can turn invisible (save for its red hands) using a special helmet.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* The beginning mission of ''VideoGame/PerfectDarkZero'' features one of these.
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', one type of robot that appears in [[ManVersusMachine Mann Vs. Machine]] is a robot version of the Spy.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals'' has one as an American SupportPower, launchin a spy drone that gives vision and detection of a large section of the map.
* ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'': The Empire has the Burst Drone, a dragonfly-shaped robot that flies and detects infiltrators. It can also attach itself to vehicles to slow them down, and blow itself up to damage them.

%%[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* The eponymous device in the ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' TOS episode "The Robot Spy".

* Clank from the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series stars in ''[[ShowWithinAShow Secret Agent Clank]]'' as one of these.

* The various versions of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' have had a number of robots on either side of the conflict whose specialties are in espionage, intelligence, and/or surveilance, with personalities and ''modi operandi'' spanning the whole gamut, from ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Prime]]'''s Soundwave, an eerily silent hacker and master of surveillance who seems to hear ''everything'', to sneaky, snarky Rattrap of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', who relies on quick wits, a handful of built-in gadgets, and [[TheCombatPragmatist a distaste for fair play]] to keep his [[UnusualEuphemism skidplate]] intact while behind enemy lines, to the deep-cover spy Shockwave of ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Animated]]'', a Decepticon double agent who has an Autobot named Longarm as one of his alternate modes[[labelnote:*]]well, technically two, as Longarm has a different vehicle mode than Shockwave[[/labelnote]], and in that guise rose to be ''head of Autobot intelligence''.

%%[[folder: Web Original ]]

%%* They exist in ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''.

%%[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* TruthInTelevision: Modern scout drones are basically this, except remotely-operated. It's not too much of a stretch to imagine the possibility of autonomous scouting drones - true "spy robots" - in the near future.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RQ-4_Global_Hawk Global Hawk]]

* ''CommandAndConquerGenerals'' has one as an American SupportPower, launchin a spy drone that gives vision and detection of a large section of the map.

* ''Dark Conspiracy'' supplement ''Darktek''.

* Robobugs in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}: Ultra-Tech'' are good for this. The much larger nanomorph is basically Film/JamesBond with superpowers.

* The Creator/{{Geneon}} dub of Anime/LupinIIIRedJacket once had a mechanical fly serve as a listening device. Jigen describes it as "[[StealthPun a flying pun]]".