Are the Daleks robots or cyborgs?

Question

I heard somewhere that the Daleks were robots created by Davros, but then I read that they were cyborgs. Which one of these is true?

Answer 1

According to the BBC They are a "System of logic". The designer gave form to the concept of the Daleks, created by Doctor Who screenwriter Terry Nation and which first appeared in series one of Doctor Who nearly 50 years ago.

In the show, the race of Daleks was said to have been developed by a scientist to survive a war on their home planet of Skaro. However, the scientist was later killed by his own creation.

The Daleks, mutants encased in studded, tank-like machinery that appear to glide over the ground, became a cultural sensation, with generations growing to love their famous electronic command of "Exterminate".

Heres the helpful link

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-21563344

Answer 2

They aren't really either. Right from their very first appearance in the first season of Doctor Who in 1964, the Daleks are described simply as mutated beings that are encased in an armored capsule.

Throughout the original Doctor Who serials, it is possible that they may have some cybernetic interface to control their outer shell, but this isn't explicitly shown. In fact, Ian Chesterton, one of the Doctor's companions in the first serials where the Daleks are encountered, is able to fit inside a Dalek transport and control it to some degree.

In later series, particularly after the reboot with the Ninth Doctor, we see Dalek mutants control their armored capsule by pulling on levers with their tentacles, indicating that are not cyborgs at all, simply "driving" the outer shell through physical manipulation.

Answer 3

HorusKol's answer is almost correct, and I nearly agree with it.

What I'd say is that the answer varies from one story to another.

In their earliest appearance they were cyborgs. They needed their metal suits to stay alive, and their suits needed power to function. Once the power was cut off, the creatures all died within seconds. I'd say they count as cyborgs in that story.

In various later stories, the creatures were able to survive outside their suits. Then they were 'neither' as Horuskul describes.

And in Destiny of the Daleks they were described as robots, contradicting every other story before or since.

Answer 4

Depends upon which Dalek faction you are talking about. In Remembrance of the Daleks both a Renegade and an Imperial (Davros) Dalek were destroyed and both remains inspected.

One of the scientists, Professor Rachel Jensen, commented:"The other Dalek [Imperial Dalek] was underdeveloped, with vestigial limbs and sensory organs, almost amoeboid, This [Renegade Dalek] is altogether different. it has functional appendages with some kind of mechanical prosthesis grafted on to its body."

Whatever happened to the Davros Daleks isn't too clear. He was mentioned several times in the new series and made some appearances with David Tennant and Peter Capaldi but he appeared to be a prisoner (or at least subordinate) of the Supreme Dalek and I don't think anything more was seen of the Imperial Daleks. Certainly, the first time a Dalek appeared in the new series (Christopher Eccleston, "Dalek" and their design often referred to as the "Time War Dalek") it appeared to be merely a bubbling ball of hate surrounded by the travel machine and not a cyborg.

The Matt Smith story "Asylum Of The Daleks" was advertised as featuring every version of Dalek that appeared in the series and an Imperial Dalek is seen in the attached image, but I am not sure if this is just a promotional image. I don't recall seeing one in the story.