Drones and Sprites

Drone and Sprite technology is commonplace in the Federacy, performing most menial labor through the use of small mechanical devices which are controlled by remote computing systems. Sprites are very small drones capable of quickly assembling together to perform larger tasks when necessary and (when combined) and look like framework bots though they are very strong (however, vulnerable to electromagnetic pulses).
The term Bots (whose function and purpose is the same as Drones) fell out of favor a couple of centuries ago though is making a resurgence. More formally, Bots, short for robots, refers to Free Range Autonomous systems (also called FRAgs) - devices controlled by an internal computer system (see Computer / SmartSystems in Technology Overview and Artificial Intelligence ).
All drones and sprites are restricted in operation, their scope of movement dependent upon their purpose and assignment; they cannot go beyond the range of their controller, which must always be accessible to a person. Controllers rarely have a range greater than 100 meters. For example, a House Drone is limited to the house it functions in, perhaps including its grounds.
Efficient drones appear at T0. Drones are rarely anthropomorphic in shape, form tending to follow function. General purpose drones tend to appear as cubes roughly 1 meter by .65 meters long and . 5 meters wide and move on extendable high traction wheels or cylinders, roughly 1 meter tall by .65 meters wide. Most have 1 to 4 appendages and a telescoping sensor arm. There aren't many GP drones, however, as they tend to be expensive (Task Drones, which focus on a given task or set of tasks are far less expensive and tend to only be as large as the task required).
Nanites are T2 microscopic SmartBots. Their purposes are miriad but they are restricted. They typically have medical, military or clandestine purposes; they are capable of incredible havoc because of their microscopic or near microscopic size.
Available at T3, sprites are expensive multi-functional physically reconfigurable drones which are typically sold in pods of 12 or 20 sprites, though the amount can change. Individual sprites can compress themselves into spheres as small as 1 inch in diameter. Like nanites, they are also restricted. They are extraordinarily useful for strong, lightweight constructs available on the fly. A 12 sprite pod, for example, can be reconfigured into a cage, or a simple framework vehicle, and other simple constructs.