A IS FOR ARTIFICIAL LIFE

That is to say; robots, cyborgs, androids, gynoids (fem-/sex-bots), droids, mechs, bots, and drones. In the post apocalyptic wasteland (at least in "High Post Apocalyptic" or "Gonzo" settings) robots are a fact of life. Among the many inspirations for robots (Post Apocalyptic or not), I've always thought the most of the following:

• The various Terminator series (with the exceptions of the T-1000 and T-X), most notably the Hunter-Killers, T-600 series, T-800 series, and the various units from Terminator: Salvation.
• ED-209 & Robocop from the Robocop series (though not Cain, the lame Otomo "ninja robots").
• Necron-99 from Ralph Bakshi's Wizards.
• Maximillion from The Black Hole (though V.I.N.C.E.N.T., B.O.B., and S.T.A.R. are not to be overlooked)
• The various robots from Runaway (less for the 80s style and more for the effect).
• The various droids from Star Wars (less C-3P0 and R2-D2, more IG-88, HK-47, Battle Droids, Probe Droids, and the like).
• The Boomers from Bubblegum Crisis (and its various spin-offs/reboots).
• The tachikomas/uchikomas/fuchikomas from Ghost in the Shell.
• Keith Laumer's (and others) Bolos.
• Johnnycab from Total Recall.
• The classic "Robby the Robot" and Robot B-9 from Lost in Space.
• The various Mr. Gutsy/Handy, Protectron, Securitron, Robobrain, Sentry Bots, Eyebots, Robo-scorpions, and other robots from the Fallout series.
• The Sentinels and some of the other robots from the Matrix series.
• The various robots of Futurama.
• AMEE from Red Planet.
• The various robots from WALL-E.
• The Mechanoids and Daleks of Dr. Who.
• The Cylons of Battlestar Galactica (the original series).
• Twiki from Buck Rogers.
• Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, Gypsy and Cambot from MST3K.
• Various robots from Samurai Jack.
• Various cyborgs from Battle Angel Alita.
• The Borg from Star Trek.
• The cyborgs from the movie Nemesis.
• Nightbird, the ninja robot from Transformers.

-Oddly though, neither JOHNNY 5 and the other robots from Short Circuit, or the little alien robots from Batteries Not Included really inspired me.