Mechs are vehicles that use some form of legs as a (typically primary) form of movement.

A mech is different from a robot in that a mech is a vehicle, while a robot is autonomous or indirectly controlled. A walking machine controlled from the outside that does not transport its pilot is not a mech.

A mech is different from a powered armour because a powered armour directly assists your body's movements, while a mech is controlled indirectly (whether this is through mo-cap, a neurohelmet a-la-[[battlemech|Battletech]], or pure hand controls).

For particular aesthetics or mechanics, see [[stompy]], [[mechs_with_hands]], and [[real_robot]].