Autobots are a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron led by Optimus Prime, and the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, cartoons, movies, graphic novels, and paperback books first introduced in 1984. The "Heroic Autobots" are opposed by the Evil Decepticons. Both Autobots and Decepticons are humanoid robots that can transform into machines, vehicles and other familiar mechanical objects. Autobot typically transform into regular cars, trucks, or other road vehicles (automobiles) but some few are aircraft, military vehicles, communication devices, weapons, and even robotic animals. These Autobots are often grouped into special "teams" which have the suffix "-bot" at the end, such as in Dinobot (Decepticon groups' names end in "-con").
In Japan, the Autobots are called "Cybertrons" (サイバトロン, Saibatoron) except in the film series, Transformers Animated, and Transformers: Prime, where they are referred to as Autobots (オートボット, Ōtobotto). In Italy, they are called "Autorobots". The Autobot insignia is also sometimes referred to as an "Autobrand" in issue #14 of the Marvel Comics series. The descendants of the Autobots, the Maximals from Transformers: Beast Wars are also known as Cybertrons in Japan.