Robomen were humans converted by the Daleks into wholly obedient slaves during the 22nd century Dalek invasion of Earth.
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The Daleks captured prisoners and operated on their brains in a surgical procedure called the "transfer" (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth) or "robotization", (PROSE: What To Do If A Dalek Attacks You!) fitting them with large, helmet-like headsets. The Daleks' mind control technique was unstable, and would eventually wear off. However, instead of reverting, that is to say becoming human again, the Robomen would go insane and commit suicide. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
History
During the 22nd century Dalek invasion of Earth, the Daleks used Robomen. These surgically modified captives were armed with machine guns and used for patrols and overseeing other slaves. The Robomen were needed because there were few Daleks on Earth. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, AUDIO: Masters of Earth)
In 2158, the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa encountered a Roboman in Kansas who had been a sheriff. He and a Dalek believed them to be escaped prisoners from a work camp and tried to capture them, but they escaped in the TARDIS. The Roboman and the Dalek returned to their commander to report their failure. (AUDIO: The Mutant Phase)
In 2163, Robomen of the Roboman Elite were able to break their conditioning and rebel against the Daleks, but they had their own plans for converting humanity into Robomen and conquering the galaxy. The Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown encountered them and defeated them. (AUDIO: Masters of Earth)
In 2025, Robomen were used by time travelling Daleks as security guards. (AUDIO: Energy of the Daleks)
When the Daleks invaded again in the late 2190s, they once more used Robomen to patrol Earth. (AUDIO: Lucie Miller)
The Daleks used Robomen during the Battle of Pejorica against the Jariden. (AUDIO: The Four Doctors)
On the Dalek occupied planet Nixyce VII, the Daleks used Robomen to patrol and regulate work in the mines. The Robomen on Nixyce VII were ordered to find Liv Chenka who was needed to assist with an emergency in the Dalek mines. The Doctor and the freedom fighters Kavel and Aldin all pretended to be fully converted Robomen to evade Dalek capture. (AUDIO: The Traitor)
In the aftermath of their invasion of Mutter's Spiral, the Daleks used a more sophisticated implantation technique. Rather than fitting their subjects with grafted positronic discs and communication devices, the circuitry was placed inside the brain and the Robomen retained independent thought. These Robomen were much harder to detect and far more dangerous. Orders from their Dalek masters would be filtered through normal thought processes, the subject seemingly unaware of the disc implant. One such Roboman was Gordon Pellan, who was gunned down by Earth Alliance forces. (AUDIO: The Human Factor)
Mirana, another of these newer, more sophisticated Robomen, was linked directly to the Dalek Emperor's mind. She was unaware of the linkage and when told of the implant, she was confused. The implant itself was deemed impossible to remove without killing the subject, but it could be disabled. Mirana's implant was disabled surgically, though she could still receive transmissions from the Dalek command net. The remnants of the Earth Alliance used her to track a small battalion of Daleks on Lopra Minor. (AUDIO: Project Infinity)
A number of Robomen, similar in appearance and sophistication to those used in the 22nd century, were captured by Space Security Service agents when they retook the planet Caridos from the Daleks in 3994 and brought to Station 7 for study. The Robomen remained on the Station into the early stages of the 41st century and were completely inert until a Dalek task force invaded, reactivating them to fight from within. They were all killed in the subsequent battle. (COMIC: The Only Good Dalek)
References
The Eleventh Doctor expected Robomen to be on the Sunlight Worlds founded by the Dalek Foundation. (PROSE: The Dalek Generation)
Behind the scenes
A Roboman featured on the cover of the Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth novelisation. This Roboman bore a resemblance to those seen in the film Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., even though the book's content drew from the television version. This Roboman was further distinguished in that it wore a mask.