You have it correct fullcapwearer, I personally have a flowbee which is the same as robocut but another brand. With these devices you will have a hard time with shorter cuts, they are really made for longer styles (I'd say over 2" in length).

Clippers on the other hand are ideal for shorter styles and yes he is referring to normal everyday hair clippers. Now most clippers only have attachments up to 1" but if you look on amazon you can find longer attachments for them.

hope this helps.