I found the staff of life. Where and when does it tell you that grox are robots? I seem to be missing this piece of information. Also is there a way to see the grox creatures on the planets? someone seemed to suggest you could.

mmm, The various rare items you gather start to tell a story about the Grox. And sure, get in close to a Grox planet and you can see them in the cities, such as they are.