Elektro is the nickname of a robot built by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in its Mansfield, Ohio facility between 1937 and 1938. Seven feet tall, weighing 265 pounds, humanoid in appearance, he could walk by voice command, speak about 700 words (using a 78-rpm record player), smoke cigarettes, blow up balloons, and move his head and arms. He was on exhibit at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and reappeared at that fair in 1940, with Sparko, a robot dog that could bark, sit, and beg. (See him in action here.)
Lunokhod: Moon Robot
Credit: Courtesy Lavochkin Association
Explanation: On November 17, 1970 the Soviet Luna 17 spacecraft landed the first roving remote-controlled robot on the Moon. Known as Lunokhod 1, it weighed just under 2,000 pounds and was designed to operate for 90 days while guided in real-time by a five person team at the Deep Space Center near Moscow, USSR.
Robotics student Gildo Andreoni interacts with a Dexmart robotic hand built at the University of Bologna in the Robotville exhibition at the Science Museum in London, England. The Science Museum’s Robotville exhibition showcases 20 unique and cutting-edge robots from European research laboratories.
via chicagotribune
