#showbot

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Dexter (1984) from Perfect Match, an Australian dating TV game show. Dexter's job was to reveal the "compatibility score" of contestants based on their responses to interview questions. Dexter is voiced by Keith Scott. These days, Dexter can be seen at the ACMI museum in Melbourne.

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Nerdy (1992) by Joe McCord, the Robot Co., Costa Mesa, California. Nerdy featured as the robot in "Revenge of the Nerds, Part III: The Next Generation" the 1992 sequel to "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984).

"McCord is general manager of the Robot Co., a Costa Mesa-based firm that builds and rents personal robots for use in films, trade conventions and private parties. In fact, two of the robots he will be showcasing at the fair – ProBot and Nerdy by name – have gone Hollywood, appearing in the film “Short Circuit” and on Fox Television’s “Revenge of the Nerds, Part III.” " – Joining the Circuits: You Can Touch, Talk to and Clown Around With the Merchandise at Robot Faire in Costa Mesa, by Corinne Flocked, Los Angeles Times, July 30, 1992.

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"Dust" by ShowAmerica Inc., Elmhurst, Ill. (1984). 'Dust' is a custom-made robot, created for Hoover Ltd, London (source: The State-of-the-Art Robot Catalog, by Phil Berger).

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Disco by ShowAmerica Inc., Elmhurst, Ill. (1984). Disco is a custom-made robot, created for Time Inc.'s science news magazine, 'Discover' (source: The State-of-the-Art Robot Catalog, by Phil Berger).

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Metro Man (1983), MTA Metro-North Railroad, New York. The MTA Metro-North Railroad "has had several public safety initiatives over the years, including the friendly robot “Metro Man.” Metro Man joined the Metro-North staff in 1983, and was originally sent into communities on the northern portion of the Harlem Line to teach children about the difference between diesel service and third rail power. Eventually his territory included Metro-North’s entire service area and his talks covered a broad range of safety issues. Metro Man is still on staff at Metro-North, but is now portrayed by a human in a robot suit. Vintage Metro Man is shown in this … poster and these photographs from 1983 and 1991 which show Metro Man as a teaching tool in elementary school classrooms." – NY Transit Museum.

[stevebattle]

NUTRO the Robot (1979), by Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. Nutritionist Dave Canty serves as voice and remote-control operator for Nutro, a 400-pound robot who tours the country speaking to children on nutrition. "NUTRO, A CREATION of the Vitamin Education Program of Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., as a public-service, nutrition-education program, is touring as a "guest lecturer" on the subject of nutrition. His message, delivered in schools across the country, is on the importance of proper nutrition and correct nutrition information. The 5-foot-2, 31-inch-wide, conical-shape robot has a movable globe head, red light-bulb eyes and flexible accordion-like arms. His wood and metal frame is clothed in a combination of yellow spandex and red and blue glittery lurex fabric. It houses over 500 moving parts and 2,000 feet of wire. Nutro's head moves from side to side and can soar 12 inches skyward when he explains how excited he is about nutrition. His chest lights up to emphasize the essential nutrients printed on his chest wall. He can wave and shake hands." – Robot raves about nutrition, the Index-Journal, Greenwood, South Carolina, April 21, 1979.

[stevebattle]

ARTI 1 by Promotional Systems (1987). "His name is ARTI ONE and he is a custom built robot made by Promotional Systems in the late '80s. … I could see that the robot used a standard Futaba FP-R4F four channel 75 MHz AM R/C receiver which connects to a custom driver board for controlling the robot. That driver board was dated 10/2/87 and was made by Promotional Systems for their robots. The custom driver board has the logic for decoding the R/C signals that drive a pair of H-bridges for the main drive motors. It also controls the lights on the robot (eyes and mouth) and the operation of a tape deck. … The robot itself is constructed from thermoformed plastic similar to the way the old Androbot robots were made, but with all the panels glued together. The arms are made from aluminum dryer vents which have an extra support inside. They can be manually moved into the desired position. The hands have a spring loaded thumb which could hold a sign or small items. A neat feature is that the head is easily removable and can be changed, if needed. An example is an extra head (McGruff, the crime dog) that came with the robot." – Reviving a Showbot, by Robert Doerr, SERVO, Jan 2008.

[stevebattle]

Tokyo Toy Fair Robot (1984). "A pony-tailed girl clutches her mother as a radio-controlled robot approaches her, saying “don’t touch me,” during the Tokyo Toy Fair, June 1, 1984 which opened on Thursday. More than 20,000 types of toys from 158 makers including those from Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, are on display for prospective buyers and visitors." (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami)