#therobotexhibit

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Plastic Fantastic by Gene Oldfield (1979), Robot Repair, Sacramento, CA. "Mobile personal robot; contains random shift register; digitized wheel, relay diode steering section." – The Robot Exhibit: history fantasy & reality.

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“The Intelligent Robot” by Jonathan T. Kaplan (1977). “Mobile, programmable, electronic personal robot; makes electronic noises, lifts approx. 3 lbs.” – The Robot Exhibit, New York, NY.

"Jonathan Kaplan traces his interest in robots back to when he was four and watched cartoons about robots. He built his first robot when he was eight. Today, Jonathan is a graduate student, studying artificial intelligence with the Robotics Research Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All total he has built around a dozen robots, not all of which are still working. "I keep the complex ones," he explains, "others get recycled for the parts." He also scrounges for parts in electronic supply stores and junk shops." Unlike many homebrew builders, Jonathan does not name his creations. He also does not treat them like pets. As he says, "I am painfully aware that they are only machines." He feels, however, that they can be smart machines! He even built an intelligent robot with sensors to search out an avoid objects. The robot stands about 33 inches tall. His ideas for this and most projects come from reading books and magazines. ... and a lot of trial and error." – The Everyone Can Build a Robot Book, by Kendra Bonnett and Gene Oldfield, 1984.

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T.A.P.C.A.R. Tone Activated and Program Controlled Automatic Robot, by Jonathan T. Kaplan (1976). “Mobile, programmable, electro-mechanical/electronic personal robot; contains 15 movement programs.” – The Robot Exhibit, New York, NY.

"When beginning a project, Jonathan starts with the problem itself – what he wants the robot to do. He is usually uncertain what elements will go into producing the desired result. Once the problem is outlined, he breaks it down into a series of smaller processes until he is left with problems he can solve. He then tackles the individual projects, using any device that meets his needs. He solves the control aspects (electronics) first because they are more abstract problems and involve more creativity. "If you don't understand the theory and control aspects," he warns, "the mechanical part will never come together." Jonathan did not have a lot of help on his projects. He encourages other robot builders "to explore ideas and pursue them, even if there is no one around to help you, and by all means follow your own imagination." – The Everyone Can Build a Robot Book, by Kendra Bonnett and Gene Oldfield, 1984.

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Bubble Bot (1978) by Jerome Hamlin, Comro Inc., New York, NY. “It’s handy having spaghetti spoons for hands,” says ComRo’s Bubble Bot. Bubble Bot is a mobile tele-operated personal robot, able to ‘speak’ via a microphone. The lower photo shows builder Jerry Hamlin with Bubble Bot and Bumpy.

“Jerome Hamlin, an independent filmmaker and TV producer, progressed from building model aeroplanes to building robots. He made his first show robot, Bumpy, when he was hoping to get a job building robots for the movie The Empire Strikes Back. The producers of the movie didn't buy Bumpy, but Hamlin was hooked on robots. He built others such as Bubble Bot, a remote-controlled puppet that moves its lips, hands, and arms and wags its head. Soon Hamlin was in business building robot props for movies and TV. But he had ideas for some “real” self-controlled robots, too. Along with ComRo I, the first general purpose household robot, he produced a pet robot “dog” named Wires. Hamlin hopes that his newest household robot, the ComRo TOT, will be a big seller, but Wires has been discontinued. “I sold several through the Neiman-Marcus catalog,” he says, “but they weren’t cost effective. They went for $650 each, but they cost me more than $400 to build – not including labor! Of course, they’d be cheaper if they were mass produced.” ” – The Robots Are Here, Dr Alvin Silverstein and Virginia N Silverstein.

“He inherited a love of invention from his father, a rocket scientist who worked on Saturn V, among other projects. Hamlin earned a degree in philosophy from Yale, then invented an inline skate in 1967, and built a robotics business in the 1970s, eventually making a computer-controlled domestic robot – the world’s first – that was sold by luxury department store Neiman Marcus.” – Steam man meets dinofish, Muskoka Life, Feb 2012.

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Smart Rabbit Robot (1983) by William R. Dodd Jr., Hobby Robot Co., Hazlehurst, GA. “Smart Rabbit robot kits are compatible with several brands of personal computers. The robot is 22” tall and weighs 25 pounds. It has a humanoid shape; arms move on the more expensive models.” – The Everyone Can Build a Robot Book, by Kendra Bonnett and Gene Oldfield.

“Meet the Smart Rabbit from Hobby Robot. The only household robot with upgradable, transportable electronics and software to a full-size, man-rated domestic robot. And you can get yours for $329.95. Smart Rabbit is plug compatible with the Timex/Sinclair and Commodore series, and will interface with most other micros, including the TRS-80 color computer, ATARI 400/800 and Apple II/IIE. Software can be written in basic, and each kit comes with development software on a cassette for easy programming.” – Hobby Robot Co.

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ComRo I and Wires by Jerome Hamlin (1981), ComRo Inc., New York, NY. This mobile programmable talking personal robot has a handy vacuum cleaner accesssory. It even comes with its own radio-controlled pet, called 'Wires', with its own pet-carrier. "A bit more utilitarian than robots serving drinks or selling products is Jerome Hamlin's ComRo I. This robot made its debut in the latest Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalog. It operates two ways, by hand-held remote control, or by a programmable microcomputer in the robot's head. ComRo I could make life a little easier with its built-in vacuum cleaner, wireless telephone, digital clock, black and white TV, and manipulator arm that can lift up to 10 pounds. The price for such ease, however, is $15,000. But its purpose really isn't to make life easier, says Mr. Hamlin, who built ComRo I in an abandoned garage. ''It's basically a toy – more recreational than practical.'' So far, Hamlin has sold two ComRo I's to Japan and one to Saudi Arabia. The product may be more technologically advanced than the other robots, but its sales seem to be trailing in the dust."

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Bumpy by Jerome Hamlin (1978), ComRo Inc., New York, NY. Bumpy is an early ComRo prototype, two-legged and with caterpillar tracks for feet. In 1984, Bumpy joined a gathering of some 160 robots for 'The Robot Exhibit: History, Fantasy and Reality,’’ held at the at American Craft Museum 2, West 45th Street, on the Avenue of the Americas. Speaking of wastebaskets, ‘’Don't you think that a lot of people are afraid of robots?'' Mr. Hamlin replied that a couple of movie characters had changed that. ''Robby the Robot in 'Forbidden Planet' started to crack the friendliness barrier,'' he said. ''Then R2D2 smashed it.'' Robby, it should be remembered, has a vaguely human shape undiminished by its slot-machine workings. R2D2 looks more like a mobile wastebasket. Mr. Hamlin sees a trend there: ''As robots become more functional people won't care what they look like. But for now robots are almost like pets.'' – PAST AND PRESENT ROBOTS GATHER FOR EXHIBITION by David Dunlap, The New York Times, Jan 12, 1984.

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DC-Prober by Robert Profeta (1979), Vineland and Millville in Cumberland County, New Jersey. "Robert Profeta of Vineland, a 21-year-old student at Cumberland County College who has built ''DC- Prober,'' is not a craftsman in the ordinary sense. DC-Prober is an amiable robot with many useful skills, in addition to eye appeal. His credibility as a personal sentry is reinforced by hefty shoulders and a suit of Air Force blue. Sometimes, his eyes light up in your presence, but if you shouldn't be there, he can send out an alarm. In creating DC-Prober, Mr. Profeta had to call upon traditional building talents and be mindful of design. Moreover, like others who have designed prototypes for experimental robots, he had to concern himself with what now is recognized as ''the esthetics of organization.'' Usually, DC (it means just what it ought to: ''direct current'') sits in a bedroom of the apartment that the young inventor shares with Michael Profeta, his father. ... Like most other personal robots, DC-Prober has humanoid proportions and parts analagous to a head, arms and body. Actually, he represents the culmination of skills that Mr. Profeta began developing when he made his first robot for a ninth-grade science project. ... DC-Prober's dome-shaped head was made from a clear plastic terrarium painted on the inside to retain its sheen on the surface. Originally, his cylindrical body was a lard can. Sleeves of clothes-dryer hose cover metal arms ending in claws which, when Mr. Profeta pushes a button on a small control box, rather crudely pick up objects from the floor. When the robot is placed on one side of a doorway, he can be programmed so that his electric eye will activate lights and a buzzer if an intruder approaches." – ROBOTS AS PRODUCTS OF IMAGINATION, Patricia Malarcher, The New York Times, Feb. 19, 1984.