Retro Thing

Mike Rivamonte's Robots

Allow me to introduce Benton. He's the brainchild of designer Mike Rivamonte. Unfortunately, Benton simply stands around looking distinguished -- he's a poseur, not a combat-hardened battlebot.

Rivamonte's obsession with technology started as a boy. He explains, "My work is greatly influenced by my family. As kids, my mom would take us to countless antique stores, curio shops and flea markets. During these 'field trips,' I marveled over dusty scientific instruments, phonographs and other obscure mechanical devices. I developed a deep appreciation and interest of inventions and history. I picked up the love of making things from my father and uncles. My dad built our first color television set, all kinds of radios and our first computer. He could and would build anything. We constructed many things together. My uncles, one a science teacher the other a carpenter, fueled my inquisitive, experimental nature and appreciation for the finer points of craftsmanship.

These sculptures reflect the imagination and influences of my childhood. They are my interpretation of robots and spacemen capable of flight and mischief. Rare and collectible objects from all over are transformed to create expressive unique characters. Each piece is constructed so that they appear as natural and lifelike as possible. I invite the viewer to enjoy their individual personalities and have as much fun observing the pieces as I do creating them."

Benton and his companions are created from all manner of vintage objects, ranging from old trolley fare boxes to vintage movie cameras and tube radios. You can rest assured that if I were Supreme Ruler of the world, I would squander billions to bring an army of benevolent Bentons to life... hunger and world peace be damned.

Mike Rivamonte's Robots [via Dinosaurs & Robots]
More Rivamonte robots on Flickr

R.I.P. Bob May - The Man Inside The Robot

We lost actor Bob May this weekend. He had worked for years as an actor and stuntman in Hollywood, but his most famous role was undoubtedly as the man inside the robot suit in the 60's sci-fi classic "Lost In Space". Studio legend has it that he got the job because he was on the Fox lot the day they were looking for someone who could fit the confines of the elaborate costume. He got the job, though he did not voice the robot. That job fell to Lost In Space series narrator Dick Tufeld.

His first "acting" job was at 2 years old in his grandfather Chic Johnson's infamous Bradway comedy revue; Hellzapoppin'. Of all the roles over a long career, he cited his tenure as the robot as his favorite.  He even referred to his cramped costume as "home away from home". Because the suit was so difficult to remove, he'd stay in it during breaks in filming. Co-stars often joked about the cigarette smoke they frequently spotted rising out of the robot.  May was 69.

Sultry Steambot Snaps

We first wrote about Strenco's gorgeous German steam robot in May 2006. However, Technabob recently posted some gorgeous photos of this stunning water-powered automaton that we just had to share. Only 300 limited edition Dampfroboters were manufactured, powered by specially adapted Wilesco steam engines. It'll cost you € 399 to own one of these 35 cm tall mechanical monsters. Just remember, steam is hot.

Follow the jump for more gratuitous steambot shots.

Atari 2600 Controls A Robot

After my Atari 2600 sent hordes of blocky robots after me in countless games, I shouldn't be so surprised that Atari was working on a real robot that could be the henchman of the humble brains of the VCS. The image above is a Polaroid of a mini Androman (later renamed Atariman) that would interact with a 2600 game. The moves you made in the game would control the actual Androman robot's course on a 3D map. You scored points for the fastest and most efficient programs.

You may recognize this robot as part of a series of robots developed by Nolan Bushnell's (Atari's founder) Androbot company. Androbots were designed as educational add-ons to Apple II computers, but eventually Atari computers could control them as well. I don't believe that this mini version ever existed as a retail product (the photo is from Atari's prototyping lab), but it sounds like it could have been a viable product considering the amazing feats the 2600 is still performing today.

It's been a long time since I've seen a robot programming kit packaged as fun and educational. The only thing I can think of outside of Lego's Mindstorms is the cheesy robot that came with the mid 80's Nintendo system. Am I alone in still wanting a home robot to be my best friend? I just don't see myself snuggling up to my Roomba.

Thanks to the Atari Museum for uncovering the photo.

related:
HE-RObot: the next generation of Heathkit HERO robots
Tomy Omnibot 2000 - your very own household assistant
Rob Fulop's Final Atari Game To Be Released 

Unimate Puma 500: Vintage Robotics

The Engineering EXPO has been a prestigious annual event held at Tampa, Florida’s University of South Florida since 1974. Sponsored by USF’s College of Engineering, the event is held during February’s National Engineering Week. In 1981, my father was chosen as part of one of only three student teams to present projects at the EXPO.

Robotics was considered an exciting wave of the future in those days, so Dad’s team created a robotics project. Using an Apple IIe, the team programmed a Unimate Puma 500 robot arm. With no real model to work from, Dad’s group brainstormed and developed the project from concept through implementation.

The robot arm had two claw attachments which were programmed to rotate on their own. The robot first inserted a bolt into an electric screwdriver attached to a table. It then retrieved two blocks of wood, one at a time, each containing a pre-drilled hole. It placed the wood blocks onto the bolt, and then placed a nut onto the end. Pressure on the nut activated the screwdriver for tightening. Finally, the robot picked up the entire assembly and placed it onto a conveyor belt.

Although the project was simple, it utilized highly advanced technology for the times. As a small child, I was flabbergasted by the ease with which the robot did the things my dad programmed it to do.

A year later, EPCOT Center opened at Walt Disney World. One of the attractions, World of Motion, featured a show at the end called “The Bird and the Robot.” In the show, an animatronic bird interacted with a robot arm. I couldn’t believe the robot that Disney selected was the Unimate Puma 500, the same type that Dad had programmed just a year before. It made me feel like my family was truly on the cutting edge of technology!

Incidentally, you can still buy a descendant of the Puma 500 today. Unimation was acquired by Swiss manufacturer Stäubli in 1988 and they produce robots capable of lifting from 1 to 100 kg with a variety of special-purpose attachments.

And - if you have deep pockets - you can pick up a Puma 500 on eBay.

R.A.D. Robots

The concept of robot as servant and protector seems perfectly represented by Toyshack's R.A.D. robot series. The original 1.0 version truly captured what people wanted robots to do in the '80s - shoot foam rockets and bring them Tab. By the mid '90s, subsequent versions R.A.D. 2.0 and R.A.D. 2.0 blue continued the tradition. Here is a great commercial for a R.A.D. 2.0.

The first R.A.D.s could bend at the waist, open their arms, and pick up items for you. If your sound mode was on, they would announce what they were doing. They could also carry the requisite robot tray just in case you needed two cans of root beer and some Doritos. R.A.D.s were controlled by either voice or remote and they did have decent mobility.

They could also function as mini-security systems, demanding a password from intruders and shooting foam rockets at any loud noises or lingering threats. Perhaps their most disturbing feature was the "spy" mode, which meant you could use your R.A.D. to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. I can only imagine the fascinating conversations the early '90s R.A.D.s overheard my friends and I participating in - we were probably discussing whether or not one of the New Kids on the Block was going to be marry me.

Further incarnations emerged as the R.A.D. 3.0 and 4.0, showing much more rounded styling. If I remember correctly, they sadly eliminated that bend-at-the-waist feature that allowed the robot to pick up your laundry. They did however add some new features like more sophisticated voice-recognition and an increased vocabulary.

In any case, what I find most interesting about the R.A.D.s, especially the earlier versions, is that they are so tempting to use as a base for hack projects. I included links below of people doing their own R.A.D. hacks in case you want to check them out. Now that I'm older, I am kind of hoping someone will program one to mix cocktails.

Special thanks to The Old Robot's Web Site

related:
Stephen's R.A.D. Hack, Project Roland's R.A.D. Hack, Guy Robotic's R.A.D. Hack, Atomic Fireball's R.A.D. Hack, and a stack of R.A.D. Manuals

Steampunk'd!

It wasn't too long ago that I might have seen images like this and taken them to be historically accurate.

Behold the Automatic Man!

I mean, it looks authentic right? Especially when it appears on a website detailing the complicated history of The Automatic Man's creation. If you visit The Gallery of Victorian Robots you can read all about how this glorious automaton dragged carriages through the streets with his impressive strength in 1900. I personally think his most impressive strength is his ability to look exactly like Daniel Day Lewis's character in There Will Be Blood.

In any case, one might believe this invention to be real, so real in fact, that they might actually post it on a blog as truth. Which, I'll be honest, was what I did! I got Steampunk'd! I actually believed that this thing existed! Thank goodness a kind reader pointed out my mistake before too many people saw my blunder. It was a surreal experience frought at first with mortification, followed by fascination. I mean, yes, it's horrifying to find out that you have believed a completely made-up invention to be real, but at the same time, I was impressed. Who are these people that create "alternate histories" and merge the modern day world with that of Jules Verne and Victrolas? I don't think it's all about tricking people into believing fake machines existed. It seems to be an entire artistic endeavor. To get a sense of what I'm talking about, here are some amazing Steampunk creations...

Tomy Animal Robots

Hello, friends! My name is Caitlin Biljan Wezeman and I am honored to be a guest writer here at Retro Thing. I am fairly obsessed with robots, so much of my writing involves them. I respect the online community here and I hope I can entertain you with some nostalgic finds. 

Ah, the robot aisle at Toys 'R Us circa 1985. Also known as Christmas/birthday wishlist heaven. I used to stare at the robots in this aisle and mentally note which ones I would picture as I blew out my birthday candles. One year, I was lucky enough to receive both Hootbot and Spotbot, two popular Tomy robots that resembled, you guessed it, an owl and a dog. Hootbot would flap its wings, flash its eyes, clack its talons, and hoot. Watch Hootbot in action here...

Spotbot, on the other hand, would wag his head and tail, spin and zip around, and "bark." You could also move his ears and open his mouth. His incredibly realistic barking can be witnessed here...

Rounding out the collection was a cat named Kitbot, which came in brown and white or pink and white. Santa, to his detriment, failed to bring me Kitbot, but Hootbot and Spotbot are still tucked away safely in my garage next to my dusty Casio keyboard. While their 20-year-old plastic is slowly disintegrating, I am definitely keeping them. Do you know why? Because we had a chimney fire in 1987, and in that moment, when I could take only one armload from my bedroom and run - guess what I grabbed?

related:
The Old Robots Web Site
Jeff's Robots

Bennett Robots Invade Brooklyn

"These robot sculptures, created by Gordon Bennett, are made from a mixture of found objects which are both old and new. The parts are found in various places including garbage dumps, basements, construction sites, and garage sales. They are inspired by Norman Bel Geddes and Raymond Loewy whose visions of the 'Modern Age' helped shape industrial design of the 40s and 50s."

The robots are on display at City Foundry, 365 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. RT reader Jack Szwergold visited City Foundry several years ago and snapped a great flickr set, including the photo above. Prices for these intricate handmade sculptures range from $750 to $6000. You can also purchase a 24" x 36" poster featuring 30 Bennett creations for $50 including postage.

Bennett Robot Works

Chrome Dalek Invites Cylons To Bring It

We've always got robots on the brain, so it should be no surprise to see our friends the Daleks again.  Strictly speaking Daleks are cyborgs not robots, but they remain cyborgs that are unreasonable and grumpy enough to match the meanest robot you've ever met.  With the blockbuster return of Doctor Who to the airwaves, the quality of tie-in merchandise has gone through the roof.  There was always a trickle of toys and collectibles (many were surprisingly shabby) for show's original TV run, but never have these classic characters looked as good as now.

Product Enterprises concentrates on models from the first 26 years of the show, and in this case models the Doctor's deadliest enemy as they appeared in their oft-forgotten 1960's feature film debut.  Movie Daleks have a claw arm rather than the famous toilet plunger, and have a more robust build overall.  This impressive 12" remote control Dalek model is no exception.  The spaceship-shaped remote controls the Dalek as its head scans left & right all while barking out phrases from the movie.

The chrome version above was a special edition of only a thousand, while the gold version pictured here has only 49 comrades in its ranks.  You can get a variety of other livery colors (sorry... "colours"), but expect to pay a premium price as this is more of a model than a toy.  Daddy Davros must be quite proud of his chromium kiddies.

Product Enterprises page featuring these Daleks

related:

Life-size Dalek models
Learn more about the 1960's Doctor Who movie
Life-size Lost In Space robot

Guy Robots Secretly Plot The Invasion of Earth

Each unique Guy Robot is hand crafted from bits and pieces rescued from aviation surplus suppliers, auto salvage yards, microwave equipment recyclers, plumbing and refrigeration parts bins and even the neighbor's appealing trash.

Their creator Rich Muller insists, "Guy Robots are not toys: they do not walk or talk or give legal advice. They are not dangerous and will not bite, kick, pinch, or emit ozone. Guy Robots will not -- unless repeatedly provoked -- harass your dog or cat. They are unique pieces of handcrafted art, meant to be enjoyed visually and displayed prominently. While requiring only minimal care and feeding, your Guy Robot is guaranteed to provoke discussion, spark new ideas, and generally contribute good vibrations to your life."

We all know the truth, though -- these little guys have their transceivers focused completely on world domination. Each Guy Robot comes complete with a little back-story to deceive its human owner. Prices range from $500 to $1475 for Ollie, an 11" tall 'bot built to take heaps of imaginary abuse.

Meet Rich Muller's Guy Robots

Robots, robots everywhere!

Ron Browne contacted us recently with a link to his quirky little corner of the Interweb: "The Old Robots Web Site is a collection of robots from the 1980's and 1990's. It is pictures rich for a collector, and of historical interest to many people." I'm familiar with the Heathkit Hero and Tomy Omnibot series, but was flabbergasted to discover literally dozens of other very nifty models lurking in the site's archives. Heck, there are nearly 60 Omnibots listed.

I asked Ron how the site came to be. He explained, "I have been always interested in robots and had to put them away to make a living. Now that I am retired the passion has re-emerged. The robot J.A.K.E. is my own design in and from the 1980's. The web site came about when I went looking for information on robots of that era and found very little had survived. My hope is that everyone copies as much from this site and uses it on their own. I have made it user friendly with ease to copy so that the information doesn't get lost again."

Definitely worth a visit, but don't blame me if it leads to obsessive collecting.

The Old Robot's Web Site

HE-RObot: The Next Generation of Heathkit HERO Robots

Heathkit is back with a brand new personal robot platform dubbed the HE-RObot. Technology has advanced considerably since the original HERO line was offered in the 1980s, so this blue beast features a Core 2 Duo processor as its soul, along with Windows XP Pro to enable its robotic delusions of grandeur.

Heathkit released four different programmable models in the 1980s, and they proved quite popular with hobbyists and educators. Just imagine R2D2 crossed with a mid-1980s Epson dot-matrix printer and you'll have a fairly good idea what they looked like. HERO Jr. (right) included a 32K ROM of "behavioral utilities" to control sensors, movement and even speech.

The modern HE-RObot is a rebadged version of the Model 914 PC-Bot by Canadian manufacturer White Box Robotics. It features multiple IR sensors (5 in the bumper and 3 in the drive bay), a Logitech webcam, CD/CD-RW drive, speakers, precision stepper motors, a 12 V battery pack and four LED headlights. It's capable of manual or autonomous navigation. The robot's software is based around an extended version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, which ensures that many programmers will be able to code for the platform "out of the box." Hopefully, there will be a slightly less demanding control app developed for non-programmers.

Until now, the most advanced robots available to many of us in the 21st century have been Roombas - glorified electric floor mops. I long for my own C-3PO to manage the household or a phalanx of battle droids to pillage backwards solar systems, and I'm hoping that the HE-RObot will be the gateway to my dastardly plan for galactic domination.

HE-RObot will be available in early 2008, and I'm guessing it'll cost around the same as the Model 914 PC-Bot, which starts at $5595.

The HE-RObot at Heathkit Educational Systems

The Model 914 PC-Bot at White Box Robotics

Your Very Own Life-Size Cylon Centurion

You might recognize Fred Barton as the guy behind the brilliant reproductions of Forbidden Planet's "Robby The Robot" and "B-9" from Lost In Space.

It turns out his crew has been busy building an army of life-sized Cylons, including a platoon of chrome Centurions from the original series, along with the much deadlier looking matte 'Toasters' from the re-imagined series. The modern 7-foot tall Centurions are created using the actual CG files from the television series, ensuring that they're the most realistic robotic overloards you're likely to encounter this side of Caprica.

The vintage 'chrome disco toaster' replica is based upon one of the Cylon costumes that appeared on-screen with Dirk Benedict and Richard Hatch almost 30 years ago. It measures a mere 6 ft tall (I guess the new Centurions get more vitamins) and is coated with a "new space-age chromium finish that does this classic warrior justice. Gone is the 70's disco look of cheap ultra-reflective plating and thin vacuum-formed armor pieces hooked and looped to a guy wearing faded ribbed tights."

The site doesn't list prices, but expect your very own Cylon to cost a pretty penny. For  comparison, the company offers a fiberglass reproduction of Maria from Metropolis for $7,500.

Visit Fred Barton Productions for more...

Who Says Robots Can't Be Cute?

The 21st century has been a bit of a disappointment as far as robots go. A Roomba cleaning robot just doesn't compare to the fun you could have with C-3PO or B9 from Lost in Space. Still, I haven't given up hope. And neither has artist Lawrence Northey.

His whimsical robot statues are an irresistible mix of polished brass, aluminum, copper and glass. They come across as the perfect cross between Wallace & Gromit, Futurama and old-school Cylons. They're not cheap, with ray guns starting at around $650 and full characters selling for over $2000. Now if only someone could bring one of these little guys to life.

Lawrence Northey's Robotart [via notcot.org]