Elektro, the Oldest U.S. Robot

Roland Piquepaille writes "If you happen to be around Ohio this coming fall, don't miss an exhibit at the Mansfield Memorial Museum featuring the 7-foot-tall Elektro, the oldest robot in the U.S.. "Elektro is the only survivor of a group of eight robots created by Westinghouse in Mansfield between 1931 to 1940 for several hundred thousand dollars each," according to the article from the Plain Dealer, Cleveland. Back in 1939, Elektro was able to walk, talk, raise and lower his arms, turn his head and move his mouth as he spoke. It used a 78-rpm record player to simulate conversation and had a vocabulary of more than 700 words. It even appeared in a long-time forgotten movie, "Sex Kittens Go to College," also known as "The Beauty and the Robot." Primidi.com has an overview containing other details, references and pictures."

Comments

Movie warning

[nizo]

At first glance it looks like the movie mentioned in the article (Sex Kittens Go to College) is a nerd's dream come true, containing both sex and robots! However, upon looking at the reviews at imdb, the first one I saw was:

[Watching this movie was] Like watching Judge Judy do aerobics in a thong

Ahh thanks so much for that wonderful imagery.

Re:Technology and sex

[lucabrasi999]

Why does sex and technology mix so well? Just think of the internet.

There's sex on the internet? Wow! You learn something new every day.

Elektro's best function in two words

[Nom du Keyboard]

Two words that best describe Elektro's most valuable function in the creation of all future robots.

Prior Art.

"Hel...lo. I...am...Elektro. I...am...prior...art...for...all...robots...to... come. Your...patent...is...invaild. Ha...ha...ha."

Awesome-O

[Natchswing]

I am Awesome-O. I generate movie scripts for the MPAA.