| Elektro is a robot built by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in its Mansfield, Ohio, facility between 1937 and 1938. Seven feet tall (2.1 m), weighing 265 pounds (120 kg), 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. Elektro's body consisted of a steel gear, cam and motor skeleton covered by an aluminum skin. His photoelectric "eyes" could distinguish red and green light. 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 to humans.
Several minutes of color sound footage of Elektro in action can be seen at 33:55 in the movie, "The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair", a fully-produced hour-long movie made by Westinghouse, which showcased the Westinghouse pavilion. |
