1933 – “Tillie the Technocrat” Robot – (American)

"Tillie the Technocrat" robot, most likely inspired by Westinghouse's Katrina Van Televox of 1930. Although not a humanoid robot, like Katrina, the "robot" is anthropomorphised by a 2-dimensional cut-out figure.  Caption: Junior High School Pupils Construct Robot 3 Feb 1933 During their spare time, pupils of May Cooke Junior High School in Philadelphia have constructed …

1932 – “The Iron Man” Robot – (American)

A 7 foot robot nicknamed The Iron Man, used to promote coming attractions. The Ben Ali Theatre was located at 121 East Main, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. 12/7/1932, Image Source: Lafayette Studios collection #1444a. "The Iron Man", a static robot, would name all the forthcoming movies when asked. It currently unknown if this was done via electronics or a remote …

1934 – MACAZ Robot – Ángel Surís Busto (Cuba)

Macaz – Cuba's first robot that, it's claimed, could "walk" (roll), turn, talk, smoke, shake hands, and can get slowly upright. Made of aluminum, iron, brass, lead, copper and weighing 350 lbs. It's possibly the first mobile "robot" made since the coinage of the word, although there were other mobile mechanical men that appeared before 1934. English translation of an article …

1958 – Voice-controlled Lawn Mower – Concept (American)

Image Source: Corbis. Electricity may do your yard work. One day, by simply speaking into a microphone, you may be able to command an electric "gardener" to mow the grass, cultivate the flower beds, trim the hedge and do other yard work. And all the while you'll be relaxing in the shade. Power companies build …

1959 – Lawn Mower (Concept) – Arthur Radebaugh (American)

Arthur Radebaugh was a futurist illustrator, airbrush artist, and industrial designer. He produced a significant body of work for automotive industry advertisements. He was noted for his artistic experimentation with fluorescent paint under black light, an interest that stemmed from his design work for the U.S. Army. From 1958 to 1962 he produced the syndicated …