195x – “Tati” the Cybernetic Dog – owned by Daniel Dennett (built in France)

From Daniel C. Dennett's Home Page http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/incbios/dennettd/dennettd.htm [Mar08] REWARD for information! I found it in an antique shop in Paris. It was made in France in the 1950s, so I have named it Tati, in honor of Jacques Tati (whose classic film Mon Oncle captures the same era with the same ingenious and humorous use …

1979-80 HEBOT I, II & III – John FitzGerald (British)

Hobby Electronics magazine (November 1979-January 1980) describes an autonomous robot. HEBOT is a free roaming robot which can negotiate obstacles, steer towards a light (infra red) and follow a wire (A.C. current) around your home. HEBOT emits a squeak when it detects light or following a collision. Control is transferred to the wire following circuitry …

1974-99 KYTRON – Rudolf Mittelmann (German)

Partial extract from Mittelmann's  homepage – see here for full description of all KYTRONs. What is a KYTRON? A KYTRON is a small autonomous vehicle. Its name comes from KYBERNETIK (German for cybernetics) and ELEKTRONIK (German for electronics). Another way to define a KYTRON would be as a small electro-mechanical device mimicking some aspects of …

1979 – Robot Pet – Frank DaCosta (American)

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN WORKING ROBOT PET BY FRANK DaCOSTA TAB BOOKS Inc. BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, PA. 17214 This step-by-step guide to creating a unique robot of your own, from a boxful of components to finished, working reality, takes you through all the steps needed to construct and train your own electronic, microprocessor-based pet that …