1882 – King-Foo (King Fu) – Unknown (Chinese)

The Maitland Mercury 3 Jun 1882 p5 AN AUTOMATON SWINDLE. A strange prosecution for fraud has just been concluded at Vienna, the defendant being the proprietor of an automaton known as "King-Foo." The whole Court, from Kaiser Francis Joseph to the young princesses, has been delighted with King-Foo's marvellous performances, and the journals have been …

Robots and Pretty Girls (may not be suitable for children)

What is it about Robots and Pretty Girls? Are they omnipotent? masculine? the ultimate female partner? I've also observed, maybe in the age of 'political correctness', that we no longer see these types of images. See Part 2a of Robots and Girls (Pulp covers) here. See Part 2b of Robots and Girls (Pulp covers) here. See Part 3 …

1981 – (R4) Arfur the Robot Dog – Steve Brooks (British)

Arfur the Robot Dog back in 1981 having his 15 minutes of fame. Arfur, the tin dog created by Steve Brooks of east London, approaches a lamppost, March 1981. Brooks spent nine months and almost £2,000 creating his unusual pet. (Photo by Stanley Lewis/BIPs/Getty Images) Steve Brooks of east London with his electric robot dog. …

1902 – Telekine (Telekino) – Leonardo Torres Quevedo (Spanish)

THE TELEKINE (or Telekino in Spanish) Torres Quevedo started to develop the idea of a remote control around 1901 or 1902, as a way of testing his airships without risking human lives. He was the first person to lay down the modern remote control operation principles, which he expressed in a prototype that he patented …

1898 – Telautomaton – Nikola Tesla (Serbian/American)

Tesla – The Electric Mind 2-2 Model Model Patent number: 613809 (see full patent here) Filing date: Jul 1, 1898 Issue date: Nov 1898   In September 1898, Tesla demonstrates his radio-controlled torpedo boat at Madison Square Garden in Ney York City. (Popular Science July 1956). From Miessner's book "On the Early History of Radio Guidance", published in …