Lost mechanical servant of 1961

In July, 1961, Popular Mechanix brought its readers "a life-size, remote-controlled servomechanical robot built by Vienna engineer Claus Scholz. The MM47 can do almost anything from housework to handling radioactive materials or fighting fires from the inside while the operator stays at a safe distance. The 105-pound plastic robot cost about $760 to build."

Another one lost to the ages. Link

[#1 posted by nanuq , April 5, 2008 4:36 AM]

Dude, Ebay.

[#2 posted by Mark Rowan , April 5, 2008 5:21 AM]

I don't think I'd let my plastic robot fight a fire, even a little one. Not even if that were $760 in today's dollars.

[#3 posted by jahknow , April 5, 2008 7:06 AM]

Somehow, I don't think fighting fires is what that housewife pictured here had in mind...

[#4 posted by Stu Mark , April 5, 2008 7:30 AM]

Dig the painting behind them. Dante-inspired?

[#5 posted by moonracer23 , April 5, 2008 7:43 AM]

Is it me or is that robot eying that housewife lustfully?

[#6 posted by jahknow , April 5, 2008 8:06 AM]

#5 -- I don't think it's just you. This photo has sex all over it -- the house wife's fantasy-answer to all the cheating absentee husbands... like those glorified cheaters fucking their secretaries in AMC's series "Mad Men." I'd even go so far as to say that the robot looks a little black (or at least wearing black-face). This was 1961 after all.

She'll sleep well tonight!

[#7 posted by Cunning , April 5, 2008 11:48 AM]

Bet her name is Kate. Kate or Cindy or Crystal or Candy, Mercedes or Joan, Betty or Brenda, Suzie or Anita or Phoebe or Jack, Jackie-ooooooo.

[#8 posted by Avram , April 5, 2008 2:30 PM]

The way she's holding the magazine, it's like she's trying to block the robot's hideous visage from her field of view.

[#9 posted by Stefan Jones , April 5, 2008 4:07 PM]

"I DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOUR COMMAND MISTRESS . . . HOW CAN I 'POLISH YOUR RUG'? THE FLOOR IS OF SYNTHA- LINOLEUM AND IS NOT CARPETED. IT DOES NOT COMPUTE."

[#10 posted by RJ , April 5, 2008 4:22 PM]

Even with $7000, I imagine you'd be hard-pressed to build a useful humanoid robot. I'm thinking this was either a concept piece or an outright hoax.

On the other hand, over at Instructables, they had a contest to see who could build the coolest robot, using an iRobot device as the base. There were some awfully cool ideas in the bunch, including some household servant bots.

An example:
http://www.instructables.com/id/iRobot-Create-Personal-Home-Robot/

Still not humanoid, though.

[#11 posted by Takuan , April 5, 2008 5:34 PM]

typical. The sexes look at the photo. The immediate male fantasy is the robot is servicing the house-wife. The immediate female fantasy is: "oh good, finally someone else to wash the floor".

[#12 posted by spazzm , April 5, 2008 5:57 PM]

@ #11 Takuan:
No, that's both sexes' fantasy. Women just keep it to themselves.

[#13 posted by viva_la_toast , April 5, 2008 7:23 PM]

@ #11 Takuan:

:-/

[#14 posted by earache , April 6, 2008 3:34 AM]

@ #4 Stu Mark:
"Guernica"-inspired for sure, maybe Dante too.

[#15 posted by magic whiskey , April 6, 2008 5:26 AM]

This is in the family photo album for B166ER, and thus began Man's own demise...

(Animatrix reference there, friends.)

[#16 posted by artistVictoriaC , April 6, 2008 1:37 PM]

Looks like a man in a suit to me.

[#17 posted by Mikey Likes BoingBoing , April 6, 2008 8:29 PM]

#9: LOL!

Mui crappy weekend in so many different ways...at least ending it with a good LOL.

[#18 posted by nehpetsE , April 7, 2008 3:01 PM]

Re: the picture of the robot lighting the lady's cigarette.
My own lady-partner assures me this clearly depicts a post coital smoke.