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Elektro the Moto-Man, one of the world's first celebrity robots, was designed and built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1938. After captivating crowds at the 1939 World Fair, Elektro was sent to Hollywood, but eventually ended up in storage. Now restored, Elektro is on permanent display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Ohio, although there is a property dispute over the robot.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Current location | Mansfield Memorial Museum, Mansfield, Ohio |
| Height | 7 feet |
| Weight | 250-265 pounds |
| Functions | Walking, talking, smoking, blowing up balloons, moving arms and head, distinguishing colours, counting on fingers |
| Vocabulary | 700-77 words |
| Power source | Unclear |
| Built by | J.M. Barnett, Jack Weeks Sr., Harold Gorsuch, and other engineers at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation |
| Built for | 1939 New York World's Fair |
| Debut | 1938 |
| Current owner | Unclear; the robot is the subject of a property dispute |
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What You'll Learn
- Elektro the Moto-Man is on display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Mansfield, Ohio
- The robot was built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Ohio between 1937 and 1938
- Elektro is currently the subject of a property dispute involving multiple parties
- The robot made its debut at the 1939 World's Fair in New York
- Elektro was a sensation in New York, with reporters calling him a glamour robot
Elektro the Moto-Man is on display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Mansfield, Ohio
Elektro the Moto-Man is currently on permanent display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Mansfield, Ohio. The robot was built by J.M. Barnett, Jack Weeks Sr., Harold Gorsuch, and other engineers at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's Mansfield, Ohio, facility between 1937 and 1938.
Elektro stands seven feet tall and weighs 265 pounds. He is a humanoid robot with a steel gear, cam, and motor skeleton covered by an aluminium skin. Elektro could walk and talk, and he could also smoke cigarettes, blow up balloons, and move his head and arms. His photoelectric "eyes" could distinguish between red and green light.
After his brief time in the spotlight, Elektro was packed into crates and sent back to Mansfield, where he was all but forgotten. Eventually, his body parts were located and purchased by Jack Weeks, the son of a Westinghouse engineer who had helped build Elektro. Weeks reassembled the robot, and in 2004, Elektro went on display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum, where he remains today.
The Mansfield Memorial Museum first opened to the public in 1889. The museum's director, Scott Schaut, has accumulated a vast archive of material related to the development of robotics at Westinghouse. Schaut has also written a book, "Robots of Westinghouse, 1924–Today," which includes numerous photos and promotional materials documenting Elektro's history.
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The robot was built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Ohio between 1937 and 1938
Elektro the Moto-Man is currently on permanent display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Mansfield, Ohio. The robot was built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Ohio between 1937 and 1938. Westinghouse Electric Corporation was based in Mansfield, Ohio, and it was here, at the company's facility, that Elektro was created.
The robot was designed and built by a team of Westinghouse engineers, including J.M. Barnett, Jack Weeks Sr., Harold Gorsuch, and others. This team of engineers had already created several other robots, including Katrina van Televox and Rastus. However, Elektro was their ultimate creation, and he soon became their most famous.
Standing seven feet tall and weighing 265 pounds, Elektro was a true humanoid robot with a steel gear, cam, and motor skeleton covered by an aluminium skin. He had the ability to walk and talk, and he could even smoke cigarettes. His photoelectric "eyes" allowed him to distinguish between red and green lights, and he could respond to voice commands with a vocabulary of around 700 words.
After his debut at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, Elektro became a sensation, captivating crowds with his futuristic abilities. He then went on tour across the country, showcasing the possibilities of electricity and robotics to a fascinated public. Today, Elektro has found a permanent home at the Mansfield Memorial Museum, where his remarkable story continues to inspire and intrigue visitors.
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Elektro is currently the subject of a property dispute involving multiple parties
Elektro the Moto-Man, a robot built by J.M. Barnett, Jack Weeks Sr., and other engineers at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Mansfield, Ohio, is currently on display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Mansfield, Ohio. The robot, which made its debut at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, has had a colourful history, including a brief stint in Hollywood. However, after falling into obscurity, Elektro was eventually forgotten and ended up in storage.
Today, Elektro has found a permanent home at the Mansfield Memorial Museum, but it is currently the subject of a property dispute involving multiple parties. The dispute centres around ownership claims made by Weeks' family, Schaut's heirs, and the Mansfield Memorial Museum. Jack Weeks, the son of a Westinghouse engineer who helped build Elektro, purchased the robot's body, which had been stored in various locations over the decades, including a basement and a Westinghouse truck. Meanwhile, the robot's head was discovered in a Mansfield house purchased by Weeks' brother.
The Mansfield Memorial Museum, directed by Scott Schaut, has been instrumental in preserving and displaying Elektro. Schaut has accumulated a vast archive of material related to Westinghouse's robotics development and continues to seek out additional artefacts. He has also created a replica of Elektro, using the original plans, to demonstrate how the robot works. The museum itself has a rich history, having first opened to the public in 1889 and reopening in 1999 under Schaut's curatorship.
The current dispute over Elektro's ownership involves multiple stakeholders, each with their own connections to the robot's history. Weeks' family, as descendants of one of the robot's builders, and Schaut's heirs, given Schaut's role in preserving and promoting Elektro's legacy, both have strong claims to the robot. At the same time, the Mansfield Memorial Museum, as the current custodian of Elektro and the institution responsible for its restoration and display, also has a valid interest in maintaining possession of the historic robot.
The outcome of this dispute remains to be seen, but it highlights the complex nature of property ownership, especially when it involves unique artefacts with cultural and historical significance, such as Elektro the Moto-Man.
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The robot made its debut at the 1939 World's Fair in New York
Elektro the Moto-Man made its debut at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. It was designed and built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Ohio between 1937 and 1938. Elektro stands seven feet tall and weighs 265 pounds. It is a humanoid robot with a steel gear, cam, and motor skeleton covered by an aluminium skin. Elektro's eyes" were photoelectric and could distinguish between red and green light. It could walk, talk, smoke, blow up balloons, and move its head and arms. Elektro's vocabulary was around 700 words, which it spoke using a 78-rpm record player.
At the 1939 World's Fair, Elektro was a sensation. Reporters described it as a "glamour robot" and compared it to "a streamlined model of a man from Mars". Elektro performed tricks for six million fairgoers, including walking forward and backward, counting on its fingers, and smoking a cigarette. It could also respond to voice commands delivered via a telephone handset connected to its chest. Each command set up vibrations that were converted into electrical impulses, controlling the relays that operated its 11 motors.
After its debut, Elektro was paraded around North America as a promotional tool for Westinghouse throughout the 1950s. It even had a brief time in Hollywood. However, Elektro eventually ended up in storage, and its various parts were scattered. Thankfully, all original pieces of Elektro were eventually located and restored.
Today, Elektro is on permanent display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Mansfield, Ohio, along with a full-scale copy of Herbert Televox (Westinghouse's first human-form robot) and a replica of Elektro, showing how it looked at the World's Fair before modification in 1957. The robot is currently the subject of a property dispute involving Weeks' family, Schaut's heirs, and the Mansfield Memorial Museum.
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Elektro was a sensation in New York, with reporters calling him a glamour robot
Elektro the Moto-Man was unveiled at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The robot was built by J.M. Barnett, Jack Weeks Sr., Harold Gorsuch, and other engineers at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's Mansfield, Ohio, facility between 1937 and 1938. Elektro is seven feet tall, weighs 265 pounds, and has a humanoid appearance. He captivated crowds with his ability to walk and talk by voice command, smoke cigarettes, blow up balloons, move his head and arms, and speak about 700 words. 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.
In New York, Elektro was a sensation, with reporters calling him a "glamour robot." They described him as a streamlined model of a man from Mars, with over 900 parts, including motors, gears, photoelectric cells, electric relays, and enough wire to encircle the earth. Elektro could do several tricks that no robot had ever done before. He walked forward and backward, counted on his fingers, and smoked a cigarette in front of six million fairgoers. He could distinguish between red and green lights and respond to human voices with a vocabulary of 77 words. "I am a smart fellow," Elektro told the crowds, "as I have a very fine brain."
Elektro represented the possibility of electricity transforming daily life, as many Americans had only recently gained access to electricity in their homes. Westinghouse envisioned a future where each family had a humanoid robot to perform household chores. After his time in the spotlight, Elektro was packed away and sent back to Mansfield, Ohio, his birthplace. He eventually found a home at the Mansfield Memorial Museum, where he is now on permanent display. The museum's director, Scott Schaut, has accumulated a vast archive of material related to Westinghouse's robotics development.
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Frequently asked questions
Elektro the Moto-Man is currently on permanent display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Mansfield, Ohio.
The Mansfield Memorial Museum is a museum in Mansfield, Ohio, that tells the story of African American families in the region from the pre-civil war era to the 1930s. The museum first opened in 1889 but closed until it reopened in 1999.
Elektro is a humanoid robot that could walk, talk, smoke, blow up balloons, move his arms and head, and speak about 700 words using a 78-rpm record player. He could also follow voice commands.
Elektro stands seven feet tall and weighs about 250-265 pounds. He has a steel gear, cam, and motor skeleton covered by an aluminium skin.
