Did you know Leonardo da Vinci was the first person to ever draw up designs for a humanoid robot? That’s right, one of the world’s greatest thinkers of all time penciled down the idea for a mechanical knight way back in 1495.
And though the world wouldn’t start calling these metallic pseoudo-humans “robots” until Karel Capek introduced the word in 1921 with the release of his play, “Rossum’s Universal Robots,” we’ve been fascinated with the idea ever since.
Today, humanoid robots are being designed to look more and more like actual humans. Which is great for some uses (sex robots), but also more than a bit disheartening. Why? Because there’s just something about the vintage robot aesthetic – those clunky, giant boxes of metal – that makes me yearn for the archaic robo-technology of yesteryear.
Honestly, I think those early sci-fi writers got it right in the beginning. I mean, who wants a robot that doesn’t have a giant metal box for a head? Or vacuum hoses for arms? Or giant C-clamp hands that can crush your esophagus at a moment’s notice?
I don’t know much about what the future holds, but one thing is for certain – the robot apocalypse. And when those robots enslave us all, I sure hope they’ll look a little something like one of the vintage robots below:
–most photos via pleatedjeans.tumblr.com
Comments
Will
August 30th, 2009 - 3:55:25 PM
It's unfortunate that robots like this still haven't come into existence.
Pete
August 31st, 2009 - 10:44:45 AM
these dudes are creepy-ass robots, robo-pocalypse indeed
Roger
January 2nd, 2010 - 8:10:50 PM
@Will: at least one of these robots HAS been built. The fifth picture from the top, with robot and robot dog standing beside a man, are real robots built by Westinghouse in the late 1930s. They are called Elektro and Sparko. Plenty of information on the internet because a couple of years ago, Elektro was restored and put back on display. It was surprisingly sophisticated for 1930s technology; among other things, it was voice controlled, understanding 26 different commands *from* *different* *speakers* !!