Old Robots Information Website

Posted 1 May 2007 at 14:13 UTC by Rog-a-matic

TheOldRobots.com offers a fun overview of many toy and hobby robots complete with pictures of packaging and accessories. From Compurobot to Radio Shack's Armatron, and even a nice gallery of Robot Controllers and Posters. I find the guts of J.A.K.E. and Hero 1 particularly interesting. Downloads are also available for the user guides of Omnibot, Verbot, Robie SR, and a few others.

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Great Site!, posted 1 May 2007 at 17:29 UTC by jeffkoenig » (Master)

Wow! I'd forgotten about a lot of them. I can't wait to explore this site in more detail tonight.

It's kind of sad, actually. Back then, there were lots of robots in development, but none of them were really successful (except perhaps the Hero).

Speaking of old robots, does anyone know anything about the "Boris Handroid"? It was a chess playing computer with a robotic arm that moved the pieces. I recently discovered that it was made in Garland, Texas. Does anyone know who the maker was?

Applied Concepts of Garland, TX Handroid, posted 2 May 2007 at 15:26 UTC by Rog-a-matic » (Master)

Ahhh, Garland TX, my old stomping grounds with Percom Data in the early 80s. Boris Handroid doesn't ring a bell, but a G$$gle search dredged this up:

http://www.schachcomputer.at/handroid.htm

And:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9905E0D81139F93AA35757C0A967948260

""Coming soon is the Boris Handroid, a $1,700 chess-playing robot built by Applied Concepts Inc. of Garland, Tex. Boris can sense where its human opponent moves (the chess pieces contain magnets that activate sensors under the board). It can calculate its move and move its own piece using a crude ''arm.'' If defeated, Boris graciously extends its arm to shake hands with its opponent.""

Same company?, posted 2 May 2007 at 16:12 UTC by steve » (Master)

There's an Applied Concepts in Plano with a dba of Stalker Radar. They claim to be 25 years old. Their products all appear to be radar related though.

http://www.stalkerradar.com/company_profile.shtml

They started with games!, posted 2 May 2007 at 17:40 UTC by jeffkoenig » (Master)

I contacted Applied Concepts, who verified that it's the same company.

Along with the Boris HANDroid (which was apparently sold in several different varieties), they at one time made other electronic games and a remote-controlled car.

The fellow I spoke with recalled that they disposed of the remaining Boris stock around 1993.

Very cool! Thanks for the help, guys.

Photos, posted 2 May 2007 at 17:55 UTC by steve » (Master)

http://www.schachcomputer.at/handroid.htm