RADICON ROBOT - MASUDAYA - JAPAN

Tin battery op. member of the Gang of Five, this wireless remote control robot advances with moving arms, flashing eyes and a lighted chest panel as both antenna turn. Clicking the remote controls the direction and stop functions. 1957

The first and most unusual of the group is the radio controlled Radicon Robot. The robot is a huge 38cms, dwarfing most other robots. The paintwork is a plain hammered grey finish. This is easily the first radio controlled robot. The electronics are, by modern standards primitive. A transmitter generates a high voltage pulse which triggers a light, a spark and a turning action in the robot; it is not a steerable robot. The electronics are unreliable, hard to repair and capable of giving a generous shock if handled improperly. An article on the robot appeared in Popular Mechanics in 1958. The massive ear antenna serves a real function as an antenna. It's worth noting that the arm construction is more complex than the rest of the group: there's an elbow panel holding together the upper and lower arm as opposed to the more simple two piece pressing of the later robots.