Robot Man of Szeged
Early Hungarian receptionist robot from 1962.
The Robot Man of Szeged, known in Hungarian as the *Szegedi Robotember*, was an early robot built in 1962 within the Hungarian People's Republic. Its creator, Dr. Dániel Muszka of the University of Szeged, also designed the Ladybird of Szeged. The machine was built to work as a robotic receptionist at the Pioneer House of Szeged, where it would welcome and direct visitors at the entrance. After its initial use, the original robot was dismantled, but Muszka constructed a replica in 2014.
The Pioneer House of Szeged commissioned the robot. Its name translates literally to "Robot Human of Szeged." The robot was stationary and roughly human-sized. It could rotate its head within a 100-degree range, powered by a windscreen wiper motor taken from a Wartburg 311 automobile. A photosensor was built into the front of its torso. In its left hand, the robot held a panel with 24 buttons, each labeled with a topic. Its right hand held a transistor radio. The head featured two "eyes" that could light up and an antenna on top.
The photosensor on the robot's "stomach" allowed it to detect when people passed by or stood in front of it, prompting it to offer an audible greeting. Pressing a button on the panel made the robot speak about the corresponding topic. The radio in its right hand played either Kossuth Rádió or Petőfi Rádió, covering all domestic national broadcasts of the day. While operating, the robot's eyes were lit and the antenna on its head spun.
The replica was first shown in 2014 at the temporary exhibition "A kibernetika hőskora – avagy volt élet a PC előtt" ("The Heroic Age of Cybernetics, or, There was Life Before the PC") at the Museum of Nuclear Energetics of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Paks. It next appeared in 2015 at the Technical Study Stores of the Hungarian Technical and Transportation Museum in Budapest during the annual Night of the Museums. As of 2017, the replica is displayed at the temporary robotics exhibition "MI és a Robot" ("AI and the Robot") at the Informatics History Exhibition in Szeged.
Quick Facts
- Inventor
- Dr. Dániel Muszka
- Country
- Hungary
- Year Of Creation
- 1962 / (1962)
- Purpose
- receptionist/host
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Robot Man was built at the request of the Pioneer House of Szeged. It was a roughly human-sized stationary robot with a head that could rotate 100° using a motor from a Wartburg 311 windscreen wiper. Its torso had a photosensor, its left hand held a panel of 24 topic-labeled buttons, and its right hand held a transistor radio. The head had two light-up 'eyes' and a spinning antenna on top.
Reader's Guide
The Robot Man of Szeged represents an early attempt at interactive public robotics in Eastern Europe. Its photosensor allowed it to detect passersby and greet them audibly, while visitors could press topic buttons to hear the robot speak. The radio played national broadcasts from Kossuth Rádió or Petőfi Rádió. Though the original was scrapped, the 2014 replica has been exhibited at the Museum of Nuclear Energetics in Paks, the Hungarian Technical and Transportation Museum in Budapest, and the Informatics History Exhibition in Szeged, preserving its legacy as a pioneering humanoid robot.
Did You Know?
- The robot's head rotated using a motor from a Wartburg 311 windscreen wiper.
- Its right hand held a transistor radio that played Kossuth Rádió or Petőfi Rádió.
- The original Robot Man was scrapped after its debut; a replica was built in 2014.
- The robot's name in Hungarian means 'Robot Human of Szeged'.
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