Photos of Robot Island’s trip to China. Several factories were visited, including the famous HaHa Factory and Yuenjie Factory. The manufacturing process is really still achieved in much the same way as it was 50 years ago, with primitive stamping machines and in small buildings like garages.
“A robot may not harm a human being, a robot must obey the orders given to it by humans, and a robot must protect its own existence.” These are the Laws of Robotics even in the toy business.
Toy robots are still very popular since they first were introduced in the 1940’s. Their appeal is probably due to intriguing cosmetic design combined with mechanical and human characteristics. Also, their high tech functions are constantly being out-done by scientists and toy manufacturers alike. For these reasons, robots will probably always be part of human culture and always exist in some form within the toy industry, says Jay Brotter, a robot retailer, robot collector, and president of the Robot Island web site robotisland.com. Brotter says “anybody who grew up during the space race in the 1950’s and ‘60’s was exposed to a tremendous amount of fantasy and sci-fi material found in books, movies and television shows. It seems that the fantasy and sci-fi appeal of the toy robot has always been strong no matter how much time passes."
The Lantern Robot and Planet Robot a/k/a Robby the Robot, are currently two of the most popular robot toys. Mr. Brotter has consulted with several manufacturers and we will be seeing some new design creations as well as classic reproductions coming to his web site soon. Just check it out at www.robotisland.com.”
It’s hard to fathom, especially in an age when Star Wars movies generate more money than many countries annual Gross Domestic Product, but technically, science fiction is a relatively new genre.
Prior to the 20th century, there was barely a murmur of robots and few people viewed outer space as a viable frontier to explore. Think back one could argue that L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, originally published in 1900, featured the earliest robot. The Tin Man was, in fact, a mechanical man. Robots, along with time travel, aliens, clones and dreams of the future, all fall under one genre - science fiction. And our culture’s obsession with robots owes much to the early forebearers of science fiction.
Writers such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells pioneered and laid the groundwork for the idea of science fiction in the 19th century with such novels as The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and From the Earth to the Moon.
1970’s Yonezawa Prototype. Discovered in the Yonezawa factory, this 13" tall prototype never made it to production. Body is made of plastic with tin legs and motor. Functions include lights in his head and 2 large spinning cogs in his chest.
Prototype Moon Explorer Robot recently sold on Yahoo Japan. Many questions were raised as to whether or not this was a true original Robot Prototype, but after many expert opinions, it was determined that it is indeed for real. Very crude head styling with transparent face and light up eyes.
