Eric, UK's first robot

What caused its invention was the need of an important person to take the place of the Duke of York in opening the Exhibition of the Society of Model Engineers, in London. As Richards was secretary of the organization, he decided to make a Robot who could open the exhibition. On 20th September 1928 at the at the Royal Horticultural Hall, Eric arose, bowed, looked to the right, to the left, and, with appropriate gestures, proceeded to give a four minute opening address . His exterior was of aluminium, not unlike a mediaeval knight in armour.

Click to expand...

Meet Eric and watch how we built this full-size working replica of one of the world’s first robots. Eric will be on display at the Science Museum from 20 October to 30 November 2016.

Eric holds a unique place in our history. Built less than a decade after the word robot was first used, he was everything we now imagine a robot to be – a talking, moving mechanical person. Originally built in 1928 by Captain W.H. Richards & A.H. Reffell, Eric amazed crowds across the UK, Europe and the US, before he mysteriously disappeared.

In June 2016, the Science Museum launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring Eric back to life to star in a forthcoming major exhibition, Robots. Thanks to the generosity of 861 backers, the Kickstarter campaign raised over ?50,000 allowing the Museum to bring Eric and a second robot, Inhka, back to life. Working with artist and robot builder Giles Walker, the team has recreated Eric, keeping his appearance as close to the original as possible.

Now part of the Museum’s permanent collection, Eric will star in the forthcoming Robots exhibition from February 2017. Support from Kickstarter backers will also enable Eric to travel the world as part of the exhibition’s international tour from 2018.

Click to expand...