While we tend to associate robots with the technological advancements of modern day society, the history of the concept actually dates back to ancient times. Ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Buddhist texts all contain ideas of autonomous non-human entities that could serve as companions, servants, or soldiers. Craftsmen across various societies would also go on to develop and build self-operating mechanical automata that could perform simple, repetitive tasks – think animatronic

attractions at theme parks, or cuckoo clocks.The modern history of the robot begins in the 20th century, with notable early modern robots including L. Frank Baum’s Tin Woodman from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900), and Leonardo Torres y Quevedo’s autonomous chess-playing machine El Ajedrecista (1912). Robots began to enter everyday life during World War I, with the introduction of remote-controlled weapons into modern warfare.

Between the 1930s to 1950s, major breakthroughs were made in the fields of robotics and cybernetics including Isaac Asimov’s publication of “The Three Laws of Robotics” (1941-42), and paradigm shifts in understanding of how data processing could be used in robotics. Unimate (1954), the world’s first digitally operated and programmable robot, and the popularity of Astro Boy (1952-68), also brought robots to the attention of the general public. Since then, the field has continued to advance by leaps and bounds. Today, we are familiar with Sony’s AIBO robot dogs, iRobot’s Roomba vacuum cleaner, and the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which explored the planet Mars in 2003. Robots are now an everyday part of our lives, and new advancements in technology continue to be made daily.

Robot Action Dalek
Row 1 Shelf 4

Science fiction fans will recognise the Daleks, a merciless race of robot aliens determined to conquer the universe. As created by Terry Nation, who modeled them after the Nazis in World War II, the Daleks considered all other life forms as inferior.

First appearing in the 1963 BBC Doctor Who television series, they soon became hugely popular, first in the UK and then the rest of the world.
The first toy Dalek was made by the Louis Marx and Co. and released in 1965. Many other versions by different manufacturers followed.

This 1974 creation owned by the museum is a 6.5 inch yellow Battery Dalek, which was also produced in red. The Doctor Who series is recognised as the longest running science fiction television series in the world, and to-date 13 actors have portrayed the Doctor. The 14th season of this series is scheduled to be broadcast in Nov 2023.

Robot Action Dalek

Maker

Year of Make

Material

Country of Origin    

Louis Marx and Company

c.1974

Plastic

United Kingdom

At the height of the Cold War, the United States of America (USA) and the Soviet Union (USSR) embarked on what would commonly be known as the “Space Race” (1955-1991), aiming to be the first nation to achieve landmark spaceflight achievements. In order to make this possible, extensive research was carried out on designing spacecraft that could transport humans safely into space.

Even before the Space Race, science-fiction works such as Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon” (1865) and H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” (1897) already captured the public’s attention and began to generate excitement over the thought of exploring the vast unknowns of space. While several early rockets and satellites such as the German V-2 (1944) and Soviet Sputnik series (1957-58) made it into orbit, the first manned spaceflight was only achieved in 1961 with Yuri Gagarin’s 108-minute orbit of Earth as part of the Soviet Vostok programme. Notable spacecraft series that emerged during the Space Race include the Apollo (1968-75), Space Shuttle (1981-2011), and Soyuz (1967-present).

The Space Race included triumphs such as the Apollo 11 moon landing, as well as tragedies like the Space Shuttle Challenger and Soyuz 11 disasters.
Following the official end of the Space Race in 1991, many countries and companies have launched their own crewed spacecraft into orbit to pursue outer space research. These include the International Space Station (ISS) and the Shenzhou, China’s first crewed spacecraft. Private companies such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin are now exploring options for space tourism, offering consumers the opportunity to travel into space for leisure.

Space exploration and the science fiction imagination of alien encounters reached their peak of optimistic possibility after the first moon landing in 1969. The Space Race, a 20th Century struggle for space superiority between two nation-states, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), saw the culmination of space technologies and the limitless possibilities. These two events were significant not only in space exploration in and of itself, but they also influenced art, particularly science fiction. It inspired several artists to take their own spin at speculative fiction, traversing worlds beyond Earth and, ultimately, reality.

One of the most famous space heroes to emerge in the pages of comic books was Dan Dare (1950-present). Attention was paid to scientific possibilities, with the comic set mostly on planets of the Solar System presumed to have extraterrestrial life and alien inhabitants. Another popular spaceman protagonist, Buck Rogers (1929-present), made his debut in Armageddon: 2419 A.D. (1928-29), serialised in Amazing Stories (1926-present). To a lay audience, the strip introduced and popularised science-fiction paraphernalia and concepts such as ray guns, robots, and rocket ships that were previously written only in pulp magazines.

Even today, speculative space fiction is still very much popular in the comic world. It has been utilised by popular comic companies like Marvel and DC, with each having its own space explorers. The X-Men series (1963-present) included storylines that feature mutant superheroes travelling to space to defend humanity from extraterrestrial threats. The Green Lantern Corps (1959-present) in the DC universe feature an intergalactic militarised law enforcement organisation. Undoubtedly, this interest in space and what lies beyond what the eyes can see and perceive will continue to persist.