Humanoid & robot atlas
Elektro
Photo: Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Background removed by Simbeing
RetiredUnited States

Westinghouse Electric Corporation · entertainment humanoid

Elektro

A 7-foot steel-and-aluminium showpiece built in Mansfield, Ohio, that walked slowly on voice command, played recorded speech of about 700 words and moved its head and arms. It was remote-controlled show machinery rather than an autonomous robot.

Price
—Not published
Height
213 cmTaller than 100%
Weight
120 kgHeavier than 88%
Payload
—Not published
Speed
—Not published
Battery
—Not published
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Why it matters

One of the earliest and best-documented humanoid robots, built as a crowd attraction for the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Real-world use

Shown at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair; restored and displayed at the Mansfield Memorial Museum, Ohio, where its ownership is now disputed.

Timeline

First shown
1939
Released
Not yet
Unveiled at Westinghouse headquarters, Pittsburgh, then shown at the New York World's Fair (1939-40)

Maker

Westinghouse Electric CorporationCompany · founded 1886 · Pittsburgh, United States

Defunct (became CBS Corporation, 1997)

How it stacks up

Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.

  1. ElektroWestinghouse Electric Corporation · 1939213 cm
  2. P1Honda · 1996192 cm
  3. DB (Dynamic Brain)ATR and JST ERATO Kawato Dynamic Brain Project, hardware by SARCOS · 2000185 cm
  4. P2Honda · 1996182 cm
  5. P3Honda · 1997160 cm
  6. ASIMOHonda · 2000120 cm
  7. PINOJST ERATO Kitano Symbiotic Systems Project (later licensed to ZMP) · 200071 cm
  8. SDR-3XSony (Digital Creatures Laboratory) · 200050 cm

Elektro is taller than 100% of the 305 other humanoids that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.

Height 213 cm 34 cm213 cm #1 of 306 · taller than 100%

Not published by the maker: speed, payload, joints, battery, price.

Public attention

A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current humanoids.

  • 6,559 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Elektro)
  • 3 news stories from reputable press listed on this page

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

The parts the company has talked about publicly.

Hands
none
Movement
Walks on legs
Actuators & motors
Electric motors driving a steel gear-and-cam skeleton; could walk on voice command and move its head and arms.
Sensors & vision
Photoelectric 'eyes' that told red light from green; built from vacuum tubes, photoelectric cells, telephone relays and frequency regulators per the Mansfield Memorial Museum.
Materials & build
Aluminium skin over a steel gear, cam and motor skeleton.
AI & software
No programmable computer; spoke about 700 words played from a 78-rpm record player.
Other details
About 2.1 m (7 ft) and 120 kg (265 lb); smoked cigarettes and blew up balloons. Built 1937-1938 at Westinghouse's Mansfield, Ohio plant by J.M. Barnett and colleagues; joined by the robot dog Sparko in 1940.

From the maker

Elektro is the only humanoid from Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the atlas.

Made, sold and where

Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.

Price
Not published
How to get one
No official buying page found
Built
Original Elektro preserved at Mansfield Memorial Museum; a full-scale replica is also displayed (Mansfield Memorial Museum).
Sold or delivered
Never sold
Where it is sold or used
United States
Customers and pilots
Displayed at the Mansfield Memorial Museum (Ohio) after 2004; a replica was shown at The Henry Ford in 2013

News

The latest 3, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.

  1. Elektro reassembled for museum display

    The restored robot went on show at the Mansfield Memorial Museum.

    Ohio Magazine
  2. Elektro the Moto-Man Had the Biggest Brain at the 1939 World’s Fair

    Elektro appeared as S.A.M. Thinko in Sex Kittens Go to College.

    IEEE Spectrum
  3. Elektro debuts at the World's Fair

    After an unveiling at Westinghouse's Pittsburgh headquarters, Elektro starred at the New York World's Fair.

    Ohio Magazine

Sources

Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.

Mansfield Memorial Museum ELEKTRO the Westinghouse Robot Ohio Magazine Roadside Ohio: Elektro the Robot History of Information Elektro (detail) Logo: Paul Rand, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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