Robot Exhibition Advance Information

Worcester City Art Gallery, 16 July – 3 September 2011

Touring exhibition, bringing to Worcester and the Midlands for the first time an amazing collection of

robots, cyborgs and androids.

The word Robot was first used in 1921 by a Czech playwright – in Czech it means forced labour. Since

then Robots have played a central part in many great books, films and TV series, and inventors and

designers have started using them to make a difference in our lives.

The exhibition includes about 25 robots, some famous ones that visitors will recognise from great films

and some designed as art or as toys. The models in the exhibition are all unique creations or rare

promotional licensed replicas.

Alongside the models will be lots of hands-on family activities and some great robot merchandise to

purchase. The exhibition itself is free entry.

Special models in the exhibition include:

BATTLE DROID - STAR WARS

Promotional replica Battle Droid used in the promotion of the DVD release of both Attack of The Clones

and Revenge of The Sith.

A stunning seven-foot tall replica of a deadly Battle Droid, ruthless agent of the Trade Federation. The

Battle Droids were used to challenge the supremacy of the Galactic Senate. The ensuing chaos allowed

the Sith to assume power and establish Palpatine's new order. It stands at over 6 feet tall, every limb is

manoeuvrable and the fingers / wrist can be positioned and posed. The designer has done a fantastic

job in not only conquering the logistical difficulties in creating a prop of this complexity but the accuracy

is a labour of love.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American film written and directed by George

Lucas. It was the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga. The main cast includes: Liam Neeson,

Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid and Samuel L. Jackson.

Also in the exhibition are famous Star Wars robots R2D2 and the head of C3PO!

ROBOCOP

Movie promotional costume cast from the original prop moulds for a member of the film’s special effects

team.

RoboCop is a 1987 cyberpunk/science fiction film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden

Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is murdered brutally and

subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop". The film features Peter Weller,

Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Allen, Miguel Ferrer and Ronny Cox.

The RoboCop suit was designed by Rob Bottin and his team. It took 11 hours for Bottin's people to fit

actor Peter Weller into the suit.

NS5 ROBOT HEAD

This NS5 Robot head was acquired in Japan, where it was part of the launch material.

I, Robot is a 2004 science fiction-action film. The film was directed by Alex Proyas. Will Smith starred in

the lead role of the film as Detective Del Spooner, who hates robots and dislikes their integration into

daily human life. Other members of the cast include Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James

Cromwell, Chi McBride, Alan Tudyk, and Shia LaBeouf.

Set in a future Earth (2035 A.D.) where robots are common assistants and workers for their human

owners, this is the story of "robotophobic" Chicago Police Detective Del Spooner's investigation into the

murder of Dr. Alfred Lanning, who works at U.S. Robotics, in which a robot, Sonny, appears to be

implicated.

Although most of the robots in the film were computer generated, some actual life size robots were

required for filming scenes such as the robot battle near the end and the interior of Dr. Lanning’s

workshop.

B9 ROBOT

A replica built by Andy Shaw of Shaw Robotics, the original Dalek builder

Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, produced by 20th

Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing

between 1963 and March 6, 1968. The Robot is a Model B-9, Class M-3 General Utility Non-Theorising

Environmental Control Robot, which had no given name. Although a machine endowed with superhuman

strength and futuristic weaponry, he often displayed human characteristics such as laughter,sadness,

and mockery.

The Robot was performed by Bob May in a prop costume built by Bob Stewart. The voice was dubbed

by Dick Tufeld, who was also the series' narrator.

The Robot was designed by Robert Kinoshita (whose other cybernetic claim to fame is as the designer

of Forbidden Planet's Robby the Robot.

R.A.D. ROBOTS

Two very rare fully functioning RAD personal robots.

The original R.A.D. 1.0 version truly captured what people wanted robots to do in the '80s - shoot foam

rockets and bring them cold drinks.

Further incarnations emerged showing much more rounded styling, and some new features such as

more sophisticated voice-recognition and an increased vocabulary.

Perhaps the most disturbing feature is the "spy" mode, which meant you can use your R.A.D. to

eavesdrop on other people's conversations.

GRACE 2.0

Designed and built by film modelmaker Neil Ellis, Grace 2.0 is a concept female android.

The Android head and body panels were sculpted in plasterline and cast in fibreglass. The Robot parts are machined in chemiwood and cast in resin. The armature is constructed from steel.

Neil Ellis has worked extensively as a modelmaker/modeller for various movies including: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Gulliver’s Travels, The Zone and Casino Royale.