Here comes the HERO: Designed as a training device, the HERO I, the world's first mass-produced personal robot, can walk, talk, and guard a room

Abstract

Heath/Zenith Educational Systems decided in the late 1970s to develop a course for teaching industrial electronics, and it needed an electronic trainer for use with the course. At the same time, the movie “Star Wars” was released, and robots R2D2 and C3PO became instant celebrities. Thus, it was decided that a robot would make an ideal trainer for industrial electronics as well as robotics. The HERO I — an acronym for Heath educational robot — became the world's first mass-produced personal robot.