Then
d
n
a
NOW
FROM GARCO TO THE
NEW BOTS IN TOWN
by Tom Carroll
I’ve been writing about robots in SERVO Magazine and Nuts & Volts since the
summer of 2003 and most of my articles have covered the historical aspects of specific
robots that were state-of-the-art “Then,” and what types of robots are considered
“Now” with today’s technology. I still receive comments about many of the old robots
that I wrote about years ago and I am always asked to write about some cool robot
from the past that a reader has heard about. Garco, from 1953, has been one of the
most requested robots people have wanted some information about, as well as the
REEM series of robots that I briefly mentioned in the May ‘ 10 issue of SERVO.
74 SERVO 10.2010
Garco — An Early
Hobbyist-Built Robot
Garco made headlines around the world back in 1953,
not because it could actually perform tasks that one
normally thinks of as human capabilities, but because it was
the only robot around in those days. Figure 1 shows the
robot with Walt Disney on a TV episode of Disney’s
Tomorrow Land. There is speculation that Garco might have
influenced Disney in his later audio-animatronics installations
at Disneyland. Garco was built by Harvey Chapman, Jr., at
his home. He was an engineer for the Garrett Supply
Company of Los Angeles and he built it not as a robot to
replace human workers, but as a hobby project. He had
access to many surplus aircraft parts — the ideal industry as
a source for robot stuff. His home garage served as his
workshop — a typical place that most robot hobbyists use
for their robot construction projects (especially the larger
ones that don’t fit on the kitchen table).
Because it was one of a kind, Garco soon became
capable of an amazing array of tasks. Media has a way
of turning something that is ordinary into something
amazing. I suppose that Garco seemed a bit awe-inspiring
to the average person of the early 50’s, but unbelievable
headlines soon arose. A new science fiction motion
picture, Gog, was soon to hit local theaters around the
country and promoters felt that this robot was the ideal
‘spokes robot’ to advertise the film. Unfortunately for
the movie people, newspapers were more interested in
the robot than the movie. “Operated by remote control,
the robot can perform with his arms and hands virtually
on a level with a human. Garco, who represents a million
FIGURE 1. Walt Disney with Garco.
