Gakutensoku, the First Robot Built in East Asia, Was Designed to Be a Friend, Not a Slave

In the late 1920s, Japanese biologist Makoto Nishimura built Gakutensoku, the first robot in East Asia, as a response to the portrayal of robots as slaves in Karel Čapek's play R.U.R. Unlike typical robots, Gakutensoku could change its facial expression, move its head and hands via air pressure, and even write with a pen. It was exhibited across Japan, Korea, and China before disappearing in Germany in the 1930s. A modern replica was created in 2008 and is on display at the Osaka Science Museum.