Omnibot 2000: The $500 Drink Serving Robot from 1985!

[@Netbug]

An old lady who babysat me once had one of these in her house... it was her son's. I was blown away when this thing rolled into the room and served me a drink. She then quickly ushered it away because it was very expensive and not hers. I told my mom about it when I got home and she didn't believe me. I mentioned it to her over 30 years later and she was still convinced I imagined it. I ended up finding it online and showing her.

[@surelychordophonic]

Guess your family never watched Rocky 3 😂

[@st33vuk]

@@surelychordophonic happy birthday paulie

[@msbae]

@@surelychordophonic Rocky IV.

[@ImpetuouslyInsane]

Face it, your mom kinda sucked.

[@crazisaturn2274]

What did she say after you showed her?

[@Llyrically_llama]

It's comforting to know that Ernest Cline is spending his "Spielberg made my book into a movie" money on exactly what you think he would 😂

[@TerminallyNerdy]

If this is Author Ernest Cline who sent this, I cannot help but cackle XD

[@ekmad]

@@TerminallyNerdy It's the very same. The book he sent Clint had a short story from him in.

[@jong2359]

Good on Ernest for sharing generously for us to enjoy.

[@manmadeaids]

Better than what boogie spends money on.

[@thekimchii]

​@@manmadeaidsone for me, one for my Omnibot

[@YT0091]

The scene of Omnibot rolling past with a gun, cigar, and playing rap music made my day.

[@arcadeoutpost]

This made me lol

[@Gondalica]

That culture shouldn't make your day 😂

[@itsicearmour]

@@Gondalica Not even on a video about 80s robots can you resist being racist. How fucking sad does your life have to be? Angry little man.

[@ImpetuouslyInsane]

Yeah, that was pretty damn funny.

[@crazisaturn2274]

Gangster Omnibot 2000

[@makeittang88]

HOLY SHIT! My grandma has one of these! She would pour a glass of OJ and freeze it, then set it on the tray at night so in the morning it would bring her "fresh" OJ. It was broken when I found it. And could never get it to work. Thanks for the odd memories.

[@RG_Eph]

Aw did she like robots? That’s cute

[@2degucitas]

I just realized your grandma is probably around my age.

[@dpetit843]

I had one of those, they came out the year my Dad died. I was struggling pretty bad. We moved right after he passed, I didn't have any new friends yet and she knew how bad I wanted one. She would have done anything to make me feel better. I was blessed with great parents.

[@RG_Eph]

This is so sweet of your mom

[@2degucitas]

Sad for your loss.

[@luigi7834]

that is truly a blessing. one of the most important determining factors in your life and it's entirely luck based what parents you get. sorry for your loss

[@Soonjai]

I love that Clint reffers to Ernest Cline as basically just a random LGR Viewer and not a Bestseller Author.

[@gabrieldias3479]

Yeah, I mean... It took me a while to realise that... When Clint said "my viewer Ernest Cleine" I was like "THAT sounds familiar". Then he showed the book and was "Wait.. What? THAT ERNEST CLINE?" LOL

[@RyanDraga]

LOL right?! I damn near spat out my drink when Clint said "Mr. Cline"

[@Norweeg]

Yeah, that was an exceptionally casual name drop. 😆

[@kain0067]

I'm kind of wondering if he doesn't even know he's the author of Ready Player One and worked with Steven Spielberg.

[@Soonjai]

@@kain0067 I highly doubt that Clint doesn´t know that, especially since it´s mentioned that Ernest is the Author of Ready Player One in the Book that Clint is showing in the video.

[@ChimpPeensRevunge]

The revelation that Ernest Cline sent you TWO Omnibots nearly made me spit out my coffee from laughter. If anyone on this planet was to own multiple Omnibots, it would be Mr 80's Nostalgia himself. Great video Clint! As always.

[@Random-xw3qc]

Who knows how many Omnibots lurk within the walls of the Cline house...

[@CasioMaker]

Fun fact: A Chilean soap-opera/telenovela from 1992 ("Trampas y Caretas"), featured an Omnibot 2000 as a secondary character/comic relief called "Felipito" that served as the robotic butler of a womanizer singleton in his 30s. Funnily enough, by the end of the show, the robot was kidnapped by aliens to serve as a robotic messiah in a far away planet! (I'm not kidding!)

[@TeruteruBozusama]

That sounds amazing 😂

[@jinxed7915]

Just when you thought a novela couldn't get any more absurd

[@biadrum]

I already loved Chile for 31 minutos, now I love them for Felipito too

[@CasioMaker]

@@biadrum Well, here's Felipito in action. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaqamY2MfdSIn5o

[@copernicofelinis]

Those darn pigeons from "Bolt"!

[@2down4up]

A 2023ish pocket sized battery powered phone with technology capabilities and processing power the likes of which couldn’t even be dreamed of in 1985, using a type of software that wouldn’t exist for nearly 40 years transmitting home brew tones over a wireless communication standard that wouldn’t exist for nearly 30 years that’s being received by a internal battery powered cassette “tape” which is then translating all of this into a signal that can be recognized by 38 year old and likely worn out technology and the result is “there’s some weirdness?” Say it ain’t so!!!!! My mind is blown it works at all!!!! Love you Clint keep up the great work!!!!

[@joeblow229]

The inflation numbers always get me, I'm glad LGR includes them. It's crazy to think that not only is our money worth a lot less now, while wages haven't increased proportionally, but people used to have a lot more disposable income that didn't go towards rent or mortgage. My Boomer Dad still thinks we live in a time where you can pay for college with a Summer job at the local burger stand.

[@KRIGBERT]

yeah, the economy kept growing, but workers just got left behind.

[@NotJustBikes]

This is so amazing! I wanted an Omnibot 2000 so badly in the mid-80s but I never got one because, well, it was FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS (even more in Canada) and I was 9. After watching this video it's probably best that I never got one: the idea of owning one seems better than actually owning one.

[@Mr.OCanada]

I would have written the exact same words. I drove my parents nuts wanting to go to Radio Shack and this robot was teasing me every time. Canadian too.

[@doublej42]

I had one in Canada. I think I got it a few years late on a discount

[@98Zai]

That seems to be the case with basically all advertised toys. I can't remember a single toy that I enjoyed as much as the idea. The obvious exceptions being my bike and my computer, which I enjoyed much more than I ever thought I would.

[@DarthVader1977]

@@98Zai Transformers G1 and GI Joe almost never disappointed.

[@EightPieceBox]

I had to settle for a $9 robot with a wired remote that could pick up small items. It was worth $9.

[@santisven]

How cool is it that Ernest Cline is a fan of the show? Dude's probably worth millions after his successes and selling Ready Player One rights for the movies. Not every youtubber has the capital to get his hands on such well maintained luxury collector's item, and so, being able to do such an awesome coverage of it as LGR did, is quite rare for expensive items. Thanks Ernest and LGR.

[@musicalpop-tart4869]

I was hoping someone else caught that too. So crazy how casually he just name dropped Ernest Cline

[@alyxgraff9121]

Yeah, I spit out my drink when I heard that the Ready Player One guy is where this robot came from. I wonder if he still has that Delorian thst he would pose in promotional photos with.

[@santisven]

@sonic-templeos liked the book much better. Not as much the second one. Quite repetitive.

[@eaasness]

😮 I was like that name sounds familiar.

[@ImmaDoWhatIWant]

Just the casual "Yeah he liked the 80s and collects some of these" was pretty funny in context of how much the guy jacks off the 80s. I think dude is a hack and the book and movie sucks ass but it's cool he helped LGR out here and has stuff like these.

[@TheVHSReviver]

This robot is more functional then a lot of the ones trying to be funded on Kickstarter

[@FriedConsole]

I remember drooling over this in the Service Merchandise catalog.

[@tomferguson9250]

Find me the creators of this robot so I can bring them ahead & we can finally have coherent, functional smart vehicles. I still remember the KISS philosophy from junior high - Keep It Simple, Stupid!

[@mrgabos]

than

[@LotoTheHero]

That is probably true!

[@TheDutchShepherd]

​​@MrDjBigZ? Bought several items on kickstarter. Never got scammed. Indiegogo on the other hand.

[@r_jd279]

When you unboxed the dude, it reminded me of Robo in Chrono Trigger. The part where you leave him in the past to do a task, then travel to the future to meet him 500 years later. Only minutes to us, but lifetimes to him. Thanks for this btw. I always wanted a robot buddy of my own and never knew about the Omnibot 2000.

[@DreamwalkerFilms]

The fact that Ernest Cline is spending his Spielberg money on NIB expensive toys from the 80's is the most "Parzival" thing I've ever heard

[@Venom_Snek]

I swear to god, this channel is ridiculously comforting to watch. EDIT: As a side note, it's kind of interesting how much radio interference we have now a days with all the different wireless electronics we use. Seeing how much it messes with older technology like this is kind of wild.

[@MrWolfSnack]

There was just as much then. If you had a power transformer in your backyard your R/C controlled stuff would be as good as a doormat.

[@harleysq]

LGR ASMR: violent creaky 80s bot noises carrying bot sized deputy revolver

[@Setsuna_Kyoura]

@@MrWolfSnack It was bad, but it is still worse today. But not really because todays wireless devices, they operate at a much higher frequency now. It is because todays tech isn't really shielded anymore. Remember the insane metal shielding or almost tin can like covers inside of old computers and video game consoles? Now we put computers in plastic or even glass cases...

[@jays.6843]

LGR is the perfect channel to watch when you're sick and just want a nice voice in the background as you throw up

[@monad_tcp]

its because of spread spectrum and quadrature modulation, everything is transmitted with higher levels of noise because the modulation allows for overlapping signals and things using the same frequency channels and still works, modern radio is amazing

[@OldMan_PJ]

My Dad is an electrical engineer and worked for a man in the early 80's that made a robot as tall as a man to work in the clean rooms of chip fabrication plants. Their Japanese partner used the robot to serve ice cream, and the US robot ended up being used to handle hazardous materials in hospitals. A step above these toys and just a wee bit more expensive.

[@gmcnewlook]

Go figure Americans would use a robot for something serious but the Japanese would use it something fun as serving ice cream

[@XandrY2K05]

​@@gmcnewlookI wish robot Butlers are made real one day

[@Here_is_Waldo]

@@XandrY2K05 One day, I'm sure they will be. The hard part is getting them to do anything useful in the home. With 3d printers and Raspberry Pi you could build your own today, but what would you have it do? We already have dishwashers, robot vacuums, washing machines, so it doesn't need to do that. Getting a drink from the fridge and bringing it to you hardly seems worth the time and money it would cost to build a robot.

[@greggv8]

Androbots lost a big Japanese investment due to a poor choice of filler music. They programmed a TOPO 1 to give a factory tour to the group from Japan. The crew observed through monochrome CCTV, without audio. The tour seemed to be going well when suddenly the investors stopped, turned around and left the building. The audio part of the tour had been recorded on tape and to fill the gaps between talking they had added music. What made the Japanese investors leave was one song was the Col. Bogey March from "Bridge on the River Kwai.". kzbin.info/www/bejne/apyXf3h3ftBmhrc

[@kaamostruecrime]

Looks like R.O.B the robot's chubby brother.

[@TehPwnographer]

B.L.O.B.

[@Norweeg]

@@TehPwnographerLMAO

[@scamperly]

It's his Bartending half-brother

[@robertschnobert9090]

You're funny 🌈 ​@@TehPwnographer

[@DasNordlicht91]

It’s his alcoholic brother who fell off the wagon.

[@chrisaustin4083]

I had one of these as a kid, got it for a Christmas present. I think this was my earliest Christmas that I have memory of, walking into the living room as a 3 or 4 year old and there was just this MASSIVE box wrapped in, I think, blue wrapping paper. I was practically climbing up into the box to get it unpacked and absolutely beside myself with excitement!! That still goes down as one of, if not THE, best Christmases ever. That or when we got a Nintendo a couple years later. Anywho, I remember it functioning much more smoothly that in this video. The Omnibot sound was very nostalgic to hear and just brought a huge smile to my face! I vaguely remember that it was my alarm clock, the eyes/lights would flash etc. We did get it pouring drinks and the tray functioning on a few occasions. Ahhh, great times!

[@RosieBee463]

That is absolutely the most 1985 looking thing I have ever seen.

[@mindthreatx]

Had one back in 2002, it was possessed with other worldly dimensional radio frequencies that would cause it’s lights to go bonkers.

[@nonfelem]

I had a similar tomi bot that would randomly pick up the police and ambulance radio. So I would just leave it on and listen to people talk about shootings and car crashes. I loved that thing

[@mindthreatx]

@@nonfelemthat’s awesome 😀

[@MrWolfSnack]

I have videos on my channel of when I was playing with Radio Shack R/C cars in my basement when they randomly crossed frequencies with my 1970's stereo and made all these weird bleeps and bloops and scary crazy stuff interfering with the radio itself. Like I could jam the radio signal and turn it on and off with the R/C car's remote.

[@baby333]

hahahaha xD

[@YodaPagoda]

I think I knew one kid who had one of these, they had an Atari 2600 with a dedicated TV in the shag carpeted basement. I asked him about the Omnibot, but he said "it's not as fun as you'd think." After watching this video, Kid Me would have been frustrated to no end with this thing!

[@Podzhagitel]

that is the most 80’s description of a basement i’ve ever heard

[@DaveChurchill]

26:30 - Laughed so hard at this part. Genuinely the best use of the thing

[@wraithcadmus]

Same, Bender's retro cousin rolling on by.

[@leonardomarquez9551]

The robotic equivalent to the Luigi's Death Stare

[@grayrabbit2211]

Can you imagine if you had it stroll up to the door with the gun and cigar with an intruder present?

[@exzisd]

It’s been an immensely stressful month for me where I’ve just been running on fumes and ready to give up on life but I gotta keep going. LGR videos have been a breath of fresh air to help calm me down and get my mind to stop going in a dozen directions at once.

[@andyknb]

Thank you so much for unlocking a childhood memory I had completely forgotten about, as I was watching this I started to remember that as a child I had a small robot that somewhat looked like this one but it was much smaller and only played cassettes, and I was getting frustrated because I couldn't remember what exactly it looked like and what model it was. Then, to my surprise, at 30:33 you suddenly showed the Omnibot next to that small Tiger 2-XL and I suddenly realised, that's it!! That's the one!!! What are the odds?! So thank you LGR, for keeping alive all the wonderful memories of all these retro techs and always giving me so much nostalgia.

[@robertbreedlovecraft]

Whatever you think about Ernest Cline's writing, he undoubtedly owns the coolest toys. I once got to see his custom ECTO-1 DeLorean in person. Pretty dadgum neat

[@Nuskrad]

it wasn't until i read you comment that i realised it was *that* ernest cline

[@KR-hg8be]

​@@KevinJDildonikmember the 80s

[@cathoderayguns]

@@KevinJDildonik manchildren love to read sentences like "and then the back to the future car jumped over the jurassic park dinosaur"

[@Zarnubius]

@@cathoderayguns while true, the world is already a cold place. there's not much reason to add more cynicism and ruin the innocence of infantilized men who are the victims of one the greatest and most subversive cultural robberies in history. They aren't doing much harm outside of not being great men and maybe gently fueling the decline.

[@alalalala57]

​@@cathoderaygunssounds awesome ngl.

[@matthewgnepper3201]

My dad actually bought this when I was a kid. In my mind, it was much larger, but I was in single digits back then. My real solid memory of it back then was my dad programming it so it could give my mom breakfast in bed for either her birthday or anniversary (so long ago, not sure which).

[@TeruteruBozusama]

Well, it was bigger compared to child you than adult Clint..! I remember my first puppy as not growing much, but it's probably because I grew much at the same time..!

[@baconsarny-geddon8298]

I went to a friend's birthday, as an 11 or 12yo around 1990-1991, and his parents had hired one of these things, from the people they rented disco lights and a smoke machine from. None of us had any special interest in robots, or any real knowledge of electronics, and the robot was already pretty dated and scuffed; We were all bratty kids, more interested in skateboard videos, than this weird, old robot toy. I don't remember actually seeing the thing move under its own power; I just remember being told "Check it out, Dan's mum rented one of those old robots", and seeing it sitting in the corner. I think I'd appreciate it more now, as an adult with an interest in electronics, and mechanical engineering. But kids are brutal- If your toy/device/whatever doesn't deliver on its expectations, quickly and easily, they'll lose interest, and walk away in a heartbeat. In hindsight, I kinda wish I'd inspected it closer, maybe played with it a bit, since they're such a weird, rare oddity... But back then, like every other kid at that party, I barely gave the thing a second glance.

[@AdudenamedVince]

21:48 Love how Omni is reaching out for the glass dramatically like it's just out of reach.

[@RicardoJunqueira]

Love your sense of humor Clint. Here in Brazil back in the day we only had the Dingbot, as shown in that catalog at 32:18. They were obviously pretty useless but also a sort of a cool toy for the rich kids.

[@jaxmk1]

More often than not you pull one of these Amazing videos out of your hat. The presentation and and love you have for these toys is excellent. Thank you very much for sharing that experience with us, in far away countries. that never knew such things existed!!!

[@LGR]

My pleasure, I’m glad you’re enjoying!

[@bitwize]

I love how there's a relatively new Muppets character, simply called "80s Robot", who is modelled after one of these. These were fuel for the imagination back in the day but today we have automatically moving (and transforming) Optimus Prime and Grimlock toys! Some things really do get better with time.

[@jasonrackawack9369]

You read my mind word for word with that comment! 😉👍

[@harleysq]

surprised no kickstarter is on it by now i'd buy that for a CREDIT

[@MitchQuadrupleTree]

I would really dig an "updated" version of this. Externally and visually, no changes at all; keep it looking as 80s as ever, but internally, new electronics and motors and such for quieter movements, Bluetooth connectivity for controlling it, heck even toss in some Speak n' Spell styled text to speech voice synthesis.

[@brianharris5446]

Great video! I got the smaller Omnibot for Christmas and I remember being wildly disappointed with it - only playing with it for a half hour Christmas morning before it sat in a corner of my room collecting dust for the rest of the year. I did program it to roll into my parents room at 4am and wake them up the following Christmas, and that was the last time I ever messed with it. Ahhh good memories.

[@brianharris5446]

@@sub-vibes Hmm, I don't remember my model doing that. My memory is that it didn't do much of anything. I remember wanting the version in this video, but the year I got this was around the same time I started realizing the whole Santa thing, and I knew this more expensive model was a much bigger stretch. The smaller model's arms didn't move by remote and that was the biggest disappointment. Also, I remember these robots being a big glass case in the middle of the electronics isle at my local Toys R Us.

[@volvo09]

That's about what I'd expect. Using it with the cassette tape would only be for fun as you could never get it to completely follow a task because it can't compensate for wheel slip or slower speed (battery charge). It was basically a goofy slow remote control car. If I got one I'd use it about as much as the tethered "turn in reverse" RC cars I got as a kid that had batteries in the remote only.

[@MackDaddi]

In 1986 I had a job and had been saving my personal funds to purchase this Omnibot 2000. My friends and I headed off to Toys R Us. I was going to buy my robot. But on the display shelf next to this Omnibot was this brand new gaming system that came with a robot and light gun. The Nintendo Entertainment System. I changed my mind and bought this new gaming system. I never got the Omnibot, but the R.o.b was terrible. But the NES was awesome. Thanks for showing me what I missed. But, I made the right choice that day.

[@Knochenbrigade]

Thanks for playing old school Ice-T through this Robo. 1991s Original Gangster is also my fav album from him. It's still FYRE!

[@stevew8513]

About a decade ago I came across an Omnibus 2000 in a thrift store. I didn't buy it - the tape deck was broken, and there was no remote. A few days later I started thinking of what I could do to modify it and add new hardware to it, so on my next day off I went back to that thrift... and it was gone. I've always regretted passing it up.

[@DukeNukem2417]

15:06 = the fact that you have an entire retro room is just awesome.

[@lawfulacts1955]

The amount of jealousy felt at that moment was high.

[@marco_evertus]

I have an art deco room in my house and the fact that Clint has one made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

[@charliemartin-k7m]

Seeing that room brought back memories because my grandmother had a house that had the same color carpet.

[@RadeonVega64]

​@@lawfulacts1955bro same

[@Chace957]

Good god! We had green shag and and I’m sure the same TV model! Pretty much exactly my 1985 Christmas Day (when I got one!)

[@bolski6125]

Hey Clint, have you ever heard of the Big Trak? It was a Milton Bradley toy that was programmable back in 1979. I used to have that as well. Wish I still had it. :( It had a membrane keypad on top of it that allowed you to program steps for moving forward, backward, turn left or right, spin, stop and fire it's "laser" gun. Great video as always!

[@LGR]

I have indeed, as a kid I knew a dude who had one as a hand-me-down toy!

[@MrDuncl]

Big Trak used a real Texas Instruments microcontroller to record and control its movments.

[@Chace957]

I had one of those too, with the attachable trailer. It worked but I never had the patience to use it much. Programmed it once to go into my brothers room to annoy him 😂

[@GregH-p5r]

Ernest Cline being a fan of the channel makes perfect sense, and as a long-time fan of the show, I just think its so cool to see that's where you are now. You've earned it with hard work, and a dedication to a niche subject that makes old men like me happy every time a new video pops up.

[@akio2014]

Unexpected nostalgia rush! I had an Omnibot 5402 in the early 90s (guessing we bought it 2nd hand?) and remember it well. They were janky back then too and sheer number of batteries it consumed meant I didn't get much play time with it. Still, I remember taking it to a friend's house and having a blast. It was around a Halloween and I had a Goosebumps cassette in the deck and the stars aligned such that the robot ended up chasing his little brother around the house playing clips from the tape like "LEAVE THIS HOUSE". We could never get a repeat performance out of it, but it was a hell of a lot of fun at the time! All of that is to say I am once again on eBay and firmly blame you 😛

[@skanes709]

Syndicate fool! Hearing this little guy play Ice-T was perfection. Love it😀

[@Web56k]

Home of the body bag

[@HappyJigg]

Oh my God! Thanks for making such a detailed video! We spent DAYS of our lives on theoldrobots back around 2008. It helped kick off our love of electronics and led to us getting our own Omnibot. We now have nearly 50 Roombas and other robots, but I'm still DYING for a Synpet Newton. An IBM PC XT ON WHEELS THAT TALKS, CAN BE CONTROLLED OVER THE PHONE AND USE X10?!!!?? I NEED THAT IN MY LIFE NOW!!!!!!!

[@LGR]

Thank you for all the work on the site, it’s such a valuable resource! That Synpet truly is dream hardware, I wonder how many are still around.

[@xliquidflames]

Oh wow. I forgot about this thing. One of my good friends in elementary school had one of these. He was an only child so he got anything he wanted. I was so jealous. Lol. He had this thing, every accessory for the NES including the Power Pad, Power Glove, and ROB. Yes, he has two robots. I wanted to play with this one when I slept over but he was bored with it so I never got to really try it.

[@KairuHakubi]

I think we all experienced that. the kid who has everything but isn't as happy as you'd expect someone with so much to be.

[@Dointerstatus]

Johnny 5 is ALIVE!!! Haha seriously awesome vid LGR 🙌

[@1blisslife]

This Omnibot 2000 robot was briefly in the credits of the "Short Circuit" movie which also had service robots.😊 This for some reason also reminds me of the service robots from "Flight of the Navigator" movie too. Maybe it was the robot voices?😊 Nice to see this being covered in LGR.

[@thisiswhatilike54]

“Pardon me, coming through!”

[@Anamnesis]

I love that you've got that old 70s/80s style rocky hearth around the fireplace. The robot feels perfectly at home in front of it. 😁

[@LGR]

Built in 1974, one of the reasons I bought this place 👍

[@JFD62780]

@@LGR Well, happy 50th birthday to _that_ foundation! XD

[@MrWolfSnack]

If you ever seen that TV sitcom "Small Wonder" with the robot girl - they have a stone fireplace pretty much just like that one. They also had a real robot in the show too at a few points.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

I’m jealous of the Apple ][

[@98Zai]

The idea that you can translate "information" into sounds and transfer it to tapes still blows my mind. This use case where it directly records movement is a great representation of the tech. Also Omnibot looks stunning with a revolver and a cigar! 30:14 I want the FlipBot!!!

[@volvo09]

The revolver and cigar was hilarious!

[@MrDuncl]

I kept thinking it would do better with Big-Trak type microcontroller based electronics but of course Milton Bradley was a rival company.

[@KairuHakubi]

it's amazing, i've known about this and i've seen tape deck repairs and such talking about wow and flutter, and it has never once occurred to me that those would interfere with data reading.

[@KairuHakubi]

@@volvo09 "Shut up baby I know it!"

[@TeruteruBozusama]

Agreed! Cassette consoles still amaze me..!

[@BurritoVampire]

Thanks for this! I am 5 minutes in the video, but I have the phrase "Happy Birthday Paulie" being recited by an 80s robot stuck in my head now. I didn't even see a reference to Rocky in this video so far, and yet it's going to be rattling around in my head all day.

[@amanoj318]

That's hilarious, I had the exact same experience. XD Replaying over and over through the video.

[@BurritoVampire]

@amanoj318 Right? After I finished the video, turns out that was never referenced... We might need CT scans or something.

[@scruffynorseman]

Awesome video! Glad my video helped with the bluetooth part. The tones might not be the same between robots, might be why it was so jerky. I should do another video where I better explain how to learn the tones off the original controller. Awesome work, man.

[@LGR]

Indeed, the Omnibots use different tones for movement, I actually recorded the taped commands to a PC and figured out the tones that way through an audio editor. It’s thanks to your video that I had a good jumping off point to experiment though!

[@OliverJanotta]

The Omnibot 2000 was sold for 2000 DM (German Marks) in Germany and the smaller Omnibot was sold for round about 800 DM. That was nearly $1000 and $400 in 1985! I've got a ChatBot for christmas in 1985 or 1986. The price at the local dealer was 150 DM (=$ 75).

[@Tinlion09]

My life is a little brighter knowing that Crackbot exists. _look at he go_

[@eyecontactleadsto]

Having subtitles on is the best - On top of the video itself, for some reason the subtitle [Stayin' Alive plays as Crackbot dances] really got me laughing, just a bizarre string of words I guess.

[@redapplefour6223]

technology connections is a master of this gag

[@TheRealColBosch]

Always great to see a shout-out to Randi. Her videos on restoring these old toys are a fantastic resource.

[@jmh1189]

I had zero doubt that Ernest watched your videos. They way he discribed nostalgic things of the past in his books kept me looking for an lgr reference

[@SavestateComic]

Closest I had to a robot in the 90s was a Capsela Voice Command 6000. Those were fun toys. The clear pieces let you see all the gears inside and probably led to my love of mechanics.

[@krayzee911]

I always loved these things! Back in the 80s my elementary school offered a summer robotics class that featured Omnibot, Big Trak, Armatron and a couple of other deliciously optimistic visions of the future. It was a good gateway into teaching us logic and problem solving, and I ended up with a career in IT as a result of it.

[@MrWolfSnack]

Should have kept tabs on those robots. A lot of them ended up in the dumpster by the 90's once their educational life was absconded.

[@superbunnybun]

I think a lot of the glitches when running the tape program may also be due to the squealing gears. The motors aren't rotating as much as it thinks it is due to the friction.

[@matthewhall6288]

Yep, wow and flutter.

[@renakunisaki]

​@@matthewhall6288that's in the tape deck itself, but on top of that, the motors that actually move the robot aren't moving consistently. Since it has no sensors, it assumes it moves the same way every time, when in fact it does not...

[@lartrak]

I got a Robie Jr for my birthday in 1989. I wanted a robot so bad, and had a book that showed all the ones in this video, including those super expensive ones. Me getting the Robie Jr is even on home video. I remember liking it and playing around with it occasionally (it helped I liked RC gadgets in general, had multiple cars), but yeah, you quickly realize they can't do much and don't work very well. I still have it in the box, sitting in storage.

[@waynes.1242]

My grandfather bought one of these for the family for Christmas, but we weren't allowed to really play with it, so it was more a gift for himself.

[@plasticmissile]

This was the crown jewel of expensive toys when I was a kid. It puts a huge smile on my face to see one back in action. Cheers!

[@Shineyongs.]

It's a robot toy I've seen in books and museums a long time ago, but here's my first time seeing a detailed demo video of how it works and how to use it! Thank you for the precious vintage robot video.

[@LGR]

My pleasure! I was surprised myself to find so few videos going over this in very much depth. It's such a classic bot.

[@LastJungle]

Me: I want robots in the future! The future: I can *generate* an image of a robot…

[@marksvader5398]

Also the future: "...but not from scratch. I need to use other images of robots to create a digital collage."

[@mechadeka]

​@@marksvader5398I see Twitter has picked up a new buzzword.

[@heatwik]

great episode and memory unlocked!! Here in Chile, in 1992 a tv network used an Omnibot 2000 in a Telenovela (soap opera) called "trampas y caretas" where "Felipito" (the name of the robot) ended up being an alien that took one of the main characters at the end of the series. It turned out to have tremendous relevance in history hahaha Here is an example of his performance kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYXIaGxumKyen7ssi=Rw9-zN0UdLDAwqHo&t=1105

[@MrMrsirr]

Outstanding

[@LotoTheHero]

That's awesome! :D

[@robbyrobot3303]

Solid lore dump

[@FabioGnecco]

Dude ! Your description made me wanna watch everything now xD

[@harz426]

Okay, take my like for that revolver gag!

[@dougbarry8399]

26:18 nearly destroyed me, amazing work.

[@stevelind1134]

Lol, I took a summer "robotics" class back in the 80s in elementary school and we got to play with one of these. I specifically remember the teacher mentioning it cost $500, so I'm guessing she bought it herself. I remember her being a bit of a tech enthusiast. Her day job was teaching 3rd grade, but she also taught the computer classes and managed the computer "lab", which was a classroom filled with Commodore 64's. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm guessing she pitched the idea of a "robotics" class to the school. I put it in quotes because honestly, there was nothing robotic about it.

[@Here_is_Waldo]

Ah, back in the days when a teacher was paid enough to buy a $500 robot for fun.

[@fen4554]

I'm sure you removed the batteries after filming, but just in case you didn't, that line of Maxxel bulk batteries (they love to give away for free) are notorious for leaking early. Had them in my workplace for many years.

[@MrWolfSnack]

those crappy dollar store Maxell junk batteries. They last less than a month in my wall clocks, they are that bad. Spend the money and get high quality Duracells. Stuff like this is extremely power intensive and places a high operating load on the batteries. Cheap alkaline batteries do not have the stamina to deliver the power. duracell always gives the proper results.

[@NALTOHQ]

This made me grin like an idiot. Thanks Clint. Still waiting for the day we all can have a cool robot like this.

[@theartisanrogue]

I believe this is now my all time favorite video you've made so far!!!!

[@RedKincaid]

I just wanted to say you've got a remarkably soothing voice, your videos are always very entertaining and relaxing in a way that a lot of yt is not

[@cueball981]

I was 10 years old in 1985 and remember seeing the Omnibot in the Sears catalog and drooling! Gosh, memories...

[@davidt3563]

This was awesome. I loved the revolver and the cigar. Not to mention the robot taking the wine glass over to the recliner. To funny!

[@davet231]

Catching up on older LGR videos I missed and see this pop up, playing to my love of robotics (and alcoholism). A joyous morning indeed.

[@draxoronxztgs1212]

That wow & flutter issue became a thing when tape drives from 1985 and later had the speed balancing flywheel made out of plastic (that was entirely of iron before) to reduce manufacturing costs. This is why those later cassette decks performs so poorly since the invetion of the tanachin mechanism they all were based on after that to this day.

[@benespection]

I had a _Compurobot I_ - it was totally programmable via a billion buttons on the top of its head, and quite reliable to program. Sadly no remote control, and all the problems of every programmable robot of the 1980s - you had to align everything just perfectly... It was infuriating, but I loved it to bits... literally - I pulled it apart to work out how it worked (like I did with almost everything electronic in the house when I was a kid).. Very cool, and really provoked my interest in electronics.

[@jessebeard4178]

If you digitally record/replicate the command transmission tones, you could probably write a program that could control this guy from your PC using that Bluetooth cassette by sending him the command tones over Bluetooth. You could write repeatable scripts or control him directly via PC. I think that'd be neat. Great video as always, Clint! EDIT: 5 minutes later and you demo the same thing from your phone. I should finish videos before I comment Lol

[@Barthallis]

I think something like this would still be awesome if it came out today. With all the modern stuff we have nowadays it'd probably be easier to control and program tasks, and have other bonus features like being able to recognize objects, full-range arm movement, higher quality speakers, etc

[@rosieisupwaytoolate]

Found myself thinking the exact same thing. With a few modern technological advancements thrown in there under the hood and in the manufacturing process (i.e. ensure liquid can't easily leak inside of the machine and that accessible surfaces can be relatively easily cleaned in the event of spills or other messes), this could be a really awesome toy/tool. Plus it could be a great outlet for basic programming lessons for those interested if users were given the modernly easy ability to code in custom instructions via a computer to upload to the robot when complete. Now I want one. Damn. Somebody (who ISN'T a con artist...) with some proper know-how to get the job done needs to Kickstart one of these or something. If it seemed highly likely to be legit, I'd pitch in, that's for sure.

[@deathstinger13]

too bad all modern consumer-level robots are either glorified fusions of vacuum cleaners with those old toys that would 'automatically' detect when they ran into a wall or something, or they're just straight up scams on indigogo with completely faked videos

[@RadeonVega64]

yep

[@KronoGarrett]

But it would be cloud-connected, require a subscription, and record you without your consent...the future we got really could have turned out better.

[@Barthallis]

@@KronoGarrett As much as I'd hate to agree with you, in this day and age, I unfortunately have to.

[@willbill680]

So… I’ve just realised that the ernie that sent you the bot is Ernest Cline… The author of Ready Player One… of course he’s a retro robot addict lol 😂😂😂

[@fen4554]

I feel like that was a grand oversight if true, wow.

[@legbert123]

Kind of like Clint to not make a big deal about it tho.@@fen4554

[@DaveMcAnulty]

I had to look it up, name was so familiar :D en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Cline

[@willbill680]

See the author on the page at 5:35 for reference, which confirms this to be the case

[@lnutt677]

The K9 robot from Doctor Who had similar problems with radio signals interfering with control. Most of the cameras and so on worked on the same radio frequency as K9.

[@AngryCalvin]

Affirmative...

[@renakunisaki]

Was that part of the show, or troubles during filming?

[@sutorippuwebmaster8783]

Had the Armitron II growing up. It was really just a mobile crane-arm with a wired control; even more limited than this thing. The box showed kids having it grab vials and such for chemistry sets. Big dreams back then. Also your retro room setup is looking sharp. I'd put some kind of protective mat under the desk and chair though.

[@CoffeeStreetWC]

I seem to have shared many similar memories and tech wants from my childhood as you have! Reading an X10 magazine cover to cover, fantasizing about having all those tech-y devices working at my fingertips, having a Packard Bell Win95 PC as my first, and just loving weird tech in general! Love your vids Clint!

[@DarkeningDemise]

14:48 good lord it's the 1990's drive through experience all over again

[@yourguysheppy]

I had some (much smaller, less expensive) robot toys growing up, they'd usually break down after a year but they were a lot of fun. Nice dose of nostalgia in this one

[@JimInziello]

I had an Omnibot 2000. I recieved it as a graduation from Elementry School gift, (only if I got all A's). I spent years playing with it. I once successfully had It go from one room to another on program. It was extremely frustrating, but I kept trying to program it, align, set the timer/program function to try to get it to wake me up for school. I learned very quickly what dead reckoning was. Also the fact that there were no sensors or limit switches to help with that. In retrospect, at almost 50 years old, I wish I had asked for a Hero, I would have probably gone into robotics sooner. I still have him under my office desk, with tray and remote. Thanks for the Randi's Robot Garage link, I'll check that out.

[@JRthepyroguy]

Just imagine opening that on Christmas morning back then. I would had been so excited. Great video.

[@Shadowtiger2564]

I was born in the 90s but I remember personal robots still being all over until the early 00s, especially with reruns, pop culture refrances and still popular movies that featured them. I always wanted one as a kid. Nowadays the concept would probably be rather creepy considering how much data would be collected by something like that. Looking at you Alexa and other house hold data bugs

[@davidjwidmann]

Thanks for this! That series of beeps has been in my head for months, and I couldn't remember where it was from. I had an original Omnibot back in the day, and I was obsessed with it. Maybe I should post the picture I have with it rocking a Panasonic Walkman clone and Return of the Jedi baseball cap.

[@MrWolfSnack]

Short Circuit came out a year after this - in 1986. It would have been in filming the same time this robot came out. In the movie there is a robot going around serving Hors D'oeuvres and drinks. I wonder who got the idea from who.

[@hollowowlyt]

I remember being at a family friend’s house in the late 90’s and they had one of these. I was really young but I distinctly remember it bringing me a drink one time. I never saw it again any time I was there. I actually think about it quite a bit because I never knew what it was. Thanks for making this video!

[@emilyapricot1313]

I like how you modernized it like in 19:30 with bluetooth tones on your phone. Shows it has some potential to always work somehow.

[@therainbowcat3]

Ernie, you're a real one, thanks for sharing!

[@Sem5626]

well this is a blast from the past... i totally forgot this was a thing but man did i want one of these as a little kid lol

[@Walawalacookie]

I loved this video, thanks Clint. I was born in 83 and these little guys captured my imagination all through my early childhood. Seeing one unboxed was a real treat.

[@mrwoodandmrtin]

Pretty neat! As a kid it would have been the Xmas gift of all time. Thanks so much for showing it.

[@Fuuntag]

Happy Birthday Paulie.

[@NealClewlow]

Oh man, I _so_ wanted an Omnibot when I was a kid (although given the price I never really expected one). I did get a BihTrak though...same problem as the Omnibot when it came to movement - I'd spend ages setting up courses for it to navigate, but could never reliably repeat its movements. Happy Days.

[@TheFirefox]

We had an original Omnibot (the one with the dome head, second from left at 32:14). It was so awesome as a kid - seemed well ahead of it’s time for the mid-1980’s. I remember my brother driving it into my room and telling me to wake up using the remote microphone. Although, as shown in this video, it could be a little touch-and-go to get full functionality. We also had a “Dingbot” (second from right at 32:14). Ironically, due to it’s simplicity I think it lasted much longer than the big Omnibot.

[@jayeff7900]

The cigar and revolver had me in stitches.

[@5DollarShake420]

Another great video, Clint! Keep up the great work!

[@robertfry3071]

I did not know this existed and now I want one. Thanks for that.