Short story of the Csepel G.E. (meaning in Hungarian: Machine Man)
- according to personal Mythology
In 1962, two years after the Moscow Economy Fair, the first plant to deal with robotics, called the ’Hungarian Plant for Robotics’ was established as a result of the cooperation between the two factories: Csepel and Tungsram. Within the framework of the Five-year Plan, the factory Csepel became home to this extraordinary and grandiose business. All the greatest scientists, engineers, and mechanical experts of the mighty Soviet Union came to Hungary in order to support the revered scientist of our Homeland, János Neumann. Their goal was to establish the first self-moving machine. This plan was most commonly referred to that time as A/15 until the Working Robot (1965) was revealed, which was recognised as a real breakthrough in the field of robotics. For a moment, the whole world listened to us. The Working Robot was no more than a digging machine driven by a punchcard and could not be used for anything else, yet this masterly mechanism fascinated and impressed everyone who saw it.
In 1965, the Hungarian Plan for Robotics received another order: to develop a robot man able to teach the people that came to view him. This is when the first teaching machines came to life: the Chess Machine, the Dancing Machine, the Marching Machine, the Saluting Machine, and many others designed for other purposes. It was the Gymnastics Robot of Csepel G.E. for which a production line was first established. Due to market overflow as well as cheaper Chinese robots and spare parts, the production line was demolished in 1982, and from then on only a few replacement parts were produced for export. Today, unfortunately only one reconstructed piece exists in private hands.
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