page_title: R.O.B.
section_title: Hardware
hierarchical_section_title: R.O.B. / Hardware
caption_attribution_description: English: A video game apparatus patented by Nintendo that looks and functions mechanically similar to R.O.B., a robot-like peripheral released the year of initial filing.
context_page_description: R.O.B. is a toy robot accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was launched in July 1985 as the Family Computer Robot in Japan, and October 1985 as R.O.B. in North America. Its short lifespan yielded only two games in the Robot Series: Gyromite and Stack-Up.
  Following the devastating North American video game crash of 1983, Nintendo alleviated the fearful retail market by rebranding its Japanese Famicom video game console as the Nintendo Entertainment System—a new platform focused on R.O.B. to further reclassify the system as a uniquely sophisticated toy experience instead of simply as a video game console. Computer Entertainer magazine in June 1985 called R.O.B. "the world's only interactive robot".
  The extensive marketing plan centered on R.O.B., which began at the October 1985 test market launch of the NES, was ultimately successful. The launch was Nintendo's debut in the North American video game console market, and revitalized the entire video game industry.
context_section_description: The patent underlying the R.O.B. product was filed by Gunpei Yokoi as "photosensing video game control system", with the same optical electronics as a NES Zapper, and likewise only functions correctly when coupled with a cathode ray tube (CRT) television and not an LCD. Games can send six distinct commands to R.O.B. by flashing the screen. Both Gyromite and Stack-Up include a test feature, sending an optical flash that should make R.O.B.'s LED light up.
  The R.O.B. unit's height is 24 cm (9.6 in).  It has a head movement range of a 45° horizontally centered tilt.  The arm movement range is 240° left and right with five stopping points, 7 cm (2.75 in) up and down with six stopping points, and 7 cm (2.75 in) between hands when open. The unit has five accessory slots around the hexagonal base, numbered clockwise, starting at the rear-left from the robot's point of view; and notches on the hands allow for specialized parts to be attached for each game. The tinted filter can be optionally attached over the eyes like sunglasses, to compensate for bright televisions or sunlight. The unit is powered by four AA batteries.
caption: R.O.B. (right) is placed in front of the CRT screen in order to receive commands via optical flashes.[9]
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