Elektro was one of the earliest hominid robots. It was built by Westinghouse in 1938 and was displayed at the New York World Fair in 1939 along with "his" robotic dog Sparko. Elektro was seven feet tall, weighed 265 pounds and could respond to basic voice commands by walking and moving its head and arms. It's vocal responses were played back on a 78 rmp record player built into the robot's torso.
The later hominid-like robot below was built with advanced sensory and vocal capacities including camera eyes, oversized ears and speakers around the mouth.
Neither of these two early robots showed any signs of gender identity, at least in their outward appearances. Such androgyny must have been seen as a feature which would allow them to exceed the capacities of humans who, unlike robots, spend vast amounts of time and resources on procreation.
