Nolan Bushnell Introduces the Androbot TOPO as "A Mobile Extension of Your Personal Computer"

In 1983 Nolan Bushnell and Androbot Inc. in San Jose, California introduced Topo for the consumer and education markets. Topo, developed by William H. T. La, was programmable via Apple II and there was a user-made program for the Windows 9x operating systems. The programming language allowed the robot to perform a set of geometric movements, to move about a room and perform tasks.

Topos 1's were sold commercially starting in early 1983, and were intended to be inexpensive, lacking a complicated manipulating device. Units were beige molded plastic with two drive wheels as feet and stood about 36 inches tall. According to the Wikipedia article on Topo in March 2021, Topo 1 retailed for $495; however only 120 units were sold out of 600 manufactured.

The company introduced variations on the original Topo. Arms on Topo 1 and 2 folded out, but Topo 3 lacked arms altogether. Operation was based on one of two programming languages, either Apple BASIC, a modified version of the Logo language, or a version of Forth.

Communication was via a radio or infrared transmitter attached to a personal computer. Topo 2 and 3 used an infrared transmitter, and could be controlled by a four way pad on the top of their head that also served as the infrared receiver.

In its final versions, Topo included a text-to-speech processor, so that users could program their robots to wander around the house and speak to humans. A Topo 4 was made but it never went into production. It was more like the Brains On Board (B.O.B.), an unreleased Androbot that was produced after the Topo series.