By Pete Vilmur
If there's one design that captures the character of the Star Wars universe, it's that of R2-D2. Practical, well-worn, durable, yet elegant, R2-D2 remains one of the crowning achievements of concept artist Ralph McQuarrie, who first sketched out designs for the squat little astromech during the preproduction phase of A New Hope in 1975. With the first film's release, R2-D2 became an overnight sensation, booking guest appearances on variety and talk shows, at movie premieres, and even landing the cover of People magazine's "25 Most Intriguing People of 1977."
It's no surprise, then, that the media quickly adopted the classic dome, barrel, and tri-leg design to convey anyone or anything with a technological slant -- political cartoons relished the opportunity to use the highly-recognizable droid in caricature, and tech magazines often portrayed the little astromech vaguely endorsing the computer hardware gracing their covers. The most inspired use of the familiar R2 unit design, however, has to be that of Coca-Cola's "Cobot" robot from the late 1970s and early '80s. Replacing the barrel-shape portion of Artoo's body with that of a Coke can, the Cobot -- an amalgam of the words "Coke" and "robot" -- was born, much to the delight of soda-drinkers and supermarket shoppers everywhere.
The Cobot, which had been called "Cokebot" and then "Kobot" before finally settling on the now-familiar moniker, was originally devised as a promotional gimmick for supermarket appearances, tradeshows and special events in 1979. Measuring four feet tall, the full-size astromech clone could roll, turn, swivel its dome, blink, speak, and even "sing." Unlike many of Artoo's appearances in A New Hope, where actor Kenny Baker performed these maneuvers from within Artoo's body, the Cobot was fully automated and remotely controlled. The Cobot was designed and built by Creative Systems Group of Norcross, Georgia, who manufactured robots for 21st Century Robotics, Inc.
According to Michael Paul, current President and Chief Engineer for 21st Century Robotics, the original idea for the Cobot came from his company's former owner and founder, Ron Green. "Fantasy Factory, a division of Creative Systems Group, built an R2-D2 look-alike soon after the first movie release due to owner Bill Tolar's fascination with Star Wars," says Paul. The robot caught Green's attention at a promotional event, prompting him to get in touch with a contact at Coca-Cola to pitch the idea of a cola can robot. "A conceptual drawing was submitted to Coke and they loved it," adds Paul.
Green ordered six prototypes and Creative Systems Group quickly got to work devising the full-size Cobot, which was powered by a 12-volt battery and fitted with a 2-way radio to allow a remote operator to both listen in and speak to customers. As the company's good-will ambassadroid and Coke's first-ever physical mascot, Cobot would encourage the purchase of Coca-Cola products and gently scold shoppers for choosing the products of competitors. The Cobot also featured an on-board 8-track tape deck that could play "bleeps", "computers," "space and laser sounds," or the Coke jingle of the day, "Have a Coke and a Smile." A red window on the front of Cobot's dome was illuminated with the word "SMILE," quietly referencing the song title.
