Sabor: the Swiss robot that earned global fame

One of the world’s first remote-controlled robots, called Sabor, hails from Switzerland. Built in 1923, it is now back on display at its birthplace in Teufen in canton Appenzell Outer Rhodes. In 1961, Sabor was taken on a tour of the United States and was set to share the stage one evening with the singer Frank Sinatra. But the jazz club event had to be cancelled – Sabor was too tall to go down the stairs to the club. The robot designed by inventor August Huber from Teufen, canton Appenzell Outer Rhodes, is 2.37 metres tall. It was not the first robot to be built, but it was certainly one of the largest. It is notable that Sabor was developed by a private individual rather than a company. Huber began building Sabor when he was only 12 year old. It’s unclear where the son of a textile family got his inspiration – perhaps from Appenzell’s textile industry and its weaving and embroidery machines. “The mechanical skills needed were certainly a foundation for his experimentation and ...