JOINING THE CIRCUITS : You Can Touch, Talk to and Clown Around With the Merchandise at Robot Faire in Costa Mesa

As a youngster, I found few late ‘60s and early ‘70s TV stars as fascinating as Rosie, the efficient if occasionally testy robotic housekeeper on “The Jetsons.” David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman may have had better hair, but in a three-way race with a feather duster, I’d put my money on Rosie any day of the week.

The folks of the Robotics Society of Southern California must feel the same way. At their first Robot Faire, they’ll pay tribute to Rosie’s kin with a free day of displays, demonstrations, games and contests featuring an estimated 100 personal robots ranging from tabletop models to a 4-foot, 10-inch former film star. The Robot Faire runs Sunday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lewis Applied Science Center at Orange Coast College.

This, however, is no egghead revue. According to chairman Joe McCord, the 65 members of the society encourage people, especially children, to get downright chummy with their electronic pals. Visitors will have an opportunity to operate many of the robots, and children are invited to enter their own robot toys in games and contests.

“We want people to be involved as much as possible,” said McCord. “This is not a come-look-see (event); it’s a come-touch-see.”

The society was founded in 1989 “to enlighten people about personal robots as opposed to industrial robots,” McCord said. It’s an eclectic group whose membership “runs literally from rocket scientists down to people who know absolutely nothing about robots, but who are just interested in them.”

The Robot Faire, which has been in the works for more than a year, was designed largely with children in mind, added McCord.

“We’re trying to stimulate children to become interested in robotics because we think it’s the future,” he said.

“Computers and robots are the way the world is going, and the more kids who become interested in it at an early age, the better it will be for them and for us as a country.”

McCord is general manager of the Robot Co., a Costa Mesa-based firm that builds and rents personal robots for use in films, trade conventions and private parties. In fact, two of the robots he will be showcasing at the fair--ProBot and Nerdy by name--have gone Hollywood, appearing in the film “Short Circuit” and on Fox Television’s “Revenge of the Nerds, Part III.” Newton, a third robot in his collection that makes appearances in local schools, demonstrates robots’ potential as learning tools for children, McCord said.

“For example, Newton’s functions include math games in which he may ask a child, ‘How much is two and two?’ If the kid gets it right, the robot suggests he move into more complicated games; if the child makes a mistake, the robot shakes his head and says, ‘No, try again.’ It’s a very interactive thing.”

Because of mechanical trouble, Newton won’t make it to Sunday’s event, but there will be a number of other robots with teaching capabilities available to try. Also on hand will be Sidekick, a machine recently designed by Santa Ana’s Robotic Assistance Co. to serve handicapped individuals.

After an opening “parade of robots” and welcoming remarks from society president Jerry Burton at 10 a.m., visitors can take advantage of a number of hands-on opportunities. Contests, many of them open to children, range from obstacle courses to robot races to “laser beam” (actually, infrared beam) wars. Certificates of participation will be awarded to all contestants.

Under society members’ tutelage, adults and children can learn the basics of operating a robot, either through the use of voices or by manipulating tiny remote control units. Guests can strike up a conversation with robots equipped with reverse-audio systems that en able the operator, and hence the robot, to hear and respond to visitor’s remarks.

However, there’s more to this game than pushing a few buttons, warned McCord.

“I can teach anybody how to run a robot in about five minutes,” he said. “But running it and making it come alive are two different things.

“Robots have a personality all their own (but) it’s an extension of the operator. That’s not something that can be taught. Just to carry on a conversation through a robot is an art.”

Chatting it up with or through a pile of aluminum, wiring and fiberglass may be a bit awkward for adults, but for most children, it’s a perfectly reasonable idea, McCord said.

“We call it suspending disbelief,” he said. “Adults know the robot is not alive, but for at least a minute or two they’re willing to believe it’s real.

“But while kids today are more sophisticated, up to the age of 8 or 9--about the time they stop believing in Santa Claus--they believe and they accept.”

What: Robot Faire.

When: Sunday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: The Lewis Applied Science Center at Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa.

Whereabouts: From the San Diego (405) Freeway, exit at Fairview Road and drive west. Turn right on Merrimac Way and follow the signs to the science center.

Wherewithal: Admission is free.

Where to call: (714) 722-0890 or (714) 535-8161.