VEB Kombinat Robotron (or simply Robotron) was the biggest

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

electronics manufacturer. It was based in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

and employed 68,000 people (1989). It produced

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

SM EVM SM EVM (СМ ЭВМ, abbreviation of Система Малых ЭВМ—literally System of Mini Computers) are several types of Soviet Union, Soviet and Comecon minicomputers produced from 1975 through the 1980s. Most types of SM EVM are clone (co ...

minicomputers, the ESER mainframe computers, several computer

peripherals A peripheral or peripheral device is an auxiliary device used to put information into and get information out of a computer. The term ''peripheral device'' refers to all hardware components that are attached to a computer and are controlled by the ...

as well as home computers, radios, television sets and other items including the

cookie press A cookie press is a device for making pressed cookies such as spritzgebäck. It consists of a cylinder with a plunger on one end, which is used to extrude Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pus ...

''Kleingebäckpresse Typ 102''.

Divisions

Robotron managed several different divisions: *VEB Robotron-Elektronik Dresden (headquarters) —

typewriters A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectively ...

, personal computers, minicomputers, mainframes *VEB Robotron-Meßelektronik Dresden — measurement and testing devices, home computers *VEB Robotron-Projekt Dresden —

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

department *VEB Robotron-Buchungsmaschinenwerk

Karl-Marx-Stadt Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany ...

— personal computers, floppy disk drives *VEB Robotron-Elektronik

Hoyerswerda Hoyerswerda () or Wojerecy () is a major district town in the district of Bautzen in the German state of Saxony. It is located in the Sorbian settlement area of Upper Lusatia, a region where some people speak the Sorbian language in addition to ...

— monitors,

power supply unit A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and frequency to power the load. As a res ...

s *VEB Robotron-Elektronik

Radeberg Radeberg is a small town in the district of Bautzen, Saxony, Germany. It is located approximately 20 kilometres north-east of Dresden. The town has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, and an old castle. History Radeberg was mentioned ...

— mainframes, radio receivers, portable television receivers, directional radio systems *VEB Robotron Vertrieb Dresden,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

— sales departments *VEB Robotron-Elektronik Zella-Mehlis —

computer terminal A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing data from, a computer or a computing system. The teletype was an example of an early-day hard-copy terminal and ...

hard disk drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magne ...

s *VEB Robotron-Büromaschinenwerk Sömmerda — personal computers,

printers Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jam ...

, electronic calculators (Soemtron 220, 222, 224), invoicing machines (EFA 380), punched card indexers and sorters (Soemtron 432). *VEB Robotron Elektronik

Riesa Riesa is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately northwest of Dresden. History The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears first i ...

— printed circuit boards *VEB Robotron-Anlagenbau

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

— general contractor, design and assembly for computer and process calculation systems in the GDR and export, training center On 30 June 1990 the ''Kombinat'' Robotron was liquidated and the divisions were converted into corporations. In the 1990s these companies were sold, ''e.g.'', to

Siemens Nixdorf Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme, AG (SNI) was formed in 1990 by the merger of Nixdorf Computer and the Data Information Services (DIS) division of Siemens. It functioned as a separate company within Siemens. It was the largest informatio ...

, or also liquidated. Robotron Datenbank-Software GmbH is a company which emerged from one of the former divisions of ''Kombinat'' Robotron. It was newly founded on 23 August 1990, just before German reunification. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-Z1102-008, VEB Robotron Elektronik Dresden, Endmontage.jpg, Final assembly at VEB Robotron Elektronik Dresden, 1981 Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1984-1128-002, VEB Robotron Elektronik Dresden, Qualitätskontrolle.jpg, Quality conformance testing at VEB Robotron Elektronik Dresden, 1984 Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1985-0211-022, VEB Robotron Elektronik Dresden, Computer EC 2655M.jpg, A worker at an assembly plant producing the ES 2655 mainframe in 1985. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0125-004, VEB Robotron Elektronik Dresden, Endmontage.jpg, One of the 17,000 workers at the Kombinat Robotron in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

in 1987 working during the weekend to produce

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

Rebranding activities

Robotron printers were sold in Western Germany as "Soemtron" or "Präsident", and the West German branch of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

used some Robotron parts for their printers. In East Germany,

Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...

printers were sold under the Robotron brand (but the technical description on the back was with the "Epson" logo).

Robotron computers and typewriters

Robotron product series: * ''Midrange computer'' EDVA Robotron 300 (based on

IBM 1401 The IBM 1401 is a variable-wordlength decimal computer that was announced by IBM on October 5, 1959. The first member of the highly successful IBM 1400 series, it was aimed at replacing unit record equipment for processing data stored on pu ...

), * R 4000 and R 4200 computers (based on Honeywell Series 16), *

ES EVM The ES EVM (russian: Единая система электронных вычислительных машин (ЕС ЭВМ), translit=Yedinaya sistema electronnykh vytchislitel'nykh mashin (ES EVM), "Unified System of Electronic Computers"), o ...

systems EC 1040, EC 1055, EC 1056, EC 1057 (based on IBM System/360, IBM

System/370 The IBM System/370 (S/370) is a model range of IBM mainframe computers announced on June 30, 1970, as the successors to the System/360 family. The series mostly maintains backward compatibility with the S/360, allowing an easy migration path ...

), * Minicomputer and

Superminicomputer A superminicomputer, colloquially supermini, is a high-end minicomputer. The term is used to distinguish the emerging 32-bit architecture midrange computers introduced in the mid to late 1970s from the classical 16-bit systems that preceded them. ...

K 1600 (DEC PDP-11),

K 1840 The K 1840, full name RVS K 1840 (, "computer system with virtual memory") is a minicomputer from the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Its development began in August 1985 at VEB Robotron Elektronik in Dresden, and it went into production in 19 ...

( VAX 11/780),

K 1820 The K 1820, full name RVS K 1820 ({{lang, de, Rechnersystem mit virtuellem Speicher, "computer system with virtual memory"), cipher in the SM EVM of the former COMECON countries SM 1720, is a workstation developed in East Germany. VEB Robotron ...

( MicroVAX II), * Office and personal computers

A 5120 The A 5120 was an office computer produced by VEB Robotron in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz), East Germany starting in 1982. The system featured an 8-bit microprocessor, the U880. It was built for office work and had minimal graphics and sound ...

PC 1715 The PC 1715 was an office computer produced by VEB Robotron in East Germany starting in 1985. The system featured an 8-bit microprocessor, the U880, a clone of the Zilog Z80. It was built for office work and education, but also had an interface fo ...

, A 7100, A 7150, BIC A 5105, EC 1834 (

IBM XT The IBM Personal Computer XT (model 5160, often shortened to PC/XT) is the second computer in the IBM Personal Computer line, released on March 8, 1983. Except for the addition of a built-in hard drive and extra expansion slots, it is very simila ...

), EC 1835 (

IBM AT The IBM Personal Computer/AT (model 5170, abbreviated as IBM AT or PC/AT) was released in 1984 as the fourth model in the IBM Personal Computer line, following the IBM PC/XT and its IBM Portable PC variant. It was designed around the Intel 80 ...

), *

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

microcomputer systems K 1510, K 1520, K 1700 * Operating systems such as

JAMB A jamb (from French ''jambe'', "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are known ...

, Disk Control Program or KOBRA File:Robotron A 5120.jpg, Robotron

office computer, ''1982'' File:Robotron-KC87-2.jpg,

Robotron KC 87 The Robotron KC 87, fully known as the Kleincomputer robotron KC 87 (''KC'' standing for ''Kleincomputer'', lit. "small computer"), was an 8-bit home computer released in 1986 and produced in East Germany by the VEB Robotron-Meßelektronik "Ot ...

home computer, ''1987'' File:A7100EC1834.jpg, Robotron A 7100 and EC 1834 (XT-compatible) personal computer, ''1986'' File:RobotronPC1715.jpg,

File:Robotron K1840.jpg, Robotron RVS

(SM 1710), DEC

VAX-11 The VAX-11 is a discontinued family of 32-bit superminicomputers, running the Virtual Address eXtension (VAX) instruction set architecture (ISA), developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Development began in 1976. In a ...

/780 Clone, ''1988'', recorded in the Technical Collections Dresden File:Robotron 204.jpg, A Robotron 204 electric typewriter from the 1980s File:VEB Robotron K8911.jpg, VEB Robotron K8911 File:Robotron calculator in the Pořežany museum.jpg, Robotron calculator with a printer

K1520 bus standard

The K1520 bus was an early computer bus, created by VEB Robotron in 1980 and specified in TGL 37271/01. It was the predominant computer bus architecture of microcomputer-sized systems of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, whose industry relied heavily on the

U880 The U880 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was manufactured by VEB Mikroelektronik "Karl Marx" Erfurt (abbreviated as MME; part of Kombinat Mikroelektronik Erfurt) in the German Democratic Republic. Production of the U880 started in 1980 at VEB ...

microprocessor, a clone of the

Zilog Z80 The Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor introduced by Zilog as the startup company's first product. The Z80 was conceived by Federico Faggin in late 1974 and developed by him and his 11 employees starting in early 1975. The first working samples were ...

. Among the large number of boards developed using the standard were * CPU modules *

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

modules * graphics cards * magnetic tape controllers *

Floppy disk controller A floppy-disk controller (FDC) has evolved from a discrete set of components on one or more circuit boards to a special-purpose integrated circuit (IC or "chip") or a component thereof. An FDC directs and controls reading from and writing to a ...

s It was originally intended to be used to connect boards to backplanes, as in the *

office computer * A 5130 office computer * Poly-Play arcade cabinet but was also used as an extension bus for computers that featured a

main board A motherboard (also called mainboard, main circuit board, mb, mboard, backplane board, base board, system board, logic board (only in Apple computers) or mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expand ...

* KC 85/2, KC85/3, KC85/4 ** 2 internal slots for extension cartridges and one back-side connector * D002 ** expansion unit for 4 additional extension cartridges * D004 ** floppy controller subsystem for KC95 based systems. 2 internal cartridge slots *

** 2 internal slots, one being occupied by the standard issue floppy disk controller * A 5105 (not produced in significant quantities) * KC 87 (a.k.a. z9001 or KC85/1) * Z1013 * KC compact (not produced in meaningful quantities) The bus had 58 pins and was commonly physically represented by a two-row connector with 29 pins each. The following signals and connections were used: * DB0 ... DB7 (bidirectional data bus) * AB0 ... AB15 (address bus) * /MREQ, /IORQ, /RD, /WR, /RFSH, /M1, /WAIT, /HALT, /INT, /NMI, /BUSRQ, /RESET (Z80 control signals) * /BAI, /BOA (/BUSACK priority chain) * /IEI, IEO (interrupt enable priority chain) * /IODI, /MEMDI, /RDY * clock * +5V * -5V * +12V * ground

References

External links

Robotron.foerderverein-tsd.de
nbsp;— The History of Robotron narrated by former staff members. German language site.

nbsp;— On-line generalised list of computers including Robotron. German language site.
Robotrontechnik.de
nbsp;— On-line museum of Robotron companies and products. German language site with some English translations.
Soemtron.org
nbsp;— Technical data for the Soemtron 22x series (220, 222, 224) desktop calculators manufactured by VEB Robotron Büromaschinenwerk Sömmerda.
Typewriter "Erika"
nbsp;— DDR Museum, Berlin
Company History
nbsp;— Company History Robotron Radeberg. {{DEFAULTSORT:Veb Robotron Home computer hardware companies Volkseigene Betriebe Defunct companies of Germany Science and technology in East Germany

Divisions

Rebranding activities

Robotron computers and typewriters

K1520 bus standard

See also

References

External links