I got to see one of these live and in person when I was six years old. (1976) It was awesome.
One of our neighbors had one. He'd gotten it as a kid and would let his kids play with it every now and then. I got to see it in action several times. It freaked me out because my cartoon-addled kid brain thought it was loaded with robotic circuitry and it could really "see" you when you shot it. I loved to watch it in action but I was also a little scared of it.
Flash forward to present day. I bought my nephew a Roboraptor. It's loaded with robotic circuitry and sensors. It can hear, see, feel and autonomously chases the dog around the house avoiding obstacles without any human intervention. For a nightmare come to life, I find it very cute.