Robot B-9

Robot
Lost in Space character
The Robot with Jonathan Harris as Dr. Smith
Created by	Robert Kinoshita
Portrayed by	Bob May
Voiced by	Dick Tufeld

The B-9, Class M-3 General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Robot was a character in the television series Lost in Space. Known and addressed simply as "Robot", his full designation was only occasionally mentioned on the show.

Although a machine endowed with superhuman strength and futuristic weaponry, he often displayed human characteristics, such as laughter, sadness, and mockery, as well as singing and playing the guitar. With his major role often being to protect the youngest member of the crew Robot's catch phrase was "Danger! Danger! Will Robinson", accompanied by waving his arms.

The Robot was performed by Bob May in a prop costume built by Bob Stewart. The voice was primarily dubbed by Dick Tufeld, who was also the series' narrator and Jorge Arvizu for the Spanish dubbing. The Robot was designed by Robert Kinoshita, who also designed Forbidden Planet's Robby the Robot. Robby appears in Lost in Space episode #20 "War of the Robots" and in episode #60 "Condemned of Space". The Robot did not appear in the unaired pilot episode, but was added to the series once it had been greenlit.

Initially, the bellows-covered legs were articulated, and were moved separately by the actor inside. However, the metal edges inside the suit cut actor Bob May's legs, so changes were made. The legs were bolted together, and the robot was pulled along by a wire instead of walking as it had done before. A new lower section was constructed with the legs cut off at the knee. This was filmed either in close-up or behind something to obscure the actor's feet protruding out the bottom; this version of the suit was informally referred to by the cast and crew as "the Bermuda shorts."

Robot B-9 consisted, from top down, of

According to the series

In one first season episode, Dr. Smith was seen to remove the robot's programming tapes, which resemble a small reel of magnetic tape, from a hatch below the robot's chest panel.

Two versions of the robot were used during Lost in Space filming – a "hero robot" costume worn by Bob May, and a static, "stunt robot" prop that was used for distant or hazardous shots. Both versions fell into disrepair after the series, but these have since been discovered and restored. The "hero" is privately owned by TV and film producer Kevin Burns, who commissioned a replica in the early 1990s for touring and conventions. The "stunt robot" is in storage at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington.