ASTAR
Encyclopedia
ASTAR is a fictional golden humanoid
robot
. The character was created in the 1980s by the Canadian amputee organization The War Amps
and is featured in material for their PLAYSAFE program to educate children about safety.
The original televised segment featured a performer in an elaborate costume as ASTAR performing acrobatic stunts in a world full of dangerous machines. After evading various threats such as electrical hazards and moving blades, ASTAR eventually makes a mistake causing his arm to be amputated by a large rotating saw. He then picks up his severed arm and reattaches it with ease. The segment ends with ASTAR giving the warning:
The above warning is now part of Canadian popular culture
for those who grew up in the 1980s. In a 1990s remake of the segment, ASTAR is now an animated CG
character, and the warning is altered slightly to "I am ASTAR, a robot from Planet Danger. I can put my arm back on. You can't. So play safe!"
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
. The character was created in the 1980s by the Canadian amputee organization The War Amps
The War Amps
The War Amps is a Canadian nation-wide registered charitable organization founded in 1918 and operated under the direction of war amputees. Since its inception, The War Amps has had as its hallmark the unique philosophy of “amputees helping amputees.” The War Amps is able to operate its many...
and is featured in material for their PLAYSAFE program to educate children about safety.
The original televised segment featured a performer in an elaborate costume as ASTAR performing acrobatic stunts in a world full of dangerous machines. After evading various threats such as electrical hazards and moving blades, ASTAR eventually makes a mistake causing his arm to be amputated by a large rotating saw. He then picks up his severed arm and reattaches it with ease. The segment ends with ASTAR giving the warning:
- I am ASTAR, a robot. I can put my arm back on. You can't. So play safe!
The above warning is now part of Canadian popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
for those who grew up in the 1980s. In a 1990s remake of the segment, ASTAR is now an animated CG
CG
CG, Cg or cg may stand for:*Airlines PNG IATA code*Categorial grammar*Constraint grammar*Carnival Games, a video game for Wii and Nintendo DS*Center of gravity*Centigram , a unit of mass in the metric system...
character, and the warning is altered slightly to "I am ASTAR, a robot from Planet Danger. I can put my arm back on. You can't. So play safe!"