Robby was the brainchild of, and designed by industrial designer, Japanese-American engineer Robert Kinoshita. It was built in mid-1955 by the MGM prop department, at a reported cost of $125,000, to 'star' in the epic science fiction classic Forbidden Planet (1956) and its B-movie followup The Invisible Boy (1957) a year later. Robby the Robot has become one of the most popular robot icons in the history of movies and media, as recognizable as George Lucas' erstwhile comedy team of R2-D2 and C-3PO who 'co-starred' in his epic sci-fi fantasy Star Wars (1977).