Japan Pavilion Painting Robot, 1982 World’s Fair, Knoxville, TN. In the waiting area of the Japan Pavilion, the "Painting Robot" skilfully draws patterns chosen by guests. "Japan, no longer a tiny nation struggling to recover from defeat, had created the world’s second-biggest economy, and had just surpassed the United States to become the world’s biggest automaker, becoming a serious rival on the global market for several U.S. products. Highlighting their technological wizardry, Japan created a pavilion offering both a virtual and heart-stoppingly realistic bullet-train ride and a painting robot with a flair for semi-abstract art. It was just a symbol of what Japan had learned to do with robots in factories." – 1982 Worlds Fair in Hindsight, Knoxville History Project.