a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
In the early ‘60s, as part of the preparations for the Apollo manned moon landing mission, the Jet Propulsion Lab planned a follow-on program to its very successful ‘hard’ landing ‘Ranger’ program, which gave the first close-up views of the moon’s surface. The proposed ‘soft’ lander program was called ‘Surveyor’. An initial concept was for …
Read More “1961 – Sperry Rand Plodding Moon Walker – (American)”
$7,000 Mechanical Wonder ! The only Steam Man Actually walks and runs alone! The Greatest Invention of Modern Times. The W.W. Cole's Great New York and New Orleans Zoological and Equestrian Exposition toured the American continent between 1871 and 1886, and in 1875 and early 1876 featured a Steam Man. Other than the illustration that …
Read More “1875 – W.W. Cole’s Circus “Steam Man” – (American)”
New York Times 25 Aug 1910 LIKE AN IRON MAN ————– Legs Take It to Work on Land or Sea, Carrying Tons at a Load. ————— INVENTION HAS BEEN TRIED ————– One of Its Uses is to Give Landing Stages, Doing Away with Necessity of Building Piers. ————– Charles Guest Norris, a prominent English engineer, …
Read More “1909 – “Iron Man” Walking Platform – Piercy (British)”
Richard Lovell Edgeworth (31 May 1744 – 13 June 1817) was an Anglo-Irish politician, writer and inventor. Although most articles suggest Edgeworth invented the Caterpillar track, the description offered below is of another invention he called a Wooden Horse." In order to step over a fence, the legs would have to be lifted quite high. …
Read More “1770 – 8-Legged Walking Wooden Horse – Edgeworth (Irish)”
See video preview here. A second video can be seen here, but you need to create an account and log-in first. Search for "NEW DERBY HOPE" "Tractor Classic", May/June 2004, Vol. 19 #3, pages 25-26. "Blowtorch" currently on display at : Western Development Museum, Moose Jaw Branch – History of Transportation. 50 Diefenbaker Drive Moose …
Read More “1947 – “Blowtorch” Mechanical Horse – W.J. McIntyre (Canadian)”