a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
"HILARE" An acronym of "Heuristiques Intégrées aux Logiciels et aux Automatisms dans un Robot Évolutif". Designed in 1977 at the Laboratoire d'Automatique et d'Analyse des Systèmes du C.N.R.S Toulouse, (LAAS), it is the first French autonomous mobile robot equipped with ultrasound sensors and laser telemetry. My friend David Buckley with HILARE, to give a comparison …
Read More “1977 – “HILARE” Autonomous Mobile Robot – French”
From Daniel C. Dennett's Home Page http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/incbios/dennettd/dennettd.htm [Mar08] REWARD for information! I found it in an antique shop in Paris. It was made in France in the 1950s, so I have named it Tati, in honor of Jacques Tati (whose classic film Mon Oncle captures the same era with the same ingenious and humorous use …
Read More “195x – “Tati” the Cybernetic Dog – owned by Daniel Dennett (built in France)”
(Source: Practical Electrics Sep. 1923 ed Hugo Gernsback) This electric dog follows a magnetic walking cane in any direction like an obedient servant. Simply hold the cane in front of the dog's nose, whereupon the dog starts running and will follow the cane straight ahead or to the right or left as desired. See pdf …
Read More “1923 – The Electric Dog – Hugo Gernsback * (American)”
Hobby Electronics magazine (November 1979-January 1980) describes an autonomous robot. HEBOT is a free roaming robot which can negotiate obstacles, steer towards a light (infra red) and follow a wire (A.C. current) around your home. HEBOT emits a squeak when it detects light or following a collision. Control is transferred to the wire following circuitry …
Read More “1979-80 HEBOT I, II & III – John FitzGerald (British)”
(Source: Mechanix Illustrated June 1952) Mechanical Ebenezer Children in Des Moines, Iowa are enchanted by a six-foot mechanical man who walks, talks, and smokes cigarettes. Jack Brownson, who spent four years making him, guides Ebenezer by a cable, projects his voice through loadspeaker. Construction is almost entirely auto parts.