1960 – “REMORA” Manned Space Manipulator – Bell Aerosystems (American)

Preliminary Design Concepts •    Bell Aerosystems Remora Capsule The REMORA configuration (Figure 5-15) is a small, buoy-shaped capsule 6-feet high, 3-feet in diameter, and weighing 540 pounds (leaded). This concept, proposed shout 1960, permits one astronaut to function in space while protected from the space environment. The capsule is tethered by a cable that provides …

1960 – “Homobile” Lunar Rover – Hugo Gernsback (American)

In 1960, the indefatigable Gernsback came out with another lunar rover design. He called it the “Homobile.” It had a pressurized cabin mounted on tracks and powered by electricity from fuel cells, with a leg-powered generator as an alternate source of energy. The cabin also had a pair of manipulator arms. Source:Originally from “1961 Forecast”, …

1958-62 – “VERSATRAN” Industrial Robot – Harry Johnson & Veljko Milenkovic

In 1958, the American Machine and Foundry (AMF) Thermatool Corporation (later known as AMF Corporation, later acquired by Prab Company of Michigan)  initiated an R&D project for a Versatile Transfer Machine, or VERSATRAN, a programmable cylindrical coordinate frame robotic arm designed by Harry Johnson and Veljko Milenkovic. AMF introduced Model 102, a continuous-path transfer device, and Model …

1960 – Cyborg – Kline and Clynes (American and Austrian)

Painting by FRED FREEMAN, originally appearing in the July 11, 1960 issue of LIFE Magazine. The creature unreeling an electric cable as he explores a distant planet is a man prepared for  space as some scientists propose. Electrodes and other attachments would control many of the physical functions normally initiated by the brain, such as …

1960 – Mr. Saburo the Robot – Jiro Aizawa (Japanese)

Mr. Saburo after restoration at the Kanagawa Institute of Technology in Japan. The caption from a 2010 Japanese catalogue reads (after translation): Three mid-size robot brothers Fujio [富士夫], Saburo [三郎], Kuro [九郎].  These robots look very similar.  The middle robot is the same as the one in the top photo, although the above image calls it Saburo.  I'll …