1942 – Hopping Tank – Henry Wallace (American)

Patent number: 2371368 Filing date: Oct 16, 1942 Issue date: Mar 13, 1945 See full patent details here. Blurb from patent describiting capabilities and uses. This invention relates to a vehicle, and more particularly to a tank which is propelled by means of an operating leg. One Of the objects of this Invention is to …

1963c – Two-Legged Walker – Meredith Thring (Australian/British)

Source: How to Invent: M.W. Thring and E.R. Laithwaite, 1977. In the first stage of an attempt to make a powered artificial leg I analysed the essential mechanism of human walking and produced the device shown above which walks on two legs by bending the knee as the thigh begins to swing forward and straightening …

1917 – Fageol 9-12 “Walking” Tractor – (American)

A Tractor that Walks? Originally posted here on August 11, 2011 by heidrickaghistorycenter The Fageol 9-12 “Walking” Tractor, 3500lbs, 1919. Heidrick Ag History Center.Our collection here at the Heidrick Ag History Center includes this little tractor.  Nestled in a line of other comparably sized tractors, you might first notice its because of its brown color.  But …

1814 – Walking Wheel – Lewis Gompertz (British)

In 1824, Gompertz became a founding member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) which later became the RSPCA. He acted for many years as the president of the society prior to resigning for reasons that may have been connected to his radical views or to his Judaism. He went on …

1966 – “The Torun Robot” – Marian Jasnoch (Polish)

March 15,1966 "The Torun Robot" – Torun, Poland, is famous for the Gingerbread Man  and now a robot. Marian Jasnoch, a young electrical engineer has been working on this robot since 1962. The robot can answer a phone, convey a few simple sentences, record messages, nurse a baby, clean a room, Bake a cake in …