a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
Popular Science Jul 1985. Humanoid? Android? Robot? The terminology may not be well-defined, but in any event, Jon Barron, a British engineer, has dubbed his prototype anthropomorphic robot McAndroid the Android. Barron appears with his creation in the photo above. Although he figures that the market for the manlike machine will be the entertainment industry …
Modell einer Bioprothese mit künstlichem Muskel pneumatischer Art. Der Muskel besteht aus einem Gummirohr, in dessen Wände längs der Mantellinie nichtdehnbare Fäden angeordnet wurden. An den Enden sind die Gummikörper mit Endstücken zur Befestigung und Luftzuführung abgeschlossen. Beim Aufblasen des Muskels mit Druckluft verkürzt er sich und erzeugt damit eine Bewegung. English translation Model consists …
Read More “1968 – Artificial Muscle Bioprosthesis – (Polish)”
Above: Keith Clark demonstrates his design for an innovative end effector which would inflate inside, and so grip, a tubular truss structure. Back in 1978, another type of end effector under study for the Space Shuttle's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) was actually a balloon. The sort of aluminium truss beams proposed for use in space construction …
Read More “1978 – Pneumatic Inflatable End Effector – Keith Clark (American)”
The inflatable hand first appears at The First Annual International Computer Art Exhibition – Cybernetic ARTRIP, Oct. 6-21th. 1973 at the Ginza SONY Salon. See Shiro Takahashi's website here. When trying to squash a balloon having a particular shape, it is necessary to apply unexpectedly large force, and even if forcibly trying to squash the …
Read More “1973 – “Babots” Balloon Robots – Shiro Takahashi (Japanese)”
CAPTION: ROBOTS ON PARADE Keisuke Inada of Bridgestone Corp.of Tokyo adjusts the Soft Arm robot, a multijoint robot that resembles a human arm in its movements, at Cobo Hall. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers expects 25,000 people to attend its AUTOFACT '90, an exposition demonstrating computer-integrated manufacturing. Photo is dated 11/13/90. Pneumatic actuator for manipulator …
Read More “1983 – Bridgestone “Rubbertuator” – Takeo Takagi and Yuji Sakaguchi (Japanese)”