a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
William Farr Goodwin was a diverse inventor. Two of his earlier inventions were for toys, the first of these being for a Mechanical Horse, then later a Walking Doll. UNITED STATES PATENTS Patent Number 61416 Goodwin Jan. 22, 1867 . See full patent for the Mechanical Horse here. Later on in 1876, we see reference to Goodwin …
Read More “1867 – Mechanical Horse (pat.) – W. Farr Goodwin (American)”
This French model, attributed to Alain Gillier, looks as if it is a working model, with the steam boiler in the cart, and a flexible tube leading to the engine mounted in the body. You can see the flywheel in the shadows. The linkages are similar to other Mechanical Horses in this blog. I have …
Read More “French Steam Horse “Cheval Vapeur” – Model (French)”
Source: Weekly World News 6 Feb1990. Adrian Wareham built a mechanical spider for the following year, but I have no images of that machine.
See similar video clip here. – RECIPROCATING LOAD CARRIER E. SNELL Patent number: 2430537 Filing date: Dec 8, 1944 Issue date: Nov 1947 See patent here. 1949 Multi-Ped Walking Tractor Manufacture: Multi-Ped Traction Limited, Edmonton, Alberta Engine: Case Model R tractor, 4 cylinder Wasukesha Edward ( Ward ) Snell of Wetaskiwin, Edmonton wanted to design …
Read More “1944 – Multi-Ped Walking Tractor – Edward Snell (American)”
Although sometimes attributed to Robert Hooke, the invention was Francis Potter's, and when presented to the Royal Society (see transcript of minutes below), they asked Hooke to present drawings and comment on it. Hooke; Robert (1635 – 1703); Natural Philosopher Potter; Francis (1594 -1678) Above image found on Royal Society's web site. Let h. denote …
Read More “1663 – Cart with Legs – Francis Potter / Robert Hooke (British)”