a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN WORKING ROBOT PET BY FRANK DaCOSTA TAB BOOKS Inc. BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, PA. 17214 This step-by-step guide to creating a unique robot of your own, from a boxful of components to finished, working reality, takes you through all the steps needed to construct and train your own electronic, microprocessor-based pet that …
See article pdf here. Source: Byte August 1978
REPORT : An Inexpensive Turtle BUILDING AN INEXPENSIVE TURTLE by Michael Folk Mathematics Department Drake University Des Moines, IA 50311 Two years ago two colleagues and I set about developing a microcomputer controlled programmable robot for teaching1 . The goals of our project were (1) to build a lowcost (less than $75 in parts) device …
Read More “1978 – An Inexpensive Turtle – Michael Folk (American)”
The QMW Mk. IV Mobile Research Robot The final version (Mk. 4) of our first attempts at a mobile robot for machine learning research. It had a somewhat unusual (and not entirely satisfactory) drive layout with wheels at the front of the vehicle. D.C. motor drive was complemented with gray-code shaft encoders. Forward facing sensors …
Read More “1978 – Queen Mary College Mark IV Mobile Robot – Mark Witkowski & Dave Mott (British)”
Nellie at Sandy Bay Museum. Photo courtesy Larry Gavette. Nellie's control panel. Photo courtesy Larry Gavette. Caption: Perhaps the earliest model built still in existance, this elephant was in the Sandy Bay Country Museum in Exmouth when this video was taken in 1980 or so. This model is the one sold at auction and ended …
Read More “1950 – “Nellie” the Mechanical Elephant – Frank Stuart (British)”