a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
In June of this year (2009), I went to the UK and to Europe to visit some of the great computer pioneers and in particular, to talk to them about their early cybernetic models they built. I travelled with David Buckley (see his site here), and one of our stops was to see Heinz Zemanek …
Read More “1954 – Vienna Turtle – Eichler / Zemanek (Austrian)”
Hugo Gernsback contributed significantly to the advancement of new technologies, such as Automaton and Robots. He was responsible for some of the greatest technical magazines published, and published many articles himself. In this case, he predicts and describes a radio controlled police automaton in his magazine "Science & Invention" May 1924. This automation is referred to …
Read More “1924 – Radio Police Automaton – Gernsback (American)”
Captain Alban J. Roberts – mobile, light operated automaton 1920’s (responsible for robots attributed to Jasper Maskelyne (music halls). I have also seen this automaton incorrectly attributed to Capt W. H. Richards -Eric (in error due to similar names) . We also see the name Alan Roberts pop up as well. See video clip here. Note that clip …
Read More “1923-8 – Robot – Capt. Alban J. Roberts (New Zealand/Australia/U.K.)”
I have not been able to locate an image of Rowe's Steam Man, or should I say Steam Men as he made at least two of them. There is a possibility that Rowe's second Steam Man was re-incarnated as Prof. Moore's Steam Man in 1891. More on that in a later post. At one time I had articles included …
Read More “1874-1883 Steam Man – Capt. Rowe a.k.a. C. C. Roe (Canadian)”
Zadoc P. Dederick's Steam Man appears to be the first of the Steam Men. The Steam Man from Newark was so inspirational it generated many more Walking Machines, steam or otherwise, and also fictional stories, now seen as some of the earliest Science or Speculative Fiction (SF) written. US Patent number: 75874 Issue date: …
Read More “1867-8 – Steam Man – Dederick & Grass – (American)”