a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
In the early ‘60s, as part of the preparations for the Apollo manned moon landing mission, the Jet Propulsion Lab planned a follow-on program to its very successful ‘hard’ landing ‘Ranger’ program, which gave the first close-up views of the moon’s surface. The proposed ‘soft’ lander program was called ‘Surveyor’. An initial concept was for …
Read More “1961 – Sperry Rand Plodding Moon Walker – (American)”
$7,000 Mechanical Wonder ! The only Steam Man Actually walks and runs alone! The Greatest Invention of Modern Times. The W.W. Cole's Great New York and New Orleans Zoological and Equestrian Exposition toured the American continent between 1871 and 1886, and in 1875 and early 1876 featured a Steam Man. Other than the illustration that …
Read More “1875 – W.W. Cole’s Circus “Steam Man” – (American)”
In 1876, America held its Centennial in Philadelphia. There appears to have been four Steam Men built for the Centennial Exhibition, along with a Mechanical Horse. An American inventor by the name of William Farr Goodwin, had some of his agricultural inventions produced by manufacturers who exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition, The National Iron Works, …
Read More “1876 – Philadelphia Centennial Steam Men – Farr Goodwin (American)”
This wood and brass model with clockwork by Enoch Rice Morrison is a walking mechanism probably very similar to his “Steam Man”. The maker’s name is painted on an upright as is his home town – Bergen, NJ The model is 6.5″ tall. I have now located the patent for this mechanism – see below. Tuapeka Times, Volume III, …
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)”