a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
GARCO represents one of the first attempts at an all-purpose functional humanoid robot. Although he had most of his success as an entertainment robot, the inventor, Harvey Chapman Jr., believed he had other uses, such as "taking on a variety of tasks that would prove too dangerous for humans. Mixing the ingredients for TNT is one. …
Edward Chace Tolman (1886 – 1959) was an American psychologist. He was most famous for his studies on behavioral psychology. In my research for the write-up for this post, I found that the introduction to Endo and Arkin's 2000 paper on Implementing Tolman's Sowbug the best. I've reproduced the introduction here, but the full paper …
Read More “1939 – Sowbug Schematic – Edward Chace Tolman (American)”
Indianapolis Star 12 Feb AUTOMOBILE WITH LEGS INSTEAD OF WHEELS INVENTED WASHINGTON. Feb. 11.- Invention of an automobile equipped with four legs instead of wheels is claimed by James William Bryan, a Washington man. who says he has forty patents, some of them basic, for such a machine. He has designed a five-passenger clutchless, gearless, …
Read More “1923 – Walking Car – James William Bryan (American)”
Popular Mechanics October 1917 p520-1 In plowing and cultivating, a well-trained, intelligent train of horses means much to a farmer. Therefore it is not surprising that many agriculturists are slow in accepting the tractor, with its clumsy wheels and grinding motor, for such work. For these reluctant ruralists, however, a new kind of machine has …
Patent number: 1221970 . See full patent details here. Filing date: Feb 20, 1917 Issue date: Apr 10, 1917 Fort Wayne News 01 May 1917 p6 THE WALKING DOLLS. Harry Coleman of New Palace to Make Them a Fad. Harry Coleman's convict clad walking doll is going to have a lot of sisters and brothers …
Read More “1917 – Coleman’s Walking Dummy – Harry Coleman (British/American)”