a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
Targeting a different market audience, Westinghouse produced a female version of Herbert Televox. Katrina was based on the second model that ran sound tapes, and appeared between May 1930 through April 1931. Note that only the wallboard cutout is different, and I suppose the voice tapes were of a female voice as well. from Kerrville Mountain …
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Whilst Roy James Wensley's "Televox" came about in 1927, he had invented and patented an earlier "supervisory control system" (patent filed in 1923). This system was effectively a system that could "remotely control" equipment via power lines, wireless, telephone lines, but not sound, which is how it is differentiated with the later "Televox". Some articles give this earlier "supervisory …
Ivan Sutherland with M. Versatilis. Source: Carnegie Mellon University Archives Machina Versatilis , pictured above and below, was so named due to the versatile modular plug-in boards. M. Versatilis was the final of three models built, and at least two of this model were supposedly built. The first version, see blog post here, was originally built in …
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1953 – Timothy Turtle by Jack H. Kubanoff, Radio and Television News, April 1953 The text to the article is below. For the moment, the pages themselves can be found here. The article itself has a good description of its functionality. Some of its functionality reminds me of Berkeley's Squee i.e. flashing lamps controlling the …
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Update: 4 July 2010: A more recent discovery has it that, in fact, Thomas J. Winans was the inventor of the Steam Man, actually called "Steam King". Eno and a Newspaper were third share investors, and later custodians of the steam wagon. See article text below giving full description of the "Steam King". Update: 2 July …
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