a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
pertaining to Dr. W. Grey Walter
ELSIE (Electro-mechanical robot, Light Sensitive with Internal and External stability ). The press at the time reported the arrival of ELSIE in late 1949, eg Daily Mail, 17 November 1949; and Daily Express, 13 December 1949. But a memo exists from Edison Swan to Grey dated 10 Mar 1948 suggests that the female tortoise [ELSIE] was also built in 1948. [Note: Edison …
ELMER – (ELectro-MEchanical Robot) How the media reported the coming of ELMER : Lethbridge Herald – Wednesday , February 25, 1948 Robot Tortoise Likes Women – Recognizes Voices, Comes To Meet When Called-Can be Sulky LONDON. Feb. 25 Daily Express reported today that Dr. W. Grey Walter. 38-year-old brain scientist has built a robot tortoise so "human …
Read More “M. speculatrix – a new species of animal – ELMER”
Before I introduce Elmer, the first of Grey’s tortoises, a little background on Grey’s technical skills. We already learnt from the previous post that Grey was building "wireless" sets with his Dad in 1919. The BNI Archives have a photo of a young Grey Walter at a metal turning lathe, so he appears to be quite …
Ray Cooper, the last director of the Burden Neurological Institute, wrote this bio on Grey Walter for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ( http://www.oxforddnb.com ) . (William) Grey Walter (1910-1977), Walter, (William) Grey (1910-1977), neurophysiologist, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on 19 February 1910, the only child of Karl Wilhelm Walter (1880-1965), a British …
There are various bio's out there on Grey Walter already, but I thought I'd try a different approach. One of the better references on Grey Walter and his tortoises is, interestingly enough, the book titled "Discussions on Child Development" in one volume 1971. Most researchers on Grey Walter and his tortoises usually only reference the …