a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
Self-recognition and the Mirror Dance [Image source: An Imitation of Life, Scientific American, May 1950, p42-45.] 7 . Self-recognition. The machines are fitted with a small flash-lamp bulb in the head which is turned off automatically whenever the photo-cell receives an adequate light signal. When a mirror or white surface is encountered the reflected light …
Read More “W. Grey Walter’s Tortoises – Self-recognition and Narcissism”
scanning – a form of behavior (sniffing, looking, listening, palpating) by which a sensory stimulus is sought or expected, and which is guided by an expectancy of input instead of a future internal state (goal). The search must be broad in the sense of looking everywhere, but narrow in the sense of being specific as …
Read More “M. speculatrix – Scanning: It makes all the difference”
Some more photos of W. Grey Walter and his Tortoises. BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland. BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland. BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland. BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland BNI archives, courtesy …
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 …
Read More “1957 – Machina Versatilis – Ivan Sutherland (American)”
This copy of a letter from 1957 describes the first "Mechanical Animal" built by the Sutherland brothers, Bert and Ivan. Here’s a transcript of the letter sent from Ivan E. Sutherland to Grey Walter in 1957: Nov 10. [IES to WGW] “Dear Sir: Early last month I had sent to you two copies of …