a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
1985 – ACEC Mobile Inspection Vehicle The manipulators are master-slave force feed-back and electrically driven. The ACEC Vehicle for remote inspection and intervention has a minimal footprint when the treads are folded up and the manipulator arms are also folded. Publication number EP0197020 A1 Publication date Oct 8, 1986 Filing date Mar 7, 1986 Priority …
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Mobile Remote Servo-manipulator. Caption: Robot Demonstrations Of The Atomic Age: Many onlookers – including schoolboys were thrilled by the robot "hands" – dealings with a variety of tasks on one of the stands at the Geneva Atomic Exhibition. The "almost human hands" are used in dealing with radio-active materials behind protective walls and are controlled …
Read More “1958 – Mobile Remote Servo-manipulator – Ray Goertz et al (American)”
1954 – ElectroMechanical Manipulator by Ray Goertz (pictured) An early experimental model – this one also showing the head-mount camera controller Brussels Exhibition – US Pavillion demo. Model E4a Slave unit. Diagram by Goertz showing the various control modes of Master-Slave arms. Patent information: Publication number US2846084 A Publication date Aug 5, 1958 Filing date …
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"Bottle Suit" Wernher von Braun holding model of the Bottle Suit. Bottle Suit The Bottle Suit shows that when you plan to make your dreams come true, you have to create a number of intermediate solutions to problems you didn't anticipate. Problems like how to assemble a Space Station in Space. In order to assemble …
Read More “1954 – “Bottle Suit” – Wernher von Braun / Walt Disney (American)”
Space Tug – 1949 The above image from a 2010 calendar with Bürgle's illustrations. I don't know if the Space Station illustration was previously published and if so, where? The caption suggests it was unpublished at the time. The Space Tugs are being used to hold and manoeuvre large panels during construction. Klaus Bürgle – …
Read More “1949 – Space Tug (Illustration) – Klaus Bürgle (German)”