a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
Although Squee the electronic squirrel is attributed to Edmund C. Berkeley, Jack Koff (City College of New York engineering student) and Robert "Bob" A. Jensen (until he re-entered the Air Force in June 1951), William Szabo and ECB are all credited with its construction. The opening page from Radio-Electronics mag [Dec, 1951] offers some more info – "Why …
Read More “1950-1 – Squee – Edmund C. Berkeley et al (American)”
This is what everyone’s been waiting for – new and more detailed information on “Philidog” by Henri Piraux (sometimes Henry Piraux, of Philips France). One of the articles to be presented tells us that the dog has gone through a bit of an evolution. Unfortunately I’ve been unable to get a date of the original incarnation. …
Read More “1928 – Phil the Radio Dog a.k.a. “Philidog” – Henri Piraux (French)”
I found a single reference to a French Electric Dog that "will jump out of its kennel when a whistle sounds". The rest of the brief article talks about Miessner's "Electric Dog". Ingenious Mechanism – Le Grand Reporter, 30 Dec 1921 p2 The electric dog which will follow a lantern in the dark—a mechanical curio constructed by …
Read More “1915 – Electric Dog – Christian Berger – (Hungarian / American)”
Originally published in the Electrical Experimenter (issue unknown but probably late 1916). This version from the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette 24th Dec 1916 p12 It is probably more a ‘electric dog’ than a creature built to exhibit phototropic behaviour and the like. Although it has a selenium cell, it is for selector circuit activation purposes, not …
A lot has already been published already about Seleno, try these links: http://www.davidbuckley.net/DB/HistoryMakers/HM-ElectricDog1912.htm and my Addendum. Here are some pics and excerpts showing different aspects of the "Electric Dog". Technical articles on the Electric Dog appeared in Scientific American Supplement No. 2267 p376-7 June 14, 1919 written by Benjamin Franklin Miessner, in the Electrical Experimenter, 1915, p. …
Read More “1912 – Seleno, the Electric Dog – Hammond / Miessner”