a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
The Kaufmann Trumpeter had leather bellows for lungs and reeds which imitated the sound of a brass instrument. The Kaufmann family from Dresden. Friedrich id on the right. Text incorrectly dates the 'Robot' from 1910, it should be 1810. [Source: Popular Mechanics Aug 1950] Trompeter This is an example of a program (e.g. stepped drum) …
Read More “1810 – Automaton Trumpet Player – Friedrich Kaufmann (German)”
1849 – Flute-Playing Automaton by Innocenzo Manzetti. A comparison photo above showing the Flautist's size with a real person. In 1849 Innocenzo Manzetti constructed a flute-playing automaton, in the shape of a man, life-size, seated on a chair. Hidden inside the chair were levers, connecting rods and compressed air tubes, which made the automaton's lips …
Read More “1849 – Flute-Playing Automaton – Innocenzo Manzetti (Italian)”
From Kenji Yanobe, one of Japan’s most creative contemporary artists, comes the whimsical sculptural work "Soul of Bubble King" . Inspired by the Japanese subculture of Anime and Manga, Yanobe’s works are intellectually inquisitive and convey a stoic persistence in facing adversity in everyday life. Created in 1992, "Soul of Bubble King" is a monumental sculpture …
Read More “1992 – “Soul of Bubble King” – Kenji Yanobe (Japanese)”
Friday, February 10, 2006 Inflatable Body sculptures premiere in Australia ARW will workshop and premiere 16 new Inflatable Body sculptures in Adelaide Australia, March 3 – April 8, 2006, in a series presented by the Experimental Art Foundation. These new Bird sculptures represent a continuation of Amorphic Robot Works' research into materials and improved sculptural …
Read More “2006 – “Birds” – Chico MacMurtrie / Amorphic Robot Works (Mexican/American)”
Slim Slime Robot The Slim Slime robot is a robot made up of linearly connecting multiple modules that pneumatically bend and elongate. Inside a module (below), three metal bellows are arranged in parallel at regular intervals with an identical circumference. Both ends of each bellows are fixed with two disks, and the disks are connected …
Read More “1999 – Slim Slime Snake Robot – Shigeo Hirose and Takeshi Aoki (Japanese)”