a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
March 23, 1954 ROBOT DEMONSTRATED: In Cranston, R.I., yesterday—Sherwood Fuehrer, 13, operated the controls of a robot he built from cans, gears, motors, die castings and other articles too numerous to mention. The robot —5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 92 pounds—can hold a plate of cookies and pass them to guests. [Below] The …
Read More “1954 – “Gismo the Peaceful” – Sherwood Fuehrer (American)”
Tin Can With An Idea – An imaginative Kansas teacher ( Bill Allen, Hamilton School in Wichita, Kan.) builds a robot to stir his students' interest in classroom science. Disappointed with his first-year performance as a general science teacher at Hamilton School in Wichita, Kan., Bill Allen figured that what he most needed was something …
Mr. Magnetron – At the National Radio Show held at Earls Court, London, England, Signalman Mellor, of Manchester, introduces a young man to the robot Mr. Magnetron. © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS Date Photographed: September 1, 1953 Mr Magnetron 24th March 1954: Lieutenant Corporal Pauline Bevan and Private Smith of the WRAC look at Mr Magnetron …
ROBUG: switch-programmable to wake/seek/avoid on light/touch/wind; feelers charged to 90 volts! "In high school [Montreal,1964] he [Hans Moravec] won two science fair prizes for a light-following electronic turtle and a tape-controlled robot hand. As an undergraduate he designed a computer to control fancier robots, and experimented with learning and automatic programming on commercial machines. During his …
Read More “1964 – “ROBUG” – Hans Moravec (Austrian / Canadian)”
Anatole the Robot A radio controlled French robot made by Jean Dussailly. According to Tout Savoir magazine for July 1954 Anatole could move its head right and left, move its arms and responded to ten commands; and it weighed 140 kg and was 2m 10cm high. Le Haut-Parleur No. 956 Page 8 , 15 Juin …