a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
1968 – Beaver Mark IV Submersible by North American Rockwell. Renamed “Roughneck” in 1969. Each of the two manipulators has a 9-ft reach, eight degrees-of-freedom, and a 50-lb lifting capacity. The two manipulators can be equipped with nine different tools to perform various tasks. These tools are: impact wrench, hook hand, parallel jaws, cable cutter, …
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1967 – STAR III Submersible by General Dynamics had a bow manipulator with interchangeable "hands" and two television cameras, and operated at depths of 2,000 feet. STAR III Manipulator Control Panel. Above and below: Advertisements highlighting the manipulator arms developed at General Dynamics. Press Photo c1967. Star II and Star III (foreground), the two research …
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Photo source: Manned Submersibles, Bushby. 1964 – Asherah Submersible by General Dynamics. Manipulator Arm: One electro-hydraulic. Made by General Dynamics. Asherah, the first commercially built American research submersible, was a two-man submarine built by General Dynamics, Groton, Connecticut, USA, and could dive to a depth of 600 feet (180 m). Commissioned in 1963 and launched …
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1967 – STAR II Submersible by General Dynamics. Manipulator Arm: One Electro-hydraulic with 4 degrees-of-freedom. Full reach – 4 ft 1 inch. Payload at full reach – 150 lb. Mechanically jettisonable. Made by General Dynamics. Source: Manned Submersibles, Bushby. Source: Manned Submersibles, Bushby. Above: Advertisement highlighting the manipulator arms developed at General Dynamics. Press Photo c1967. …
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1968-69 – Deepstar 2000 Diving Saucer by Westinghouse. The manipulator arm is simple as per all Cousteau/Westinghouse submersibles of this period with only two degrees of freedom. The arm is electro-hydraulic and the claw is of the clam-shell type, also referred to as an "orange peel" claw. Arm is also mechanically jettisonable for safety reasons. …
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