Mechanical Willie (Aug, 1934)
Great strides have been made in reducing the size of Mechanical “Willies” in the last 70 years.
Mechanical “Willie” Combines Crooning With Housework
CROONING in mellow baritone on command and manipulating a vacuum cleaner with almost human skill, “Mechanical Willie,” laboratory robot, may prove a novel servant.The product of Westinghouse engineers, Willie salutes, raises flags, smokes, sits, stands and bows at the operator’s orders. Words spoken via a receiver are transformed by a photo electric cell into light beams which transmit impulses to his operating mechanism.
Aren’t mechanical willies outlawed in most of the southern states?
Comment by Jaber — February 29, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
Oh come on, even in ’34 this had to be a joke!
Comment by Wade George — May 26, 2008 @ 6:14 pm
You can be sore if its a Westinghouse!
Comment by carlm — September 16, 2008 @ 3:54 am
[...] http://blog.modernmechanix.com.....cal-willy/ [...]
Pingback by » Jarbas mecânico (agosto de 1934) - Glúon /blog — November 12, 2008 @ 6:45 pm
#2:
No – this isn’t a joke, this was an actual promotional device developed by Westinghouse, one of many Westinghouse developed “robots” to demonstrate and showcase their electronic controls research, development, and products. For the time, the system developed by Westinghouse for remote automation, data acquisition, and control was very state-of-the-art. For more information, see:
http://www.amazon.com/Robots-W.....0978584414
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elektro
http://www.davidbuckley.net/DB.....lektro.htm
http://www.freetimes.com/stori.....ood-friend
http://www.worldsfaircommunity.....topic=8887
Comment by Andrew L. Ayers — May 9, 2010 @ 2:04 am
does mechanical willie have anything to do with the wandering weenie?
Comment by Steve — October 28, 2010 @ 11:53 pm
[...] since the Mechanical Willie, a robot that Westinghouse unveiled in 1934 and that crooned in a ?mellow baritone and manipulated [...]
Pingback by Mad Men Against The Machine | carriegal01 — December 3, 2010 @ 8:46 pm