Siri ’29 (Sep, 1929)
Robots Answer All Questions
HOW England’s mechanical men work was recently explained. A youngster wishing to know the location of a restaurant sees one of the mechanical men on a street corner. Approaching him, he presses a button on his tummy. Almost instantly lights stare from under the steel man’s heavy eyebrows and a deep voice booms out, “What do you want to know?”
The youth startled, stutters, “Ppplease, where can I find a restaurant?”
“Three blocks and turn to your right,” the answer comes.
Bewildered, the boy follows directions and, sure enough, walks straight into a restaurant.
What has happened is this: When the youth pushed the button on the man’s stomach a light showed in front of a man in a control room some distance away. He immediately “plugged in” on the steel man from which the signal came. Conversation was possible by a microphone connection.
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”
Or behind the computer or teletype keyboard…..we used to do those tricks 30 years ago at our college open house. The year after I graduated, the wire was replaced with a 10 GHz link and the teletype with a computer monitor.
But they didn’t explain how the man answers all questions.
I have never seen such a contraption. Anyone with a link to a photo?
I think I found it!
http://cyberneticzoo.co…