ELSIE – cyberneticzoo.com http://cyberneticzoo.com a history of cybernetic animals and early robots Sun, 28 Feb 2016 08:33:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 W. Grey Walter’s Tortoises – Self-recognition and Narcissism http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/w-grey-walters-tortoises-self-recognition-and-narcissism/ Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:03:59 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=660 Self-recognition and the Mirror Dance [Image source: An Imitation of Life,  Scientific American, May 1950, p42-45.] 7 . Self-recognition. The machines are fitted with a small flash-lamp bulb in the head which is turned off automatically whenever the photo-cell receives an adequate light signal. When a mirror or white surface is encountered the reflected light […]

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]]> W. Grey Walter and his Tortoises http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/w-grey-walter-and-his-tortoises/ Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:53:14 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=5390 The published posts for W. Grey Walter and his Tortoises.    ELMER – a new species of animal – M. speculatrix   ELSIE – M. speculatrix  ELSIE – upgraded  CORA – the tortoise – M. docilis    Grey Walter’s Tortoises – the video clips   Time-Lapse Photographs of ELMER with ELSIE  W. Grey Walter and the Festival of […]

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]]> W. Grey Walter Tortoises – Picture Gallery #2 http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/w-grey-walter-tortoises-picture-gallery-2/ Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:40:42 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=443 Some more photos of W. Grey Walter and his Tortoises. BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland. BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland. BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland. BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland BNI archives, courtesy of Owen Holland BNI archives, courtesy […]

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]]> Grey Walter’s Tortoises – the video clips http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/grey-walters-tortoises-the-video-clips/ Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:54:22 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=535 In my research for all things Grey Walter and his tortoises, I have uncovered five (5) video clips available on the internet. Of the five, I have downloaded four of them, the 5th has been allusive for some time, having not been able to re-locate it again after spending many hours trying. It is not […]

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]]> 1951 – La Tortue Cybernetique (Cybernetic Tortoise) – Paul-Alain Amouriq (French) http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/1954-la-tortue-tortoise-amouriq-french/ http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/1954-la-tortue-tortoise-amouriq-french/#comments Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:16:12 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=501 In late 1951, Paul-Alain Amouriq, a Frenchman then aged 17, built a cybernetic tortoise inspired by Grey Walter's as published in a French science magazine Science et Vie (February 1951). Several years later Science et Vie became aware of Amouriq's tortue, and Pierre de Latil visited him and the subsequent article was published in the March […]

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]]> http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/1954-la-tortue-tortoise-amouriq-french/feed/ 2 Grey Walter’s Tortoises – Batteries, Re-charging, Hutches and Autonomy http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/tortoises-batteries-re-charging-hutches-and-autonomy/ Sun, 27 Sep 2009 03:38:27 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=491 A significant feature of the tortoises is so often referred to as "An Imitation of Life".  As well as their behaviour, the tortoises construction  had to be such that autonomy could be exhibited. This is somewhat driven by the technology and parts available at the time. For Grey Walter's purposes, the models had to be self-contained […]

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]]> W. Grey Walter Tortoises – Picture Gallery #1 http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/w-grey-walter-tortoises-picture-gallery-1/ Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:00:10 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=439 The next Grey Walter and his tortoises posts are taking a little time. In the mean time, here are some photo’s non-specific to other posts.  

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]]> Time-Lapse Photographs of ELMER with ELSIE http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/time-lapse-photographs-of-elmer-and-elsie/ Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:06:57 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=335 I have only come across two time-lapse photographs with both ELMER and ELSIE. One has to be careful in interpreting time-lapse photographs as there are possibly different events happening at different times, off picture interference, and possibly different start times of each tortoise. An important observation highlighted by Owen Holland is the direction of rotation […]

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]]> W. Grey Walter and the Festival of Britain (1951) http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/w-grey-walter-and-the-festival-of-britain-1951/ http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/w-grey-walter-and-the-festival-of-britain-1951/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:54:57 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=249 The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition which opened in London and around Britain on 3 May 1951 and finished the end of September the same year. At that time, shortly after the end of World War II, much of London was still in ruins and redevelopment was badly needed. The Festival was an […]

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]]> http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/w-grey-walter-and-the-festival-of-britain-1951/feed/ 1 1957-60 – Grey Walter’s Transistorized Tortoise http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/transistorised-tortoise/ http://cyberneticzoo.com/cyberneticanimals/transistorised-tortoise/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:35:49 +0000 http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=218 This entry describes two references to transistorized versions of Grey Walter's tortoises. The second reference refers to people and organisations mentioned in another post on W. Grey Walter and Edmund C. Berkeley . 1957 Jan 25 [WGW response to letter.] The main difficulty is in the mechanical assembly, particularly the gearbox which has to be completely […]

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