Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I am first of all not a science fiction writer … I write, I suppose, what the Latin Americans call magic realism."
- Harlan Ellison
 |
| Mechanical Men | ||
| Remote controlled robots used to perform dangerous work. |
Very early description of this idea; the user viewed the work through the "electric eyes" of the robot.
| One day I was running a test on the polonium
that flowed into the repulsion tubes to determine
its quality. Ron, a classmate, approached me. “William will you take my place for a while at the
‘auto’ controls. I have to see Professor Luch personally
for a few moments.”
“All right, Ron.” “Thanks, a lot.” I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men, doing various duties that could not be done very efficiently by automatic levers and relays. I sat before the mirror that represented the electric eye of the robot, and by various levers moved “No. 7” to take a look at the temperature of the electric furnace for repulsion tube No. 3. Everything was functioning perfectly. I continued to do routine work relative to the operation of the repulsion tube... As my robot straightened up from depositing some huge balance weights on the floor, I saw with horror that a polonium tube leading to the great discharger had snapped, pouring the precious Martian metal on the floor. Immediately, the dial on the wall above me showed that the great disk had already taken on a list, and was beginning to descend slightly. “Increase your voltage and polonium flow, men, I’m shutting my discharger off. Polonium tube snapped !” Knowing full well that the other repulsors could not stand the added strain indefinitely, I set No. 7 to work swiftly to close off the voltage and metal flow, and replace the broken tube. Conversation ceased; the others turning grim faces to their work, and working rapidly and surely. The list was corrected but still the disk continued to descend. With my heart pounding in my ears, it seemed an eternity to cut out the tube. Yet, it was delicate work and had to be done with extreme care. Even in this crucial moment I marveled at the delicacy with which the automaton handled the tube under my control. I watched metal hands carefully place the tube in its section. As soon as it was safe, the polonium began to flow again, and the discharger was turned on. Slowly, the instruments indicated that the descent of the disk was checked, and that it began to assume a normal elevation again after having fallen a thousand feet. |
| Technovelgy from The Ancient Brain,
by A.G. Stangland. Published by Science Wonder Stories in 1929 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the waldo from Waldo (1940) by Robert Heinlein. It is of particular interest to note that Heinlein's idea was the impetus for the development of similar devices used in the nuclear power industry - they were even called "waldoes".
See also the teleoperated lab robots from Cities in Flight by James Blish.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Ancient Brain
More Ideas
and Technology by A.G. Stangland
Tech news articles related to The Ancient Brain
Tech news articles related to works by A.G. Stangland
Mechanical Men-related
news articles:
- Reachy Humanoid VR Teleoperation App
| Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk |
| LORIS Passive-Gripper Climbing Robot |
| Athena Smart Security Guard Robot With Face Recognition |
| SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.'
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.'
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'The clothes and jewelery drew their tiny power requirements from her movements.'
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...'
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
