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"In my mind I have gone all over the universe, which may make it less important for me to make piddling little trips... I did enjoy seeing Stonehenge. It looked exactly the way I thought it would look."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Automated Surface Measurement | ||
| A mechanical method of accurately measuring a surface. |
At this point in the story, Graham is being measured for a suit. A device is used to provide an automated measurement of key points on his body.
| ...the tailor pulled out a number of slotted arms terminating in little discs, pulling them out until the discs were flat against the body of Graham, one at each shoulder blade, one at the elbows, one at the neck and so forth, so that at last there were, perhaps, two score of them upon his body and limbs. At the same time, some other person entered the room by the lift, behind Graham. The tailor set moving a mechanism that initiated a faint-sounding rhythmic movement of parts in the machine, and in another moment he was knocking up the levers and Graham was released. |
| Technovelgy from When the Sleeper Wakes,
by H.G. Wells. Published by The Graphic in 1899 Additional resources -
|
This item is a remarkable prediction of modern devices that are used to digitize surfaces for part manufacturing; a part is sculpted and then its surface is digitized for entry into a computer-aided design (CAD) system.
Compare to the feeler-planes from Jack Vance's 1954 novel The Houses of Iszm.
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More Ideas
and Technology from When the Sleeper Wakes
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and Technology by H.G. Wells
Tech news articles related to When the Sleeper Wakes
Tech news articles related to works by H.G. Wells
Automated Surface Measurement-related
news articles:
- Body Scanner May Improve Online Shopping
- LikeAGlove Smart Garment Knows Your Size
| Rigid Metallic Clothing From Science Fiction To You |
| iPhone Pocket All Sold Out! |
| Skip Movewear Arc'teryx AI Exoskeleton Pants |
| Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison |
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"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
