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"[Science fiction is] nightmares and visions, always outlined by the barely possible."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Quasi-Muscles (Sham Musculature) | ||
| A means of giving motive power to robots or machines that is similar to animal musculature. |
This is a very early reference to an idea that is important to many modern robots - the ability to mimic the smooth (and often quick) motions of living creatures.
| And not only did the Martians either not know of (which is incredible), or abstain from, the wheel, but in their apparatus singularly little use is made of the fixed pivot or relatively fixed pivot, with circular motions thereabout confined to one plane. Almost all the joints of the machinery present a complicated system of sliding parts moving over small but beautifully curved friction bearings. And while upon this matter of detail, it is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature of the disks in an elastic sheath; these disks become polarised and drawn closely and powerfully together when traversed by a current of electricity. In this way the curious parallelism to animal motions, which was so striking and disturbing to the human beholder, was attained. Such quasi-muscles abounded in the crablike handling-machine which, on my first peeping out of the slit, I watched unpacking the cylinder. It seemed infinitely more alive than the actual Martians lying beyond it in the sunset light, panting, stirring ineffectual tentacles, and moving feebly after their vast journey across space. |
| From The War of the Worlds,
by H.G. Wells. Published by Unknown in 1898 Additional resources -
|
Wells does a remarkable job of visualizing mechanical devices that mimic the smooth motions of animals; biomimicry, as it is called, is a key concept in modern robotics.
Readers have also mentioned that In Battletech, the giant robot "mechs" are powered by an artificial muscle called "Myomer", a fibrous material consisting of microscopically thin tubes filled with a substance (acti-strandular fiber) that contracts when voltage is applied.
Also, compare to artificial muscles from Martin Caidin's 1972 novel Cyborg.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from The War of the Worlds
More Ideas
and Technology by H.G. Wells
Tech news articles related to The War of the Worlds
Tech news articles related to works by H.G. Wells
Quasi-Muscles (Sham Musculature)-related
news articles:
- Carbon Nanotube Muscles
- Biomimetic Artificial Muscles
- Artificial Muscles To Power UAV Drone Wings
- Humanoid Robot's Muscles Biomimic Ours
| M-Blocks 2.0 Self-Assembling Robots |
| Digit V2 Bipedal Robot From Agility Robotics |
| Hail SmartCan! Your Trash Bin Takes Itself Out |
| Robot Tuna Swims As Fast As Nature's Tuna |
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''... major cities of Earth have free electrical power conveniently processed from their own noise.'
'The appearance was enough like a giant witch's broom to justify the nickname.'
'A vast circle of scarlet stars came up into the greenish desert dusk.'
'He had constructed an organ, a brain, of metal, entirely inorganic and lifeless...'
'I shall never forget the sight... when the yellow gleam of the precious metal appeared under the star dust.'
Oh, and now I suppose someone will develop the robotic porch pirate.
'This thing will start at one end of ...a house and build it complete to the other end, following drawings only.'
