Featured Image: [In The] the early 1480s, . . . Leonardo da Vinci created a design for a machine that could be described as an “aerial screw”, that any recorded advancement was made towards vertical flight. His notes suggested that he built small flying models, but there were no indications for any provision to stop the rotor from making the craft rotate.[13][14
From IEEE Spectrum By Lyle Chamberlain & Sebastian Scherer
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We’re standing on the edge of the hot Arizona tarmac, radio in hand, holding our breath as the helicopter passes 50 meters overhead. We watch as the precious sensor on its blunt nose scans every detail of the area, the test pilot and engineer looking down with coolly professional curiosity as they wait for the helicopter to decide where to land. They’re just onboard observers. The helicopter itself is in charge here.
Traveling at 40 knots, it banks to the right. We smile: The aircraft has made its decision, probably setting up to do a U-turn and land on a nearby clear area. Suddenly, the pilot’s voice crackles over the radio: “I have it!” That means he’s pushing the button that disables the automatic controls, switching back to manual flight. Our smiles fade. “The aircraft turned right,” the pilot explains, “but the test card said it would turn left.” . . . Read Complete Report
Photo: Robot Maria from the 1929 silent movie Classic “Metropolis.” SOURCE Google Public Domain
Nothing New under the Sun might be the subtitle of this post. I suddenly realized I have been neglect in research into, and reporting on, the early days of the study of Robotics. After all to understand the future you must study the pass. So let’s go back. … Way back. . . EDITOR
The editors at New Scientist have constructed a replica of what is believed to be the earliest known programmable robot.
“In about 60 AD, a Greek engineer called Hero constructed a three-wheeled cart that could carry a group of automata to the front of a stage where they would perform for an audience. Power came from a falling weight that pulled on string wrapped round the cart’s drive axle, and Sharkey reckons this string-based control mechanism is exactly equivalent to a modern programming language.” SOURCE New Scientist . . . Read Complete Report
The Legacy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Incredible Robot
2 years ago
EXCERPT
Why Did da Vinci Create “the Robot”?
The schema, known today as Leonardo’s robot, was developed around the year 1495, however, rediscovered only in the 1950s. No one knows if there has been any endeavor to build the invention.
Da Vinci fashioned the robot to demonstrate to himself that the frame of a human being could be mimicked. He was also interested in exhibiting for his patron, Lodovico Sforz, the robot’s manner of operation when they attended parties. Da Vinci’s intention was to catapult party members into astonishment with his own competency for melodrama. . . . Read Complete Report w/Photos
Over the summer of 2004, Dr. John D. Enderle was reading The Da Vinci Code when he came across a segment based upon the lost sketches of Leonardo Da Vinci’s robot. The readings sparked his interest and he began researching the history of this “lost” robot. He enlisted a team of students to research the structure and function of the robot. Information was limited due to the fact that the robot was created in 1495 and the estimated 14,000 pages of sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci are lost to the world of science and engineering. . . . Read Complete Report
Animated stills of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Robot from the Drama /Documentary, ‘Leonardo’, starring Mark Rylance as DaVinci, written & Directed by Alan Yentob. Leonardo’s Robot recreated by Mark Rosenheim. BBC 2003. Music: ‘My Head’ by Dias M. No copyright infringement intended. . . . Text posted with video on youtube
(Reuters) – Art researchers and scientists said on Monday that a high-tech project using tiny video probes has uncovered evidence that a fresco by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci lost for five centuries may still exist behind a wall of Florence’s city hall.
“Together with art historians and scientists combining historical evidence and technology, this research team has unlocked a mystery that has been with us for more than 500 years,” said Terry Garcia, an executive vice president of the U.S. National Geographic Society, which sponsored the research. . . . Read complete reportSlideshow
