Brief information about robotics. History of robotics Children under one year of age

The first steps in the field of robotics

The late 19th and early 20th centuries were marked by remarkable discoveries in science and technology. Various electrical devices, current generators, electric motors, batteries appeared and began to be widely used, the telegraph and the telephone were invented. Electricity began to be used more and more widely. At the beginning of the 20th century, new sciences began to develop rapidly - radio engineering, electronics. New scientific discoveries and inventions have made it possible to move the problem of creating robots to a new, more perfect foundation. There are real possibilities to equip the robot - a photocell, a hearing - a microphone, a speech - a speaker.

At the same time, the first fruits of science began to appear, which were later called cybernetics. Scientists and engineers have begun to develop devices that were not created for fun, despite being called cyber toys. They were able to put into practice the ideas of automatic control, simulating the behavior of living organisms in the simplest of situations. Devices such as turtles, beetles, squirrels, dogs, etc. have gained great popularity among these cybernetic toys.
The most famous are the three "turtles" created by the English biophysicist and neurophysiologist G. Walter in 1950-1951. These devices are self-propelled electromechanical toys that can enter or exit light, bypass obstacles, enter a “feeder” to charge discharged batteries, and so on. . The " Turtles " are powered by two battery-powered electric motors. The first engine provides the translational motion of the device, the second, located on the steering column, changes the direction of movement. The first two sensitive elements are “ turtles”G. Walter is a photocell located on the steering column and a mechanical contact that closes when it hits an obstacle. Behavior control is performed using a simple electronic circuit. Despite a very simple device, “ turtles"Show interesting features. In the dark or in weak light, they crawl by chance, as if looking for something. When they encounter an obstacle, they turn around and try to avoid them. If there is a strong enough light source, they soon they "notice" it and resolutely go in their own direction (positive tropism). However, when they come too close to the light, they turn away from it (negative tropism). Now they are the source of light. move around, find the optimal conditions for them and keep them on a regular basis (homeostasis) between the light source. The two " turtle"Travel each other like a donkey from Buri, you know, starving to death, being in the middle of two identical nests and not being able to choose which one is delicious. Two turtles" see "each other in a light bulb." and “recognizes” and crawls toward each other.