The Coolidge examiner., 1931-08-07
Machines That Are
Almost Human
The Telehor
BY E. c. TAYLOR

hE CelenOr, ROBOT similar TO
l. the televisiOn machine, gets pic
lures at places where human be-
/ ings cannot live, such as at the bot
tom of the ocean or high up in the
air.
The robot picks up the picture
at the sea floor or in the thin air
of high attitudes and transmits II
by radio to a receiving machine that
translates the electric waves into
a photograph
The robot is lowered into the
ocean and sent alOft in a balloon.
1t is directed by men on the
ground, and when it is pointed at
the object to be photographed,
starts sending its flashes of vibra-
tionS that are recorded like the i'm
age of televisiOn broaicaster is
recorded on the televisiOn receiv-
ing set.
The mechanism of the robot
transmits the picture directly from
the object being photographed with
out the necessity of making pre-
iiminary exposures. 1t sends the
| CICNlIlC llDulScS VI the DlCluiC
at time, and they are picked up
by the receiving apparatus and
flashed before a camera. A COM
| plete picture can be sent in one
eighth of a second.
Equally remarkable in the eyes
Of most people is the robot that
sends photographs by telegraph and
by radio. The sending of pictures
by telegraph Is universally done
nowadays.
When great news event occurs
in far distant country or in a
part of the United States far from
home, photographs of it are sent in
a few minutes to the newspapers
that we read. Pictures of the in
auguratiOn of a new President OF
the United States in Washington
are printed within an hour in news
| papers on the Pacific coast. When
there is great earthquake or
other disaster in Europe or Asia,
these robots send the pictures to
American newspapers by cable.
This Is a companion device to the
radio for the speedy dissemina
tion of news to the people of the
world.
This sending of pictures by wire
is becoming an important factor in
business. An engineering firm in
New York city recently sent a set
of complicated mechanical draw
ings to San Francisco. They ar
rived in time to enable the firm to
complete a contract several days
ahead of the specified time, and
thereby made considerable profit
for the firm.
The latest fashions are sent by
wire now. Important financial an
nouncements are transmitted just
as they have been set up in type
ar the home office to prevent er-
ror in resetting the type where they
are received
Physicians send photographs Of
! patients showing conditions that
need immediate diagnosis. Fac
SMILES of checks have transferred
large sums of money in few min
utes when they have been transmit
! te0 Dy wire.
The robot frequently goes TO the
aid of the police in catching Grim
inals. Photographs and even finger
prints have been sent tC distant
| cities in the hunt for criminals.
This robot sends out electrical
vibrations one at a time. They are
received by a device attached to
a writing pen that draws a line
al each impulse it receives. The
pitch of the vibration of each i'm
pulse makes the line light or heavy.
These lines are drawn very rapid
ly. and when the entire operation
is completed in a few minutes,
there is a picture that, when pho
tographed on a smaller scale, is a
clear copy of the original picture.
The same device is frequently
used to transmit photographs by
radio, sending the electrical i'm
pulses through the air instead of
over wires But the wires so far
have been found to give greater ac-
curacy in reception.
A movie camera, operated on a
similar principle is being used by
the United States coast and geo
detic survey to take pictures of
tides and water currents beneath
the surface 1t does the work of
several men, and does it accu-
rately.
The device recently was sub
merged in Chesapeake bay to make
studies Of the tidal currents. 1t
contained compass and revOlv-
ing dial, on which the direction and
strength of the currents were re
corded One picture was made
each half hour and the machine
worked steadily and without at
tention for a week at the bottom
of Chesapeake bay. Careful analy-
sis of the charts recorded aided in
the planning of a sewage disposal
plant.
O0. 1881 Western Newspaper UnionD