The Coolidge examiner., 1931-07-03
Machines That Are
| Almost Human |
The Magic Mariner
BY E. g. TAYLOR

~ III w - MY llllCdl sup, dS
described in an Icelandic saga,
that sailed the seas without a hui
man being aboard, may have been
a vision of the future.
For scientists have reproduced
the vessel that could sail from port
to port at the will of man, and
without a human being to steer
it on its course, or take it past the
rocky reef into safe harbor.
On September 20, 1927 the steam
ship Pulpit Point reached Auck-
land, New Zealand, after a run of
q days from San Francisco, dur
ing which no human hand had
touched the steering gear. There
were cobwebs on the wheel when
the vessel reached the harbor at
Auckland.
There the robot that had held
the ship true to her compass
course across the Pacific ocean day
and night for three weeks turned
the helm over to an Auckland pilot.
The robot was Metal Nike" the
invention of the late Elmer Sperry,
who also invented the gyrOscope
and the Lindbergh beacon now
mounted 500 feet above downtown
Chicago to direct flyers safely to
their airport and that can be seen
in Milwaukee, Wis, 90 miles away.
Metal Mike" had a gyroscope for
a heart and brain, and devices at
tached to it kept the Pulpit Point
straight on an unseen path over
thousands of miles of sea. The ro-
bot can steer ship with greater
precision than could be achieved
by the most expert human pilot. 1t
always knows the true north, and
it's hands never leave the wheel for
an instant.
While the voyage of the Pulpit
Point was awe-inspiring. it was
only an indication of what the fu-
ture holds in store. Scientists and
engineers since that memorable trip
have demonstrated that ships can
be sailed without a single human
being aboard, that trains can be
run in the same way, and that fleets
Of airplanes could be sent to bomb
cities in the wars of the future, all
flown by robots and directed by
radio.
Demonstrations with small work
ing models have shown that ships
or trains can be maneuvered en-
tirely by robots. Recent stunts put
on by scientists to prove the value
of their brain children included the
operation of ships and trains en-
tirely by robots, that responded to
Instructions voiced over the radio.
The ship and train models were
controlled absolutely by spoken
commands. They stopped at the
word stop" They backed up when
told to "Back up" They started
forward again when told to Get
along there"
Vibrations Of the human voice
through a microphone were re-
ceived aboard the ship and train
models on radio receiving sets, and
started machines that operated the
models.
Robots will make travel at sea
much safer for future generations,
scientists are sure. After each
great sea disaster of recent years,
new devices for safety have been
invented, and many of them are
now In use.
The new submarines Of the
United States navy have devices
that signal to the surface if any
thing goes wrong and the vessel is
trapped under the waves. Other
devices permit the submarine crew
to rise safely to the surface, and
still others aid in salvaging a sunk
en- submarine.
One of the newest inventions be-
ing adopted by passenger carrying
ship lines is that of an automatic
radio receiver that will pick up
so S calls without requiring a ra-
dio operator to be constantly on
guard, and broadcast them through
out the ship.
A robot that will bring help to
shipwrecked people in life boats is
being added to the equipment of
many ocean liners. This robot is
small radio transmitter with
hand-operated dynamo to supply
the power. AS the crank Of the dy-
namo is turned, it automatically
sends out a series of S o s calls to
be picked up by any passing ship.
II can be operated by anyone with.
out radio experience, and will con-
tinue to call for help as long as the
dynamo crank is turned.
"a. 1881. Western Newspaper Union.)