Meet the Roomba’s Ancestor: The Cybernetic Tortoise

Photo: Science and Society Picture Library/Getty Images Neurophysiologist W. Grey Walter built his cybernetic tortoises to elucidate the functions of the brain. In the robotics family tree, Roomba’s ancestors were probably Elmer and Elsie, a pair of cybernetic tortoises invented in the 1940s by neurophysiologist W. Grey Walter. The robots could “see” by means of a rotating photocell that steered them toward a light source. If the light was too bright, they would retreat and continue their exploration in a new direction. Likewise, when they ran into obstacles, a touch sensor would compel the tortoises to reverse and change course. In this way, Elmer and Elsie slowly explored their surroundings. Walter was an early researcher into electroencephalography (EEG), a technique for detecting the electrical activity of the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp. Among his notable clinical breakthroughs was the first diagnosis of a brain tumor by EEG. In Continue reading Meet the Roomba’s Ancestor: The Cybernetic Tortoise