Older inventions than previously thought
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GPS is not a modern invention
At least not its purpose and function. The Chinese (who, if not?) 2000 years ago already used this mechanical device to orient themselves, with a statuette that, thanks to some gears on the axis of this car, always pointed in the direction to where it had to go.Well, if we talk about the GPS of our car, there was also a forerunner, Spanish invention of 1954, which connected to the transmission of the car, unrolled a map that indicated the way, simple and effective, but naturally did not have a voice, but if It was easy to quickly change the rolls with the necessary map.
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The computer game also has more years than expected. In 1912 Quevedo Spanish built a game of Chess, 'computerized' that moved the pieces with a mechanical arm.
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This is not a washing machine, but Shakey, the first robot with enough AI to move, looking for its way and avoid obstacles autonomously, in 1966
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@catweazle The Chinese GPS is awesome! Thanks for sharing those incredible findings.
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@raed said in Older inventions than previously thought:
@Catweazle
Where can I buy one of those Chinese mechanical GPSs?
It would come handy to use heading back home from the pub after a few beers.Hahaha, ok, it's the same principle that we know today as diferential gear.
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The first comercial desktop computer. Apple in 1976? Wrong, there is a big forgotten:
The Olivetti Programma 101, also known as Perottina or P101, is the first commercial programmable "desktop computer". Produced by Italian manufacturer Olivetti, based in Ivrea, Piedmont, and invented by the Italian engineer Pier Giorgio Perotto, the P101 has the main features of large computers of that period. It was launched at the 1964 New York World's Fair; volume production started in 1965. A futuristic design for its time, the Programma 101 was priced at $3,200[4] (equivalent to $25,400 in 2018). About 44,000 units were sold, primarily in the US.The Programma 101 is able to calculate the basic four arithmetic functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), plus square root, absolute value, and fractional part. It is equipped with memory registers with features such as clear, transfer, and exchange, plus printing and halt for input.
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Programming is similar to assembly language, but simpler, as there are fewer options. It directs the exchange between memory registers and calculation registers, and operations in the registers. There are 16 jump instructions and 16 conditional jump instructions. Its features of conditional jump instructions, an alphanumeric programming language, an internal memory, and a data storage system define it as a "computer". Thirty-two label statements were available as destinations for the jump instructions and/or the four start keys (V, W, Y, Z).....
The stored programs can be recorded onto plastic cards approximately 10 cm × 20 cm that have a magnetic coating on one side and an area for writing on the other. Each card can be recorded on two stripes, enabling it to store two programs. Five registers are stored on the card; two registers are dedicated to the program code, the other three registers (D, E, F) can be used for the code or for numbers. Instructions occupy one byte, and a magnetic card can hold 120 instructions. In large computers such as the Elea 9003, an instruction occupies 8 bytes, 120 instructions occupy nearly 1 Kbytes; the total memory is 20 Kbytes in basic models. -
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