Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"What we're doing pop culturally is like burning the rain forest. The biodiversity of pop culture is really, really in danger."
- William Gibson
 |
| Automatic Truck | ||
| A cargo-carrying vehicle that autonomously drives to the selected destination. |
Pretty early description of an autonomous truck (I don't know of an earlier one).
| Then there was a roar and a crash and a burst of daylight.
The two fugitives jumped up and ran, knocking
over several astonished people who were waiting for packages; their destination was an open door with daylight
beyond. Out there was a row of trucks with
laundry packages dropping into them from overhead
chutes. They were automatic trucks such as are used
for making deliveries beyond the pneumatic-tube zone.
They leaped into the foremost truck. Quentin set the switches on impulse for Bay Shore, because that was not where he wanted to go, and they both rolled back into the closed portion of the vehicle. The truck started slowly, gathered momentum, and automatically made its way out of the city. After fifteen minutes of eternity, they looked out. The truck was moving swiftly along a country road. Twilight was gathering rapidly. "We'd better jump out and let it go on," Quentin suggested. |
| Technovelgy from Mechanocracy,
by Miles J. Breuer. Published by Amazing Stories in 1932 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the electrotruck from The Corkscrew of Space (1956) by Poul Anderson. Also, see the entries for the automatic automobile from David H. Keller's 1935 story The Living Machine, the Camden Speedster from Robert Heinlein's serialized 1941 novel Methuselah's Children and the Automatic Control Car from Arthur C. Clarke's Imperial Earth (1976).
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Mechanocracy
More Ideas
and Technology by Miles J. Breuer
Tech news articles related to Mechanocracy
Tech news articles related to works by Miles J. Breuer
Automatic Truck-related
news articles:
- Self-Driving Truck Corridor From Manitoba To Mexico?
- Patented! Google's Autonomous Delivery Trucks
- Otto Autonomous Robot Trucks Run Into... Legal Snag
- Volvo's Autonomous Truck
| Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024 |
| Cheap Drunk Driver Detection From UofM |
| More Like A Tumblebug Than A Motorcycle |
| Tesla Camera-Only Vision Predicted In 1930's SF |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
