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"I'm a fairly visual thinker. In doing science, I think in terms of pictures of things happening, and then do the mathematics."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Waldo | ||
| A telefactoring device; also known as the Waldo F. Jones Synchronous Reduplicating Pantograph. |
This story has been largely forgotten (even though it still makes great reading). The notion of a waldo, however, has not. The word itself has come into common usage; the American Heritage Dictionary describes it as follows: "A mechanical agent, such as a gripper arm, controlled by a human limb." Real-life waldoes were developed for the nuclear industry during WWII; they were named after the invention described by Heinlein.
This technology is known today by the more generic term "telefactoring"; it is used in a variety of industries.
| Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair before the machine, came to life. Waldo flexed and extended his fingers gently; the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism. |
| From Waldo,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1942 Additional resources -
|
Heinlein shows his creativity by giving his character a problem (myasthenia gravis - degenerative muscle weakness) and then literally giving him the tool to solve it. You'll also enjoy his laboratory (in orbit, of course, to give Waldo maximum mobility).
A pantograph is a device with a simple physical connection between a pointer and a drawing pen on a piece of paper. Altering the linkage between the pointer and the pen alters the scale of the drawing. The pantograph dates from 1630. Thomas Jefferson liked them; he built one into Monticello.
In Oath of Fealty, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, telefactor operators who all live in the same arcology assist in a variety of tasks around the globe (and on the moon). At one point, they go on strike; a case of acting locally and globally.
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Tech news articles related to Waldo
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
Waldo-related
news articles:
- Tmsuk T52 Enryu Support Dragon Hyper Rescue Robot
- Robonaut Performs Hubble Space Telescope Repair Tasks
- Robonaut Centaur At NextFest 2006
- Heinlein's Giant Waldo Comes To Life
- Mediseus Surgical Drilling Simuator Remote Haptic Tutor
- Be Master To Robot Slave
- RAPUD Robotic Arm Helps Disabled Reach
- Giant Robotic Hand Video
- WIND Wearable Robot Controller
- PossessedHand Borgs Your Hands To Teach You
- Raytheon Sarcos Exoskeletonized Ditch Witch
- Festo ExoHand Fine Motor Skill Robotic Hand
- Calligraphy Robot Preserves An Ancient Skill
- CAPIO Exoskeleton Controls AILA Robot
- Smart Glove Controls 3D Printed Robotic Arm (Waldo!)
- Jeff Bezos Tries Waldoes (Robotic Hands)
| Smellicopter Combines Live Moth Antenna With Mechanical Drone |
| DARPA's Virtual Caves Explored By Virtual Robots |
| Samsung Gets Transparent Smartphone Patent |
| Jet-Powered Flying Suits Tested By Navy |
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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 Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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Okay, sf fans. If you could have some art created from a science fiction sentence, what sentence would you pick?
'There were the cleaners, with large padded feet, who were apparently polishing their way the whole length...'
It's fascinating to me how the Apollo program forced people to think outside their usual boxes.
'Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures, like excavators or centipedes.'
'the hair-fine wire going deep into Owen's brain, down into the pleasure center.'
'There was a dim whirring, and the spheres tipped and began to rotate...'
'The houses are prefabricated units... and they sell at the flat rate of five hundred dollars a room — set up.'
