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"Concepts of religion may now be goals of science and engineering."
- Bart Kosko
 |
| Automated Surface Measurement | ||
| A mechanical method of accurately measuring a surface. |
At this point in the story, Graham is being measured for a suit. A device is used to provide an automated measurement of key points on his body.
| ...the tailor pulled out a number of slotted arms terminating in little discs, pulling them out until the discs were flat against the body of Graham, one at each shoulder blade, one at the elbows, one at the neck and so forth, so that at last there were, perhaps, two score of them upon his body and limbs. At the same time, some other person entered the room by the lift, behind Graham. The tailor set moving a mechanism that initiated a faint-sounding rhythmic movement of parts in the machine, and in another moment he was knocking up the levers and Graham was released. |
| From When the Sleeper Wakes,
by H.G. Wells. Published by Unknown in 1899 Additional resources -
|
This item is a remarkable prediction of modern devices that are used to digitize surfaces for part manufacturing; a part is sculpted and then its surface is digitized for entry into a computer-aided design (CAD) system.
Compare to the feeler-planes from Jack Vance's 1954 novel The Houses of Iszm.
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Tech news articles related to When the Sleeper Wakes
Tech news articles related to works by H.G. Wells
Automated Surface Measurement-related
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- Body Scanner May Improve Online Shopping
- LikeAGlove Smart Garment Knows Your Size
| iSphere Plastique Fantastique Face Mask Alternative |
| Inkjet-Printed Wearable Solar Cells |
| E - Ink's Automatic Self Styling Color-Changing Dress |
| Clothes That Do Photosynthesis |
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'I brought it back to the ship, charged it up, reprogrammed the inertia chips and voila!'
'Their playmates were not “real,” but they were a lot realer than, say, a Betsy-Wetsy doll.'
'pirate three-vee satellites sanded out of orbit...'
'Oh, there you are! the balloon piped at the amorphous mass of living tissue...'
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'
'The entire expanse, twenty kilometers square, was covered ... the photo-electric elements which transformed the solar heat direct into electric energy.'
'Chia recognized the square as the control-face of the computer she'd seen in his room.'
'The automatic packing machine could pack anything from a small package a few inches square up to a box two feet high by three feet long.'
