A MECHANICAL “MAN.”

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3735, 29 December 1927, Page 3

A MECHANICAL “MAN.”

REMARKABLE INVENTION.

The United States, with its emphasis on perfection in mechanical d'ejrices, and the material comforts otC livng, has finally developed tho ' mechanical “man.” At the laboratories of the \Vestinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company there w.as recently demonstrated a device wiiiich can be called upon by sounds within the register of the human voice—although actually a tuning- ■ firk is used in order to inspire accuracy —to perform them aecura- . tely, and with despatch. This dcnee, daring a public exhibition, at the first syllable lit a series of • lamps; at the second it switched on an electric fan; at the third it tumded on a searchlight; at the. fouifih it operated an automatic sweeper; at the fifth it lighted a signal lamp. The mechanical servant responds only to sound waves of the proper frequency, and executes a givqn command with the speed of electricity. The Westinghouse Cimpany sees a great future, and an almost unlimited field' of usefulness for these mechanical “men.” They could be installed at power stations or substations to serve as watchmen at " } any of a number of points, and tb give certain information when called on the telephone. By means of these synthetic employees .a despatcher of an electric power company or street railway, upon telephoning to the unattended power house or sub-station could ascertain whether certain machines were running, what switches were in circuit, which ones out, and certain • other pure facts into which judgment or opinion does not enter. • A technician of the company explained the .process as follows: “The method of using the new system is easily understood. The despatchcr has before him a small box, on top of .which stands a standard desk telephone. i;On the face of the box are three pitsh-but-tons, and above is a small loudspeaker pointing at the transmitter ‘of the telephone. Let. us assume that it is desired to bring into service a certain machine in an unattended station. The despatcher picks up the receiver of his telephone and calls the number of the desired station in the usual manner. After the exchange connection is, completed the distant bell rings. A ringing relay calls into action the sub-station equipment, which lifts the receiverof the telephone just enough to signal the operator that the called party has answered. A buzzer at the shb-station is caused to transmit a code signal which the despatch hears, and interprets to mean that the desired station is now ' connected. He then pushes one of the three buttons in such manner as to transmit a series of tuning fork notes, each of which causes the selector switch to step one notch when pickqd up by the electric ear. The sub-station then sends a code of buzzer-signals, advising the despatcher of the number of the device selected. This is to avoid errors should the despatcher inadvertently send the wrong error, or should the equipment fail to make the seli eetion indicated by him. Let us sup- ~ pose that he hears the correct answering signal, and is thus certain ' that the desired machine is ready to be started. A touch on the second of the three push buttons sends out a different note. The sensitive electrical ear detects the difference in pitch and routes the signal to a different relay, which closes the operating circuit, and brings into action the machine previously selected. The buzzer answering signal then changes in character, thus advising the despatcher that the desired result has been accomplished. No other function of the sub-stati-on being necessary at this time, the despatcher presses the,third but7ton, which sends stiff a different, note to the substation. The intel•ligent device accepts this as its dismissal from active duty for the present. The receiver is dropped into iplace, the local control circuits are disconnected, and the whole device is left in position to be called into fservice instantly by the ringing of "the telephone bell.” . - , At present three units of this electrical ‘‘fifth estate” are always in use. They are in the service of the War Department, and are assigned to watch three reservoirs of the water supply at Washington, D.C. When they are called on the telephone from water supply headquarters, they report the number of feet ■of-water in each reservoir by emitting a characteristic note a certain number of times, which varies according to the quantity of water. Pumping activities are regulated accordingly. They eliminate the necessity of employing at least three watchmen, and are on duty twentyfour hours a day. The day may not fee'far off when the housewife will regulate her home and order the meals by this “televocaT /device, arriving home for dinner at the same time as her husband.