AGE OF ROBOTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 203, 20 April 1932, Page 7

AGE OF ROBOTS

great inventions AUTOMATIC PILOTS DISPENSE WITH HUMAN - WORKERS. MARVELLOUS SUCCESSES. Dispensing with the human agency woud appear to be a trend of modern invention. In several instances this has been done with a completeness which ' a few yeaf s ago would have b'een regarded as nothing short of marvellous. Jn other instances its completeness has only been partially realised. Will this be regarded as the age of Robots? The inventive brains of world-famed people of genius seem to teem with such amazing schemes that one cannot help speculating if the time will comfe when the ultimate invention will be one designed to dispense with self. So to-day in myriad research centres diligent worlcers are planning and experimenting with all manner of uncannily accurate devices whereby humans may be relieved either in part or in whole of their responsibilities as living forces. Of all modern inventions there is one coiicefning the piloting of aircraft which, judging by recent trials, simply staggers and stimulates the imagination. This device is known as the automatic pilot and it has been dubbed "George the R'obot." With such a name one is not surprised to learn that George hails from Britain. Had he, or rather it, been invented in any other country, one feels certain that a much more suggestive title would have intrigued a somewhat blase world. George, the automatic pilot, is a product of the Royal Aircraft Establishment which is situated at Farnbor ough, England. Aviation generally owes an incalculable debt to this great research centre, which, whilst primarily founded for the purpose of improving the efficiency of aircraft used by the Royal Air Force, has exercised a far-reaching influenee upon the designs of civil aircraft throughout the Empire. For the past ten years George has been in the embryo state. The accumulated brain power and wealth which have been expended On this automatic pilot during that period can only be guessed, but it has been suggested that to date it has cost at least £100,000 of British Government money. That the time and expenditure have not been in vain is proved by the fact that already several flights lasting several hours and up to 400miles, under all manner of weather conditions, have been made with the utmost satisfactitin by using this automatic pilot. George the Robot has now reached the stage at which an aeroplane whilst in flight can be controlled automatically with far greater precision than is possible by even the most skilled pilot. This automatic pilot takes the form of a eontrol which depends for iis Gyroscopic Control. sense of direction on a gyroscope which is driven continuously by compressed air. The gyroscope operates pneumatically certain pistons and these in turn move the rudder and elevators. The mechanism is so sensitive that the deviation of the aeroplane from a set course by a fraetion of a degr-ee is detected and instantly eorrected. There is also an arrangement with this automatic pilot whereby the human pilot can make changes of course to correct, for example, the variation of wind, or for any of the other many climatie changes. Further, the automatic pilot can alter the trim of the aeroplane so that it can climb or dive to a different- altitude Whilst still maintaining complete automatic control. This automatic pilot has been fitted to a number of widely different types of service aeroplanes, which range from the large twin-engined machines of the Virginia and Southampton Hypes to the standard two-seat sorts. So far this device has been applied only to service aircraft, but its success in the recent trials indicates that its influenee on civil aviation will be very far-reaching. It has proved, amongst many other things, that it can be of great value in the matter of relieving the pilot in charge of a large aeroplane of considerable fatigue. On a long-distance flight from Australia to England its value can well be imagined. From the purely commercial aspect, it is cl'aimed that the automatic pilot should prove yet another factor in reducing the cost of flyi'ng, especially in the case of the large air liners operating on the regular Brit-ish-European routes. In regard to navigation, it is maintained that the automatic pilot has definitely proved its value by increasing the accuracy of flying. The tests have shown, with satisfaction to the British experts, that this is partieularly the case when flying in cloudy or foggy weather. Already a device of a similar nature has -been tested on a certain type of cargo steamer and at least one class of steamer has made the trip to Australia fitted with an automatic navigating offieer. However, as far as aviation is concerned, the automatic pilot is still the close preserve of the British Government authorities, and the minute details of the invention are kept supremely secret. This is but another notable example of the unostentious manner in which Britain indicates the way to even greater things.