7 ms·

Bioelektryczność – Polish Robotics (1968) [video]

134 points by danielEM 5y ago

I'm curious what was the state of an art in robotics area in 60s in different countries, feel free to post links to videos and pictures. Here is my country - Poland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjrYk546uBA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjrYk546uBA

simonblack 5y ago
Robotics?? What dat?? (Australia)
- luxurytent 5y ago
  Can you elaborate on this?
  - simonblack 5y ago
    In the late 60s there was very little automation in Australia. Assembly lines were exactly that, with humans all the way. Pretty much there had been little or no change in manufacturing since the 30s or 40s. So a few years later when many protective tariffs were removed, most manufacturing in Australia withered away very quickly. Today Australia is an economy with just two branches: primary industry and the FIRE sectors. There is very little 'value add' industry. Which is silly as there is abundant iron ore and coal so the steel industry should be overwhelming the world. Instead, both those commodities go to China where they make the more profitable steel.
    - luxurytent 5y ago
      Thank you!
- tuatoru 5y ago
  It was great! At home we had semi-automatic washing machines, and laundry dryers and ovens with timers on them. Some people had central heating with thermostats, too. And there were automatic lifts (elevators, for US-ians) in office buildings and department stores--just press the button to go to your floor. Amazing!
systemvoltage 5y ago
I think the golden peak period of humanity was post-war 1950s-1980s.
- teryyy 5y ago
  from these charts[1] I'd disagree. https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7272929/global-poverty-health-crime-literacy-good-news https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7272929/global-poverty-health...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - anticodon 5y ago
    Even if it all were true, it won't last for long. We're in the supercrisis. It's unlikely that it will end any time soon. Fossil fuels sources are depleted. Without fossil fuels there's no agriculture as they are used to produce fertilizers, also tractors, harvesters, etc work on fossil fuels. It's possible to go back to the technologies of 17th-18th century (wind energy, etc), but these technologies are unable to support the current population of Earth and current lifestyle. Population would have to shrink to the size of the world population from 17th century also. Also, no cheap plastic toys everywhere. No huge suburbs with huge houses and cars with 4-6 liters of displacement to move from home to work. From reading news it looks like there're no serious science and technology advances. All the advances are concentrated on how to brainwash world population more effectively and extract the money and attention by providing spiffy useless toys like cooler smartphones.
- Claude_Shannon 5y ago
  In West? Perhaps. In Poland or other Soviet-occupied countries? No, not at all.
foofoo55 5y ago
It's so advanced the robot arm gets ahead of the guy at the 11 second mark.
- furyg3 5y ago
  I'm glad someone else noticed this...
danielEM 5y ago
I'm curious what was the state of an art in robotics area in 60s in different countries, feel free to post links to videos and pictures. Here is my country - Poland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjrYk546uBA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjrYk546uBA
- dang 5y ago
  Posts without URLs get penalized, so I put your link in the URL field above and moved your original text to the thread.
  - danielEM 5y ago
    Thanks!
abraxas 5y ago
Awesome blast from the past. I wonder if this was ever featured on the legendary Polish TV program called "Sonda" (English title would "The Probe")? "Sonda" was a great pop-science show when those were much more science and much less pop. Just two dudes sitting and discussing new and future technology and its implications. Damn, I miss "Sonda" so much and this clip took me right down that memory lane. Here's the amazingly great intro music clip from the start of that show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHT8u52bSVE&ab_channel=Dukatovny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHT8u52bSVE&ab_channel=Dukat...
- Claude_Shannon 5y ago
  And to imagine we had lost most of the episodes, as the tape was reused :(
- baal80spam 5y ago
  > "The Proble" Typolice: I'm pretty sure you meant "The Probe"
  - abraxas 5y ago
    Yep, fixed
- scyzoryk_xyz 5y ago
  Yes! Though Sonda was the early 80’s no? Sonda definitely had little oversight and no screenwriting, but it was very honest and well intentioned in that old school Polish-Socialist Politechnika Engineer sort of way. Definitely a breath of fresh air, even today. Makes one wonder if this was the same in other Socialist Republics or was unique to Poland.
  - abraxas 5y ago
    I'm sure they had something. However, I never heard from any other geek from the socialist bloc mention any show that had the cult following of Sonda among us, Poles.
mirekrusin 5y ago
Grabs pack of fags on demo - classic.
- pndy 5y ago
  Cigs pack was probably at hand and back then wrapped in thin paper it was soft enough to train with such tech; I wouldn't expect the arm would be able to proudly pick and carry the PZPR standard right away. I still wonder how this was done - it moves really smooth Besides, pretty sure that's still a valid term for cigarettes in the UK so please hold your angry clicks folks
  - rsj_hn 5y ago
    Being able to pick up a pack of cigarettes, remove one, and then smoke it would be a pretty awesome achievement.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

134 points by danielEM 5y ago

simonblack 5y ago

Robotics?? What dat?? (Australia)

luxurytent 5y ago
Can you elaborate on this?
- simonblack 5y ago
  In the late 60s there was very little automation in Australia. Assembly lines were exactly that, with humans all the way. Pretty much there had been little or no change in manufacturing since the 30s or 40s. So a few years later when many protective tariffs were removed, most manufacturing in Australia withered away very quickly. Today Australia is an economy with just two branches: primary industry and the FIRE sectors. There is very little 'value add' industry. Which is silly as there is abundant iron ore and coal so the steel industry should be overwhelming the world. Instead, both those commodities go to China where they make the more profitable steel.
  - luxurytent 5y ago
    Thank you!
tuatoru 5y ago
It was great! At home we had semi-automatic washing machines, and laundry dryers and ovens with timers on them. Some people had central heating with thermostats, too. And there were automatic lifts (elevators, for US-ians) in office buildings and department stores--just press the button to go to your floor. Amazing!

systemvoltage 5y ago

I think the golden peak period of humanity was post-war 1950s-1980s.

teryyy 5y ago
from these charts[1] I'd disagree. https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7272929/global-poverty-health-crime-literacy-good-news https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7272929/global-poverty-health...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- anticodon 5y ago
  Even if it all were true, it won't last for long. We're in the supercrisis. It's unlikely that it will end any time soon. Fossil fuels sources are depleted. Without fossil fuels there's no agriculture as they are used to produce fertilizers, also tractors, harvesters, etc work on fossil fuels. It's possible to go back to the technologies of 17th-18th century (wind energy, etc), but these technologies are unable to support the current population of Earth and current lifestyle. Population would have to shrink to the size of the world population from 17th century also. Also, no cheap plastic toys everywhere. No huge suburbs with huge houses and cars with 4-6 liters of displacement to move from home to work. From reading news it looks like there're no serious science and technology advances. All the advances are concentrated on how to brainwash world population more effectively and extract the money and attention by providing spiffy useless toys like cooler smartphones.
Claude_Shannon 5y ago
In West? Perhaps. In Poland or other Soviet-occupied countries? No, not at all.

foofoo55 5y ago

It's so advanced the robot arm gets ahead of the guy at the 11 second mark.

furyg3 5y ago
I'm glad someone else noticed this...

danielEM 5y ago

dang 5y ago
Posts without URLs get penalized, so I put your link in the URL field above and moved your original text to the thread.
- danielEM 5y ago
  Thanks!

abraxas 5y ago

Awesome blast from the past. I wonder if this was ever featured on the legendary Polish TV program called "Sonda" (English title would "The Probe")? "Sonda" was a great pop-science show when those were much more science and much less pop. Just two dudes sitting and discussing new and future technology and its implications. Damn, I miss "Sonda" so much and this clip took me right down that memory lane. Here's the amazingly great intro music clip from the start of that show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHT8u52bSVE&ab_channel=Dukatovny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHT8u52bSVE&ab_channel=Dukat...

Claude_Shannon 5y ago
And to imagine we had lost most of the episodes, as the tape was reused :(
baal80spam 5y ago
> "The Proble" Typolice: I'm pretty sure you meant "The Probe"
- abraxas 5y ago
  Yep, fixed
scyzoryk_xyz 5y ago
Yes! Though Sonda was the early 80’s no? Sonda definitely had little oversight and no screenwriting, but it was very honest and well intentioned in that old school Polish-Socialist Politechnika Engineer sort of way. Definitely a breath of fresh air, even today. Makes one wonder if this was the same in other Socialist Republics or was unique to Poland.
- abraxas 5y ago
  I'm sure they had something. However, I never heard from any other geek from the socialist bloc mention any show that had the cult following of Sonda among us, Poles.

mirekrusin 5y ago

Grabs pack of fags on demo - classic.

pndy 5y ago
Cigs pack was probably at hand and back then wrapped in thin paper it was soft enough to train with such tech; I wouldn't expect the arm would be able to proudly pick and carry the PZPR standard right away. I still wonder how this was done - it moves really smooth Besides, pretty sure that's still a valid term for cigarettes in the UK so please hold your angry clicks folks
- rsj_hn 5y ago
  Being able to pick up a pack of cigarettes, remove one, and then smoke it would be a pretty awesome achievement.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]