Robotics Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 41.
The Henry Drawing Computer (Courtesy of Elaine O'Hanrahan)
ement inherent in their operation, so Henry had only general overall
control of the machines. Yet at the same time he was able to intervene,
whenever he wished during its operation, to influence the course of the
drawing taking shape. Both the pen and the table on which the paper
rested were moveable, the pen moving in elliptical paths of various di-
mensions while the table moved in harmonic paths that distorted the
ellipses at various points, at the same time moving the paper in a curved
path.
There was also a chance element in Henry's machines due, as he freely
admitted, to imperfections in the machines' construction, but this chance
element, combined with the combination of paper-shifting and ellipse
distortion, meant that no two drawings were ever alike and each therefore
retained the virtue of infinite variety.
