Robotics Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6.
The Nimotron as shown in its patent document (U.S. patent # 2,215,544)
(see
Figure 6)
and the lamps were illuminated to show which matches
were still in the game. When the human opponent made a move by
taking away some of the matches from a pile, the corresponding lamps
were switched off by the relay circuit. And when the Nimotron made
its reply move, more lamps would go out, corresponding to the latest
matches removed by the machine.
Konrad Zuse and the First Computer
Konrad Zuse (1910-1995) was a German who invented the world's first
digital computer that functioned on electricity. He started working on
the design of computers in 1934, at a time when the computing industry
was limited to mechanical calculators using decimal arithmetic. At first
Zuse worked completely independently and without knowledge of any
of the other developments in the field going on in the world around him.
“In fact, I hadn't even heard of Charles Babbage when I embarked on my
work.” [5]
Zuse's research was initially aimed at pure number calculation, but in
1935 and 1936 it led to new ideas about computing in general, causing
him to reminisce in later life, “Personally, I believe that was the birth
of modern computer science.” Zuse realised that all computing opera-
tions could be carried out by electro-mechanical relays, and he was thus
able to forge a link between engineering and mathematical logic. His
