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1893 - (Prof.) George Moore's Steam Man

After Dederick invented the Steam man in 1868 the idea seems to have gripped the public's imagination, fueled no doubt by numerous stories. in the Dime Novels of the time.

Various descriptions of the Steam Man exist.


The New York Times - 15th April 1893

A MECHANICAL MAN

Some New Features of an Invention Many Will Remember.

Many years ago, before the application of steam as a motive power had reached the stage of development of the present time, many devices were constructed to make the force subservient to man. One of the most ingenious of these many devices could have been seen within recent times in a down-town junkshop. It was the figure of a man, constructed of iron, and fitted with internal mechanism, which, when put in motion by steam, was intended to cause the figure to move much as a human being walks.1a

During the past two years Prof. George Moore, a native of Canada, has been at work upon a motive engine, built upon the same plans as the old discarded "iron man," and at last he has succeeded in constructing a model which will not only walk about with a firm steady gait, but also exerts considerable tractive power. The iron man, as shown in the accompanying illustration, seems in appearance like a mediaeval knight. In operation the action is quite natural, the hip, knee, and ankle movements being successfully imitated. It moves along at a brisk walk, and can cover about four or five miles an hour. Yhe iron man is about 6 feet in height, and when in full operation, it is said, cannot be held back by two men,

The mechanism which operates this iron figure is not at all as complicated as at first might be supposed, and is described by the Scientific American, from which the illustrations are taken, as follows:

"In the body is the boiler, containing a very large heating surface, and which is supplied with a gasoline fire. Below the boiler is situated the engine. While small in size, it is a high speed engine, running up to 3,000 revolutions per minute or more, and hence is of high power, the combination of boiler and engine giving about 12 horse-power. From the engine the exhaust pipe leads to the nose of the figure, whence the steam escapes when the machine is in motion. Through the head the smoke flue is carried, and the products of combustion escape from the top of the helmet. The steam gauge is placed by the side of the neck. The skirts of the armor open like doors, so as to give free access to the engine. The main body of the figure is made of heavy tin. By reducing gear the engine is made to drive the walking mechanism of the figure at reasonable speed.
  "In the sectional view is shown the combination of levers by which the figure is made to walk. The engine imparts a swinging to the whole length of the leg from the hip; a second swinging motion, from the knee downward, is accomplished by a similar system of levers and connections, and finally, a true ankle motion is given to the foot by the rod running down through the lower leg. The heels of the figure are armed with calks or spurs, which catch on the surface on which it is walking and give it its power. As exhibited, the steam man is connected to the end of a horezontal bar about waist high, which is fastened to a vertical standard in the center of the track. Thus supported, the man walks round in a circle at quite a rapid rate of progress."

For eight years past the same inventor has been engaged in the construction of a much larger steam man, and it is now said that within the present year the machine will be ready to be placed on exhibition. The new figure is designed for use in the streets and will be powerful enough to draw a wagon containing as many as ten men.


From 1898, the following, paraphrased from the New York Times article of 15th April 1893, appeared in
Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions Including Trick Photography - Introduction by Henry Ridgley Evans, published 1898.

A STEAM MAN
A good many years ago what was supposed to be a steam man was exhibited all over the country, but finally the "steam man" presumably died, as his remains were quite recently in one of the downtown New York junk stores1b. The steam man which we illustrate was invented by Prof. George Moore, who exhibited him very widely in the United States.

In our illustration (right) we show the section and general view of the steam man. In the body is the boiler, containing a very large heating surface which is supplied with a gasoline fire. Below the boiler is situated the engine. While this steam engine is not at all large, it runs at a very high speed and is of high power, the combination of boiler and engine giving about one-half horse-power. From the engine the exhaust pipe leads to the nose of the figure, whence the steam escapes when the machine is in motion. Through the head the smoke flue is carried, and the products of combustion escape from the top of the helmet. The steam gauge is placed by the side of the neck. The skirts of the armor open like doors, so as to give free access to the engine. The main body of the figure is made of heavy tin2. By reducing gear the engine is made to drive the walking mechanism of the figure at reasonable speed.

In our sectional view we show the combination of levers by which the figure is made to walk. The engine imparts a swinging to the whole length of the leg from the hip; a second swinging motion, from the knee downward, is accomplished by a similar system of levers and connections; and finally, a true ankle motion is given to the foot by the rod running down through the lower leg. The heels of the figure are armed with calks, or spurs, which catch on the surface on which it is walking and give it its power. As exhibited, the steam man is connected to the end of a horezontal bar about waist high, which is fastened to a vertical standard in the center of the track. Thus supported, the man walks round in a circle at quite a rapid rate of progress.

For the last eight years the inventor has been at work on a larger man which he hopes to have in operation sometime. The new one is designed for use on the open streets, and is to draw a wagon containing a band. In the upper figure we indicate the method of attachment to the wagon which has been adopted. By the long spring at the side of the figure an elastic connection is secured, so that the figure shall always have its weight supported by the ground. The present man, which is about six feet high, when in full operation, cannot, it is said, be held back by two men pulling against it. The larger man, built for heavier work, is expected to pull as many as ten musicians in his wagon. Our cuts show the general appearance of the figure which is attired in armor like a knight of old, and which appears to be thorourghly operative. The action is quite natural, and the hip, knee, and ankle motion of the human leg have been very faithfully imitated. The figure moves at a brisk walk and can cover about four or five miles an hour.


As there is no further mention of the proposed larger steam man it must be assumed that Moore abandoned any further development work.

The following modern descriptions are no doubt based on the 1898 description above and the Scientific American article of the time.

Designed by the Canadian inventor George Moore in 1893, this life-size (6-foot tall) steam-powered android was able to walk at a rate of up to 5 mph. The Walking Steam Man was constructed of tin1. The body contained a steam boiler powered by means of a gasoline engine. An exhaust pipe led from the engine to the nose of the figure, from whence steam escaped when the machine was in motion. The body contained a 3,000 rpm motor and a gear train for motion. The spurs on the feet of the device would catch on the road surface, thus giving it appropriate traction. The action of the Walking Steam Man was described as very natural, with the hip, knee, and ankle motion of the legs faithfully imitating that of human motion. In full operation the Walking Steam-Man could not be held back by the efforts of two men attempting to pull against it. George Moore also had plans for another mechanical man designed for use on the open streets to draw a wagon containing 10 musicians. text accompanying an 1893 engraving of the Steam Man available from www.historicalprintshop.com/ [Aug07]

"George Moore's steam man. Petrol-fired boiler operated a 1/2 hp engine. Exhaust through helmet steam exhaust through cigar. Walking speed 7-9 mph. Woodcut published London 1893". print (right) available from www.lulu.com/ [Aug07]

When he developed a head of steam he could walk, but only in circles, since he was attached to a horezontal radius arm. Besides being noisey and underpowered - he could develop only half a horse power - he had a tendency to blow his stack. The Robot Book - Robert Malone

George Moore, a native of Canada. His steam man appears to be a native of America. Scientific American

1a 1b This could have been Dederick's 1868 Steam Man.

2 It would be tin plated iron sheet, commonly called tin plate or simply tin

According to Wikipedia's Robotic Art page [Aug07] the Steam Man was invented by Prof. Moore.
Well, Prof. Moore seems to have beeen thinking within an academic box and his design is not something any engineer worth his salt would dream up, instead when compared to Dederick's Steam man of 1868 the whole construction seems to be more suitable to a laboratory demonstration item or a small steam toy rather than a full size steam man designed to pull a carriage and it is interesting that most illustrations show the Steam Man without any visible means of support giving a very false impression of its capabilities. Maybe that is why it is erroneously refered to in many scientific papers and elsewhere as being the first biped robot! Whereas Dederick was honest and showed his Steam Man stabilised by rigid connections to a carriage, Moore conveniently left these out of the illustrations and hinted at some sort of spring connection to a carriage, unlike, from the report above, the arrangement of his demonstration machine which was rigidly fixed to a horizontal arm.

What can be confusing is that there were two George Moores who invented walking men. One was the Prof. George Moore of Canada who invented the steam man described here, the other was George R. Moore of the USA who invented an electric walking man who pushed an invalid chair.
See cyberneticzoo.com/walking-machines/1890-electric-walking-machine-george-r-moore-american


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