What does a cable car in Niagara Falls have to do with the world’s first chess-playing machine? Surprisingly, both were inventions of Spanish civil engineer
Leonardo Torres-Quevedo. Next week, as part of
our ongoing effort to celebrate Europe’s computing heritage, we’re commemorating Torres-Quevedo’s legacy and his remarkable machine—
"El Ajedrecista" (in English, "The Chess Player")—in partnership with the
Telecommunication Engineering department of the Technical University of Madrid.Photo thanks to Wikimedia CommonsTorres-Quevedo’s inventions span many fields. He was the second in the world to
demonstrate wireless remote control, beaten to the post only by
Nikola Tesla. His
designs for airships were used by both the French and British during WWI. He was a global leader in cable car design, creating the “
Spanish aero car” over the Niagara Whirlpool which,
nearly a century on, remains a tourist attraction. However, his most remarkable achievements were in the field of automation, developing machines that are antecedents to what we now call computers and robots.
Torres-Quevedo’s ambitions were bold. As
Scientific American proclaimed in 1915: “He would substitute machinery for the human mind.” In the 1890s, Torres-Quevedo built a
series of mechanical devices that solved algebraic equations. In 1920 he wowed a Paris audience with an electromechanical
arithmometer with a typewriter attachment. You simply typed a formula—say, “24x48”—and the machine would calculate and automatically type the answer “=1152” in reply.
But El Ajedrecista, an algorithmically powered machine that could play an end-game of chess against a human opponent completely automatically, is his most notable creation. Although it’s a far cry from
Deep Blue, El Ajedrecista can lay claim to being the world’s first (analog) computer game.
.
Photos thanks to Museo Torres QuevedoThe machine didn’t just calculate its moves—it had mechanical arms that physically moved its pieces, in the form of electrical jacks, across a grid. In later models the arm mechanism was replaced by magnets, and play took place on a more ordinary-looking chess board. You couldn’t cheat the machine as it could spot illegal moves; and you couldn’t win, as the game always started at a point (machine’s King and Rook versus human’s King) from which the
machine could never lose.
In honor of El Ajedrecista’s 100th birthday, we’re working with the
Telecommunication Engineering department of the Technical University of Madrid to stage a conference commemorating Torres-Quevedo’s legacy. The
conference, taking place on November 7, will feature lectures and panel discussions, as well as an exhibition of Torres-Quevedo’s devices—including El Ajedrecista itself. Attendance is free—if you want to join us,
request an invitation.
Posted by Lynette Webb, Senior Manager, External Relations
Bell Silva - O excesso de velocidade pode ter sido a causa de um acidente grave registrado pela Polícia Rodoviária Federal (PRF) por volta das 14h de hoje, no Km 373, da BR-381, em São Gonçalo do Rio Abaixo, e que deixou um homem gravemente ferido. A carreta de placas GXS-4363, de Bela Vista de Minas/MG, seguia no sentido Monlevade/BH, quando, na curva, o motorista Fábio José Gonçalves, 30, perdeu o controle, rodou na pista e atingiu dois caminhões que seguiam em sentido contrário. Fábio saiu ileso do acidente. O primeiro veículo a ser atingido foi a carreta Volvo, de placas HGJ-6328, de Pedro Leopoldo, conduzida por Geraldo Vicente Ferreira Filho, 49, que seguia de São José da Lapa para Ipatinga transportando cal virgem, que também não teve ferimentos. O segundo veículo atingido foi o caminhão baú, de placas HEH-1476, de Manhuaçú/MG, que transportava frutas e alimentos não perecíveis para um supermercado. O caminhão baú realizava uma ultrapassagem, batendo de frente com a carreta de Bela Vista. O condutor do caminhão baú, Vander Gilson, 32, ficou preso nas ferragens. Com vários ferimentos pelo corpo, ele foi socorrido pelo Serviço Voluntário de Resgate (Sevor) e levado para o Hospital Margarida, em Monlevade. Por causa do acidente, o respectivo trecho da BR-381 ficou completamente fechado nos dois sentidos, João Monlevade/Belo Horizonte, e só foi liberado por volta das 16h20, e causou congestionamentos com cerca de 8 quilômetros nos dois sentidos. Por causa do derramamento de sabão em pó e detergentes, óleos e outros derivados, a pista ficou bastante escorregadia. Um caminhão tanque do Corpo de Bombeiros de Itabira esteve no local e lavou a pista para evitar novos acidentes.Mais no site O Popular, confira
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