Robot Soon to Supplant Humans in Purely Mechanical Tasks Inventor Predicts--Has Already Shown Signs of Intelligence

"The making of a mechanical man, a Robot, has intrigued the minds of men for centuries, but only now, in the twentieth century, has man stopped merely talking of it and actually constructed a talking, moving, automaton," said Captain W. H. Richards, the famous inventor, to a representative of the CRIMSON in a recent interview.

Captain Richards, a veteran of the World War, and a noted journalist, told how he came to invent the Robot. "What really caused its invention," he said, "was the need of an important person, to take the place of the Duke of York, in opening the Exhibition of the Society of Model Engineers, in London. Since I was secretary of the organization, I decided to make a Robot who could open the exhibition. After many disappointments, it was perfected and amid much excitement, the mechanical man made his debut."

He arose, bowed to awed spectators, looked to the right, to the left, and, with appropriate gestures, proceeded to give a four minute address."

The Robot moves with human-like movements, talks distinctly and is built in the semblance of a six-foot man. The most remarkable thing about this automaton, is his ability to answer any question within reason. Captain Richards explained that each question had a key number, such as 74, the sound waves of the seven and four combined making a certain rate of vibration on a wire inside the man, which vibrations cause him to give the correct answer.

A great many uses are predicted for the Robot, for example: acting as information clerk at a railroad station, answering the telephone or telling absolutely accurate time. It has already broadcasted over the radio and, by next year, it will be able to sing.

When asked if the mechanical man could walk, Captain Richards stated that without a sense of balance, nothing, on two legs, could walk. At the suggestion of a gyroscope, he said, that the necessary mechanism would weigh far too much and that it would fall at the least irregularity of the path.

The inventor plans to develop his brain-child, by the use of a photo electric cell, and hopes to make it differentiate colors, in the near future.