Turtles are a class of educational

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...

s designed originally in the late 1940s (largely under the auspices of researcher

William Grey Walter William Grey Walter (February 19, 1910 – May 6, 1977) was an American-born British neurophysiologist, cybernetician and robotician. Early life and education Walter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, on 19 February 1910, the ...

) and used in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

and

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

training. These devices are traditionally built low to the ground with a roughly hemispheric (sometimes transparent) shell and a power train capable of a very small

turning radius The turning diameter of a vehicle is the minimum diameter (or "width") of available space required for that vehicle to make a circular turn (i.e. U-turn). The term thus refers to a theoretical minimal circle in which for example an aeroplane, a g ...

. The robots are often equipped with sensor devices which aid in avoiding obstacles and, if the robot is sufficiently sophisticated, allow it some perception of its environment. Turtle robots are commercially available and are common projects for robotics hobbyists. Turtle robots are closely associated with the work of

Seymour Papert Seymour Aubrey Papert (; 29 February 1928 – 31 July 2016) was a South African-born American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, who spent most of his career teaching and researching at MIT. He was one of the pioneers of artificia ...

and the common use of the

Logo programming language Logo is an educational programming language, designed in 1967 by Wally Feurzeig, Seymour Papert, and Cynthia Solomon. ''Logo'' is not an acronym: the name was coined by Feurzeig while he was at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, and derives from the Gre ...

in computer education of the 1980s. Turtles specifically designed for use with Logo systems often come with pen mechanisms allowing the programmer to create a design on a large sheet of paper. The original Logo turtle, built by Paul Wexelblat at BBN, was named "Irving" and was demonstrated at the former Muzzey Junior High in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

.LOGO Frequently asked Questions (FAQ): What was the genesis of Logo?
University of Hamburg, archived March 10, 2009 fro

/ref> "Irving" contained

bump Bump or Bumps may refer to: * A collision or impact * A raised protrusion on the skin such as a pimple, goose bump, prayer bump, lie bumps, etc. Infrastructure and industry * Coal mine bump, a seismic jolt occurring within a mine * Bump (u ...

sensors and could give audio feedback with a bell. The development of the robotic Logo turtle led to the use of the term to describe the

cursor Cursor may refer to: * Cursor (user interface), an indicator used to show the current position for user interaction on a computer monitor or other display device * Cursor (databases), a control structure that enables traversal over the records in ...

in video screen implementations of the language and its

turtle graphics In computer graphics, turtle graphics are vector graphics using a relative cursor (the "turtle") upon a Cartesian plane (x and y axis). Turtle graphics is a key feature of the Logo programming language. Overview The turtle has three attribut ...

package.

References

External links

The Story of Turtle Robots in Pictures.Articles about Turtle and Roamer robots.Photo gallery of Walter's original turtles and a Lego-based replica
about early UK

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

turtle designs from the Bristol Robotics Laboratory
A Logo Primer or Whats with the Turtles
Logo Foundation. Historical robots Hobbyist robots Educational robots 1940s robots Robots of the United States Three-wheeled robots

See also

References

External links