Fascinating Information about Bell Labs and Odyssey from an Archivist at Bell Labs (My Dad)
So my father has labored at Bell Labs for over 20 years and runs their historic archives. As chances are you’ll keep in mind, Bell Labs was one of many corporations that labored with producers of 2001: A House Odyssey. to develop distinctive props for the movie. My father was in a position to present me with some fascinating supplies and info relating to the corporate’s relationship with Kubrick and Odyssey.
Bell Labs was was accountable for the picture-phone unit that Dr. Floyd makes use of to name his daughter from house at first of the film. Arthur C. Clarke (creator of The Sentinel) knew John Pierce, who was an engineer at Bell Labs most identified for inventing the Telstar Satellite tv for pc and his science fiction writing. Clarke labored with John Noll, one other engineer at Bell Labs, to design the prototype of the unit. A pair mockup drawings are depicted beneath. Noll and Pierce had despatched the drawings in addition to a four-page memo of how the scene must be depicted to the producers of the movie and by no means heard again from them. It was not till years later once they noticed the movie that they realized their designs and script had really been used!
What’s much more fascinating, nonetheless, is that Noll virtually acquired into bother for submitting the Bell System seal to producers who then displayed the seal outdoors of the video-phone sales space within the film (proven beneath). AT&T accused Bell System of violating a consent decree, which outlined that the Bell System might solely cowl home telecommunication. By depicting the brand in an area station within the movie, it was implied that the System labored in house, which violated the consent decree … loopy proper? Happily, they have been in a position to settle the dispute.
The picture-phone unit within the movie was in fact fabricated, nevertheless it was modeled off of expertise that did exist on the time. I used to be in a position to snag an image of the particular prototype of the primary picture-phone, which my dad has in his workplace (proven beneath). Should you look in direction of the higher left of the cellphone, you see a digicam lens that intently resembles HAL, nonetheless that is solely coincidental. To the best is a photograph of one of many image cellphone’s engineer’s, L.H. Meacham, utilizing the cellphone to talk with its different engineer, A.D. Corridor in 1964.
Moreover, the track HAL sings “Daisy Bell” as he’s dying, was synthesized by distinguished scientists Arthur Kelly and Carol Lochbaum at Bell Labs. Matt Mathews coded the accompaniment. Although computer-generated voice was being examined by different corporations on the time, these two scientists’ work was thought of probably the most superior. Arthur C. Clarke really got here to Bell Labs to hearken to the track. The sound chew beneath is the recording that Clarke heard at Bell Labs. It was coded on an IBM 7094 laptop in 1961.
It’s fascinating how Odyssey depicted a precursor to trendy expertise. In one of many articles from 1993 that my Dad handed on to me, Analysis Vice President of AT&T, Arno Penzias, talked about that it was necessary to understand that the precise expertise in 2001 would almost definitely not be as “artistically fascinating” as depicted within the movie. He goes on to say that we are going to proceed to expertise the:
“celebration of a really fascinating and productive connection between human beings and the knowledge experience that makes life higher and extra enriching.”
Penzias could haven’t foreseen the fast development of expertise that appeared to kick off round 2000, however he was undoubtedly right on the strengthening relationship between people and machines. It’s entertaining to look again at feedback akin to his when trendy expertise permits us to FaceTime with others at anytime, wherever from the palm of our palms.
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Sources:
I obtained this data from my Dad who works at Bell Labs Archives, and in addition a Bell Labs information publications from April of 1993 that John Noll handed on to my Dad for me to consult with for this submit.
http://residence.williampoundstone.web/Kelly.htm
http://www.wide-eyed-webs.com/instation/daisy.html