Summary

Educational computerised, tethered floor-roving robot, known as the 'Jessop' Turtle, made by Jessop Microelectronics, London, UK, circa 1984.

Named "Turtle" because of its "domed" shape, it has a couple of stepper motors for the driving wheels, a small motor for running a retracting pen, as well as a small circuit board and speaker for making "beep" noises.

The Jessop was first developed by Professor Jim Howe from the Edinburgh University AI Department. The university eventually licensed the commercial rights to their robot and it became known as the Jessop Turtle.

This Jessop Turtle was owned and used by Dr. Liddy Nevile in her student research and classroom work in the 1980s.
This object forms part of the Sunrise Collection which includes educational robots, software and multimedia recordings of teachers and students, mainly in Victoria, exploring new possibilities with computer programming.

Physical Description

A dome of clear plastic mounted with four steel screws by its flat rim to a clear plastic circular base with a central hole. Inside it has a couple of stepper motors for the two driving wheels, and a small motor for running a retracting pen, a small circuit board and speaker for making "beep" noises. A multi-coloured flat cable connects the circuit board to the 15-pin connector at the top of the dome. There is a paper label with printed text stuck to the inside of the base.

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