{"id":51126256,"url":"https://github.com/davideriboli/seleno","last_synced_at":"2026-06-25T08:00:56.104Z","repository":{"id":358069737,"uuid":"1239875851","full_name":"davideriboli/Seleno","owner":"davideriboli","description":"The electric dog","archived":false,"fork":false,"pushed_at":"2026-05-15T14:45:59.000Z","size":191,"stargazers_count":0,"open_issues_count":0,"forks_count":1,"subscribers_count":0,"default_branch":"main","last_synced_at":"2026-05-15T16:31:34.653Z","etag":null,"topics":["automaton","cibernetica","cybernetics","robot","robot-control","robotics-simulation","seleno"],"latest_commit_sha":null,"homepage":"https://davideriboli.github.io/Seleno/","language":"HTML","has_issues":true,"has_wiki":null,"has_pages":null,"mirror_url":null,"source_name":null,"license":"mit","status":null,"scm":"git","pull_requests_enabled":true,"icon_url":"https://github.com/davideriboli.png","metadata":{"files":{"readme":"README.md","changelog":null,"contributing":null,"funding":null,"license":"LICENSE","code_of_conduct":null,"threat_model":null,"audit":null,"citation":null,"codeowners":null,"security":null,"support":null,"governance":null,"roadmap":null,"authors":null,"dei":null,"publiccode":null,"codemeta":null,"zenodo":null,"notice":null,"maintainers":null,"copyright":null,"agents":null,"dco":null,"cla":null}},"created_at":"2026-05-15T14:32:19.000Z","updated_at":"2026-05-15T14:49:02.000Z","dependencies_parsed_at":null,"dependency_job_id":null,"html_url":"https://github.com/davideriboli/Seleno","commit_stats":null,"previous_names":["davideriboli/seleno"],"tags_count":null,"template":false,"template_full_name":null,"purl":"pkg:github/davideriboli/Seleno","repository_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/davideriboli%2FSeleno","tags_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/davideriboli%2FSeleno/tags","releases_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/davideriboli%2FSeleno/releases","manifests_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/davideriboli%2FSeleno/manifests","owner_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners/davideriboli","download_url":"https://codeload.github.com/davideriboli/Seleno/tar.gz/refs/heads/main","sbom_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/davideriboli%2FSeleno/sbom","scorecard":null,"host":{"name":"GitHub","url":"https://github.com","kind":"github","repositories_count":286080680,"owners_count":34765322,"icon_url":"https://github.com/github.png","version":null,"created_at":"2022-05-30T11:31:42.601Z","updated_at":"2026-05-26T15:22:16.424Z","status":"online","status_checked_at":"2026-06-25T02:00:05.521Z","response_time":101,"last_error":null,"robots_txt_status":"success","robots_txt_updated_at":"2025-07-24T06:49:26.215Z","robots_txt_url":"https://github.com/robots.txt","online":true,"can_crawl_api":true,"host_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub","repositories_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories","repository_names_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repository_names","owners_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners"}},"keywords":["automaton","cibernetica","cybernetics","robot","robot-control","robotics-simulation","seleno"],"created_at":"2026-06-25T08:00:55.046Z","updated_at":"2026-06-25T08:00:56.095Z","avatar_url":"https://github.com/davideriboli.png","language":"HTML","funding_links":[],"categories":[],"sub_categories":[],"readme":"# Seleno (1912) — The Electric Dog\n\n### A cybernetic simulation and generative art piece based on the world's first phototropic automaton.\n\n**Live Demo:** https://davideriboli.github.io/Seleno/\n\n\u003e \"The electric dog... might in a very near future become in truth a real 'dog of war,' without fear, without heart... with but one purpose: to reach and let out the lifeblood of anything that comes within the range of its senses.\" — Benjamin Franklin Miessner, 1916.\n\n----------\n\n## 1. Historical \u0026 Epistemological Context\n\n**Seleno**, universally known as \"The Electric Dog,\" represents a cornerstone in the pre-history of cybernetics and autonomous robotics. Conceived in **1912** at the Gloucester (Massachusetts) laboratory by **John Hays Hammond Jr.** and **Benjamin Franklin Miessner**, Seleno is historically recognized as the first-ever successful realization of a self-directing, light-sensitive vehicle.\n\n![Original Seleno Vintage Photo](seleno.jpg)\n\n### The Biological Foundation: Jacques Loeb\n\nUnlike the pre-programmed automata of classical horology, Seleno was the physical incarnation of biologist **Jacques Loeb’s** theories on \"forced movements\" or tropisms. Loeb posited that animal behavior (such as a moth flying toward a flame) was not a result of will or instinct, but a deterministic mechanical response to physical-chemical stimuli. Hammond and Miessner translated this \"sensory-motor architecture\" into electrical circuits, prefiguring the concept of **embodied cognition** by decades.\n\n----------\n\n## 2. The Original Architecture (1912)\n\nThe original device was encased in a mahogany chassis and utilized a technology that was pioneering for the early 20th century:\n\n-   **Sensory Apparatus:** Two condensing lenses with **Selenium cells** acting as the artificial \"retina.\"\n    \n-   **The \"Nose\":** An opaque partition placed between the lenses to create the differential light gradient required for steering.\n    \n-   **Relay Logic:** A cascade of Weston micro-ampere relays and \"Pony\" power relays that implemented a purely hardware-based _if-then_ algorithm.\n    \n-   **Modulation:** A **dashpot** (pneumatic damper) to filter out flickering light fluctuations and a **tail switch** to invert polarity (switching between positive and negative phototropism).\n    \n\n----------\n\n## 3. The Digital Simulation\n\nThis modern interpretation is not a mere animation, but a behavioral simulation written in **Vanilla JavaScript** that emulates the analog feedback loops of the 1912 prototype.\n\n### Core Features:\n\n-   **\"Orthochromatic Film\" Aesthetic:** A rendering style designed to mimic 1912 cinematography, featuring sepiatone grading, fractal film grain, and a material palette of mahogany, brass, and oxide red.\n    \n-   **Kinetic Inertia:** The chassis possesses realistic mass and friction. Movement is not instantaneous, reflecting the mechanical heaviness of the original electromechanical structure.\n    \n-   **Pneumatic Dashpot Simulation:** Users can adjust the steering damping level to observe the transition from unstable oscillatory behavior to smooth, stabilized tracking.\n    \n-   **The Synthetic Method:** Following the analysis of **Roberto Cordeschi**, the code tests the \"explanatory sufficiency\" of the mechanist model: Seleno reacts to its environment in a purely reactive, non-representational manner.\n    \n\n----------\n\n## 4. Laboratory Experiment (Gamification)\n\nTo emphasize the experimental nature of the project, the simulation includes a \"Laboratory Mission\" based on the original tests conducted at Gloucester:\n\n-   **Objective:** Guide Seleno back to the **Oxide Red Kennel** (The Kennel) while navigating through laboratory equipment.\n    \n-   **The Lantern:** The user interacts with a draggable lantern. A tap/click toggles the power, allowing for observations of Seleno in both active and resting states.\n    \n-   **Obstacles:** Procedurally generated crates and equipment block the path. Seleno interacts physically with these objects through inelastic collisions.\n    \n-   **Silent Film Feedback:** Success and introductory messages are presented in the style of early 20th-century silent film title cards.\n    \n\n----------\n\n## 5. Technical Implementation\n\n-   **Graphics Engine:** HTML5 Canvas 2D API.\n    \n-   **Zero Dependencies:** Built strictly with standard web technologies. No external frameworks (like p5.js or Three.js) were used, ensuring high performance and longevity.\n    \n-   **Mobile-First Architecture:** Features a responsive \"Hamburger Menu\" for controls and a real-time HUD (Heads-Up Display) to monitor sensor resistance (L-Cell / R-Cell).\n    \n-   **Homing Logic:** The steering calculation implements the inverse square law of light and accounts for the geometric \"shadow\" cast by the central partition.\n    \n\n----------\n\n## References\n\n1.  **Miessner, B. F. (1916).** _Radiodynamics: The Wireless Control of Torpedoes and Other Mechanisms_. D. Van Nostrand Co.\n    \n2.  **Loeb, J. (1918).** _Forced Movements, Tropisms, and Animal Conduct_. J. B. Lippincott Company.\n    \n3.  **Cordeschi, R. (2002).** _The Discovery of the Artificial: Behavior, Mind and Machines Before and Beyond Cybernetics_. Kluwer Academic Publishers.\n    \n4.  **Hammond, J. H. Jr. (1921).** _US Patent 1,387,850: System of Radiodirective Control_.\n    \n\n----------\n\n_Created as an exploration of early cybernetic history and the synthesis of biology and engineering._\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fdavideriboli%2Fseleno","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fdavideriboli%2Fseleno","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fdavideriboli%2Fseleno/lists"}