Theseus. Mouse with a Memory

This film shows mathematician, electrical engineer and founder of information theory Claude Elwood Shannon demonstrating his techno-mouse at Bell Laboratories, the research division of the telephone company AT&T. During the demonstration, what seems like the mouse’s artificial memory is revealed as a complex relay mechanism beneath the labyrinth. A mechanical mouse equipped with an electromagnet and mounted on a motorized carriage roams these passages, searching for an exit like the mythical hero Theseus. Whenever its copper whiskers contact one of the metal walls, the corresponding relay is switched into the “off” position, representing the presence of a wall at that location. Theseus subsequently rotates 90° and continues exploring in that direction. The system learns by means of trial and error. Once the learning process is complete, the technological Theseus can reach his goal quickly and without interruption thanks to the relays.

This simple mathematics of 0 (off) and 1 (on) would go on to not only significantly improve telephone network routing, leading to the elimination of human operators. It also found applications in warehousing and data logistics as well as self-guiding weapons technology. But its most revolutionary achievements lie in the foundations for digital computers and its inspiration for artificial intelligence research.

Courtesy AT&T Archives and History Center