Unidentified personnel giving a "physical exam" to a compressor coming off the assembly line

As compressors (the key component of air conditioners) come off the assembly lines at General Electric's room air conditioner plant in Louisville, Ky., they have to pass a stringent "physical exam" administered by an electronic "physician." The automated inspection system - invented at the GE Research and Development Center in Schenectady, N.Y. and fine-tuned for the factory floor with the assistance of the plant's engineers - consists of a super-sensitive "stethoscope" connected to a powerful minicomputer. Just as a doctor listens to a patient's heartbeat, the acoustic sensor picks up the otherwise inaudible whirrs, squeals, and clicks made by the compressor as its shaft is up briefly. The minicomputer, located elsewhere in the factory, quickly compares these sounds with the acoustic "fingerprint" of a "good" compressor stored in its memory and decides if they match. If they don't, a display lights up to tell an operator that the unit should be lifted off the line. The complete "physical", which involves millions of mathematical calculations, takes just six seconds. The man in the photo is unidentified., Credit Line: General Electric Research and Development Center, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection
Abstract/Description: As compressors (the key component of air conditioners) come off the assembly lines at General Electric's room air conditioner plant in Louisville, Ky., they have to pass a stringent "physical exam" administered by an electronic "physician." The automated inspection system - invented at the GE Research and Development Center in Schenectady, N.Y. and fine-tuned for the factory floor with the assistance of the plant's engineers - consists of a super-sensitive "stethoscope" connected to a powerful minicomputer. Just as a doctor listens to a patient's heartbeat, the acoustic sensor picks up the otherwise inaudible whirrs, squeals, and clicks made by the compressor as its shaft is up briefly. The minicomputer, located elsewhere in the factory, quickly compares these sounds with the acoustic "fingerprint" of a "good" compressor stored in its memory and decides if they match. If they don't, a display lights up to tell an operator that the unit should be lifted off the line. The complete "physical", which involves millions of mathematical calculations, takes just six seconds. The man in the photo is unidentified.
Subject(s): Equipment and supplies
Mustaches
General Electric Research Laboratory
Date Created: August 9, 1983
Credit Line: General Electric Research and Development Center, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection
Catalog ID: General Electric F24
Title: : Unidentified personnel giving a "physical exam" to a compressor coming off the assembly line.
Type of Resource: still image
Date Created: August 9, 1983
Extent: 1 photographic print (black and white; 9.5 x 7.5 inches)
Abstract/Description: As compressors (the key component of air conditioners) come off the assembly lines at General Electric's room air conditioner plant in Louisville, Ky., they have to pass a stringent "physical exam" administered by an electronic "physician." The automated inspection system - invented at the GE Research and Development Center in Schenectady, N.Y. and fine-tuned for the factory floor with the assistance of the plant's engineers - consists of a super-sensitive "stethoscope" connected to a powerful minicomputer. Just as a doctor listens to a patient's heartbeat, the acoustic sensor picks up the otherwise inaudible whirrs, squeals, and clicks made by the compressor as its shaft is up briefly. The minicomputer, located elsewhere in the factory, quickly compares these sounds with the acoustic "fingerprint" of a "good" compressor stored in its memory and decides if they match. If they don't, a display lights up to tell an operator that the unit should be lifted off the line. The complete "physical", which involves millions of mathematical calculations, takes just six seconds. The man in the photo is unidentified.
Identifier(s): General Electric F24 (Catalog ID)
Note(s):

Credit Line: General Electric Research and Development Center, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection
Subject(s): Equipment and supplies
Mustaches
General Electric Research Laboratory
Held by: Niels Bohr Library & Archives
Copyright Holder: General Electric Global Research
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Related Title: Physics Today Collection.
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