GENIAC: A 'DIY Computer' from 1955

These days, the little ones just pick up a smartphone or sit in front of a console to play. But in the mid-1950s, young people had to create their own toys, and learn a thing or two in the process. That was the case with the GENIAC or "Genius Almost-automatic Computer", a DIY kit based on rotary switches and lights that, besides teaching basic logic functions, also served to tell little stories...

A Brief History of GENIAC

The story tells us that the GENIAC was launched to the market as a "computer" by Edmund Berkeley and Oliver Garfield in 1955. The kit received wide publicity in science and electronics magazines, and with a cost of $20 (almost $200 adjusted for inflation) it gained some popularity. In 1958, the partnership between Berkeley and Garfield ended on bad terms (disagreements, a lawsuit in the middle, the usual), so its commercialization split in two: Garfield continued selling GENIAC kits, while Berkeley called them Brainiac.

The GENIAC was a versatile product, and its original manual reveals a total of 33 projects. Some are basic (flashlights, doorbells, adding and subtracting machines), but others present more complex exercises, or try to tell a story. In the video below appears project 23 of the GENIAC manual, called "The Uranium Cargo and the Space Pirates". From a certain point of view, it is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" in electronic form:

Modern Replicas

Thanks to the availability of its original documentation, several electronics enthusiasts (including user "megardi" on the Instructables portal) managed to build modern replicas of the GENIAC, and correct certain weak points of the original design. The materials are relatively simple (wire, nuts, screws, fiber boards and a battery form the base), but not so much its construction, as it can take several hours, and the cutting of discs by hand ("megardi" used a laser cutting service).

The best part? You don't need to know anything about electronics to start. In fact, there is nothing to solder on the back of the GENIAC, and the main power source is just a 1.5-volt battery. If you were looking for a weekend project or think your kids might be willing to take their first steps in electronics and programming, you should look more closely at the GENIAC.

Replica of the DIY GENIAC: Click here