A project to build one of the world's first computers has received a major boost. Charles Babbage's Analytic Engine was never fully built, however the Science Museum in London has agreed to digitalise the mathematician's original plans in a move which could see the computer finally made.
Originally conceived in the late 1830s, the steam-powered machine was designed for data processing and output capabilities. However before Babbage's death on 1871, only a fraction of the Analytical Engine had been produced.
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Now it is hoped that by digitalising the documents researchers including John Graham Cumming, who started the project Plan 28 a year ago to get the machine built, can moved forward in creating Babbage's revolutionary vision.
“There are some complete plans, they are just not totally complete. There will be a degree of interpretation,” said Graham-Cumming. “The machine itself is going to be enormous, about the size of a small steam train, so the simulation is important to allow anyone access.”
No timescale has been put on the project, but Graham-Cumming hopes to complete the rebuild by 2021, just in time to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Babbage's death.
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