History: Twelve year old Alfie Johnson of Dinchester, nicknamed Jumbo by his friends because of his plump, hefty figure, followed his football over a wall. On the other side he is attacked by a tiny RAF jet and a squadron of small tanks, part of an experimental mini-robot army being built by the inventor Professor Carter. When he subsequently saves the Professor from being run over by a bus, Carter rewarded Alfie with the position of General of his remote control army.
influencial for Noel Sharkey
Noel Sharkey is a multi-disciplinarian with a career spanning psychology, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, computer science, engineering and robotics. He holds a PhD in psychology/cognitive science and has an honorary science doctorate DSc. He is a chartered electrical engineer and a chartered information technology professional. Noel holds fellowships at the Institution of Engineering and Information Technology, the Royal Institute of Navigation, the British Computer Society and the Royal Society of Arts. He is a member of the Experimental Psychology Society and also Equity, the actors union. Noel is best known to the public for his frequent appearances in the media as a robot expert. His current research passion is on the ethics of robot applications including care, policing, military, crime, sex, transport and medicine.