Control of looms in 1728

© lapis2380-123rf

1728: A silk weaver from Lyon uses perforated wooden boards to control his looms. Jacques de Vaucanson from Grenoble develops this simple loom into a mechanically controlled model using a wooden punched card. The system became the model for early calculating machines.

Precursor of today's fuel cell, the "gas battery"

© lynxF/adobe stock

1838: William Robert Grove discovers a cell with an amalgamated zinc electrode on the one hand and a platinum electrode in nitric acid on the other, which delivers a voltage of 2 V. In the same year, Christian Friedrich Schönbein describes the first experiment in which a voltage is detected between two electrodes in an aqueous solution wetted with hydrogen and oxygen. In his publication "New observations on the Voltaic polarization of solid and liquid conductors", he explains how platinum electrodes in sulphuric acid are charged in opposite directions, depending on whether hydrogen or oxygen (or chlorine) is present. Grove then builds a corresponding voltage source - the forerunner of today's fuel cell, the "gas battery", is born.

Foundation of the VDE on January 21/22, 1893

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January 21/22, 1893: The founding conference of the "Association of German Electrical Engineers" (VDE) takes place in Berlin. 37 delegates from Germany's electrotechnical associations, the first of which was founded in 1879, adopt the founding protocol and elect the first board of directors. The newly founded association holds its first annual meeting in Cologne from September 28 to 30. The VDE's first technical commission is also formed at this meeting. Its task is to draw up regulations on the installation of low-voltage electrical systems. Today, the name is "Verband der Elektrotechnik, Elektronik und Informationstechnik e.V." (VDE).

Timeline of technologies - continued

The first driverless car from Continental in September 1968

© Continental

September 1968: On September 11, Continental's first electronically controlled driverless car is launched on the Contidrom test track in the Lüneburg Heath. Among other things, the Mercedes-Benz/8 is equipped with electromechanical steering, electromechanical throttle control and a radio system for measured value feedback. The control electronics and an electro-pneumatic braking system are housed in the luggage compartment. A wire is laid in the middle of the test track, which generates an electromagnetic field when energized, which in turn is detected by antennas on the bumper. A principle that is still used today for automated driving.

Virus alarm in 1983

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In1983, Fred Cohen, a student at the University of Southern California, presents the world's first computer virus on a Unix system. Today, malware is omnipresent. In August 2022, the industry association Bitkom e.V. estimated the annual damage caused by cyber attacks on German companies at 203 billion euros.

1993: WWW for everyone!

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1993: On April 30, the directorate of the European nuclear research center CERN releases the World Wide Web to the public free of charge. However, the concept had already been published in 1991, but for the next two years it was only used by universities, research laboratories and the hypertext community. The world's first website, info.cern.ch, was published on August 6, 1991.

The International Space Station Program agreement was signed on January 29, 1998.

© DLR

29 January 1998: Twelve companies sign an agreement to participate in the International Space Station program. Barely eleven months later, a Proton heavy-lift rocket launches the first ISS component into space: the Russian-built cargo and propulsion module Zarya. Further modules follow, including for research purposes. The research island has been permanently manned since November 2, 2000. Among other things, physics and materials research is carried out on the international space station, which is also used for the further development of electronic components.

July 10, 2008: Apple's App Store is launched.

© prima91-12

July 10, 2008: Apple's own software store for the iPhone is launched - the Apple App Store. At the start, Steve Jobs can imagine an annual turnover of around half a billion, "and maybe one day it will be a billion".
According to a study by the market research company Analysis Group, Apple will generate almost 98 billion euros directly from digital goods and services from the Apple App Store in 2022. In recent years, the industry has also discovered the concept for itself and is developing its own app stores.