A Brief History of Robotics

7/31/2019 A Brief History of Robotics

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A Brief History of Robotics

~ 350 B.C

The brilliant Greek mathematician, Archytas ('ahr 'ky tuhs') of Tarentum builds a mechanical bird

dubbed "the Pigeon" that is propelled by steam. It serves as one of histories earliest studies of flight, not

to mention probably the first model airplane.

~ 322 B.C.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle writes...

If every tool, when ordered, or even of its own accord, could do the work that befits it... then there

would be no need either of apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords.

...hinting how nice it would be to have a few robots around.

~ 200 B.C.

The Greek inventor and physicist Ctesibus ('ti sib ee uhs') of Alexandria designs water clocks that have

movable figures on them. Water clocks are a big breakthrough for timepieces. Up until then the Greeks

used hour glasses that had to be turned over after all the sand ran through. Ctesibus' invention changed

this because it measured time as a result of the force of water falling through it at a constant rate. In

general, the Greeks were fascinated with automata of all kinds often using them in theater productions

and religious ceremonies.

1495

Leonardo DaVinci designs a mechanical device that looks like an armored knight. The mechanisms inside

"Leonardo's robot" are designed to make the knight move as if there was a real person inside. Inventors

in medieval times often built machines like "Leonardo's robot" to amuse royalty.

1738

Jacques de Vaucanson begins building automata in Grenoble, France. He builds three in all. His first was

the flute player that could play twelve songs. This was closely followed by his second automaton that

played a flute and a drum or tambourine, but by far his third was the most famous of them all. The duck

was an example of Vaucanson's attempt at what he called "moving anatomy", or modeling human or

animal anatomy with mechanics." The duck moved, quacked, flapped it's wings and even ate and

digested food.

1770

Swiss clock makers and inventors of the modern wristwatch Pierre Jaquet-Droz and later joined by his

son Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz start making automata for European royalty. They create three dolls, each

with a unique function. One can write, another plays music, and the third draws pictures.

1801


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Joseph Jacquard builds an automated loom that is controlled with punched cards. Punch cards are later

used as an input method for some of the 20th centuries earliest computers.

1822

Charles Babbage demonstrates a prototype of his "Difference Engine" to the Royal Astronomical Society.

He continues his work by designing an even more ambitious project "the Analytical Engine" that

reportedly was to use punch cards inspired by Joseph Jacquard's invention. During his lifetime he never

produces a functional version of either machine. Despite this shortcoming he is often heralded as the

"Father of the Computer" and his work lives on as the foundation for the binary numbering system that

is the basis of modern computers.

1847

George Boole represents logic in mathematical form with his Boolean Algebra.

1898

Nikola Tesla builds and demonstrates a remote controlled robot boat at Madison Square Garden.

1921

Czech writer Karel Capek introduced the word "Robot" in his play "R.U.R" (Rossuum's Universal Robots).

"Robot" in Czech comes from the word "robota", meaning "compulsory labor"

1926

Fritz Lang's movie "Metropolis" is released. "Maria" the female robot in the film is the first robot to be

projected on the silver screen.

1936

Alan Turing introduces the concept of a theoretical computer called the Turing Machine. Despite being a

fundamental advance in computer logic it also spawns new schools in Mathematics.

1940

Issac Asimov produces a series of short stories about robots starting with "A Strange Playfellow" (later

renamed "Robbie") for Super Science Stories magazine. The story is about a robot and its affection for a

child that it is bound to protect. Over the next 10 years he produces more stories about robots that are

eventually recompiled into the volume "I, Robot" in 1950.

Asimov is generally credited with the popularization of the term "Robotics" which was first mentioned in

his story "Runaround" in 1942. But probably Issac Asimov's most important contribution to the history

of the robot is the creation of his Three Laws of Robotics:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.


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2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict

with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or

Second Law.

Asimov later adds a "zeroth law" to the list:

Zeroth law: A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

1946

George Devol patents a playback device for controlling machines.

1950

Alan Turing publishes Computing Machinery and Intelligence in which he proposes a test to determine

whether or not a machine has gained the power to think for itself. It becomes known as the "Turing

Test".

1951

The Day the Earth Stood Still premieres in theaters. The movie features an alien named Klaatu and his

robot Gort.

1956

Alan Newell and Herbert Simon create the Logic Theorist, the first "expert system". It is used to help

solve difficult math problems.

1956

Aided by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nat Rochester and

Claude Shannon organize The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence at

Dartmouth College. The term "artificial intelligence" is coined as a result of this conference.

1959

John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky start the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT).

1961

Heinrich Ernst develops the MH-1, a computer operated mechanical hand at MIT.

1962

The first industrial arm robot - the Unimate - is introduced. It is designed to complete repetitive or

dangerous tasks on a General Motors assembly line.


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1963

John McCarthy leaves MIT to start the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University.

1966

The Stanford Research Institute (later to be known as SRI Technology) creates Shakey the first mobile

robot to know and react to its own actions. Amongst other achievements SRI was also the research

institute that helped bring us modern day laundry detergent in the development of Tide.

1966

An artificial intelligence program named ELIZA is created at MIT by Joseph Weizenbaum. ELIZA functions

as a computer psychologist that manipulates its users statements to form questions. Weizenbaum is

disturbed at how quickly people put faith in his little program.

1967

Richard Greenblatt writes, MacHack, a program that plays chess, in response to a recent article written

by Hurbert Dreyfus where he suggests, as a critique to efforts in artificial intelligence, that a computer

program could never beat him in a game of chess. When the program is finished and Dreyfus is invited

to play the computer he leads for most of the game but ultimately loses in the end in a close match.

Greenblatt's program would be the foundation for many future chess programs, ultimately culminating

in Big Blue the chess program that beats chess Grand Master Gary Kasparov.

1968

Stanley Kubrick makes Arthur C. Clark's, 2001: A Space Odyssey into a movie. It features HAL, an

onboard computer that decides it doesn't need its human counterparts any longer. Hear HAL by clicking

here.

-KAWASAKI started production in japan

1969

Victor Scheinman, a Mechanical Engineering student working in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab

(SAIL) creates the Stanford Arm. The arm's design becomes a standard and is still influencing the design

of robot arms today.

1970

Stanford University produces the Stanford Cart. It is designed to be a line follower but can also be

controlled from a computer via radio link.

1971

The film Silent Running is released starring Bruce Dern. Bruce's co-stars are three robot drones Huey,

Dewey and Louie.

1974


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Victor Scheinman forms his own company and starts marketing the Silver Arm. It is capable of

assembling small parts together using touch sensors.

1976

Shigeo Hirose designs the Soft Gripper at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. It is designed to wrap

around an object in snake like fashion.

1977

Star Wars is released. George Lucas' movie about a universe governed by the force introduces watchers

to R2-D2 and C-3PO. The movie creates the strongest image of a human future with robots since the

1960's and inspires a generation of researchers.

1977

Deep space explorers Voyagers 1 and 2 launch from the Kennedy Space Flight Center.

1979

The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is established.

1979

The Stanford Cart is rebuilt by Hans Moravec. He adds a more robust vision system allowing greater

autonomy. These are some of the first experiments with 3D environment mapping.

1980

Seymour Papert publishes Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas where he advocates

constructionism, or learning through doing.

1981

Takeo Kanade builds the direct drive arm. It is the first to have motors installed directly into the joints of

the arm. This change makes it faster and much more accurate than previous robotic arms.

1982

"A new life awaits you on the Off-World colonies." Blade Runner is released. This Ridley Scott film is

based on the Philip K. Dick story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and starred Harrison Ford as

Rick Deckard a retired Blade Runner that hunted Replicants (or illegal mutinous androids).

1986

LEGO and the MIT Media Lab colaborate to bring the first LEGO based educational products to market.

LEGO tc Logo is used by in the classrooms of thousands of elementary school teachers.

1986


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Honda begins a robot research program thats starts with the premise that the robot "should coexist and

cooperate with human beings, by doing what a person cannot do and by cultivating a new dimension in

mobility to ultimately benefit society."

1989

A walking robot named Genghis is unveiled by the Mobile Robots Group at MIT. It becomes known for

the way it walks, popularly referred to as the "Genghis gait".

1989

At MIT Rodney Brooks and A. M. Flynn publish the paper "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control: A Robot

Invasion of the Solar System" in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. The paper changes

rover research from building the one, big, expensive robot to building lots of little cheap ones. The paper

also makes the idea of building a robot somewhat more accessible to the average person.

1989

Dr. Seymour Papert becomes the LEGO Professor of Learning Research.

1992

In an attempt to build a radio controlled vaccuum cleaner Marc Thorpe has the idea to start a robot

combat event.

1992

Dr. John Adler came up with the concept of the CyberKnife a robot that images the patient with x-rays to

look for a tumor and delivering a pre-planned dose of radiationto the tumor when found.

1993

Dante an 8-legged walking robot developed at Carnegie Mellon University descends into Mt. Erebrus,

Antarctica. Its mission is to collect data from a harsh environment similar to what we might find on

another planet. The mission fails when, after a short 20 foot decent, Dante's tether snaps dropping it

into the crater.

1994

Dante II, a more robust version of its predicessor, descends into the crater of Alaskan volcano Mt. Spurr.

The mission is considered a success.

1994

Marc Thorpe starts Robot Wars at Fort Mason center in San Francsico, CA.

1995

The second annual Robot Wars event is held at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA.

1996


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2000

LEGO releases the MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention SystemTM 2.0

2001

LEGO releases the MINDSTORMS Ultimate Builder's Set

2001

In August, the FDA clears the CyberKnife to treat tumors anywhere in the body.

2002

Honda's ASIMO robot rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

2003

June 10th - NASA launches the MER-A "Spirit" rover destined for Mars.

July 7th - NASA launches the MER-B "Opportunity".

2003

SONY releases the AIBO ERS-7 it's 3rd generation robotic pet.

2004

Jan. 4th - After six minutes of holding our breath (during EDL) as it burned and bounced its way to the

red planet the robot rover Spirit lands on Mars.

Jan. 23rd - The second Mars Exploration Rover - "Opportunity" safely lands on the Meridium Planum.


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History of Robotics

The fun and intresting

sides, a little history, some intresting uses,impacts of robots and some future ideas.

By Mike Williams11/08/02

For Fun and EnjoymentAnd a Class Assignment

Ball State UniversityITDPT 303 Manufacturing Systems

Image From Image From

http://www.robotfactory.com http://www.panasonicrobots.com

INTRODUCTIONHISTORYHOW ROBOTS WORKUSES FOR ROBOTS

IMPACT OF ROBOTSFUTURE OF TECHNOLOGIES

INTRODUCTION

Robotics, computer-controlled machine that is programmed to move, manipulate objects, andaccomplish work while interacting with its environment. Robots are able to perform repetitive
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tasks more quickly, cheaply, and accurately than humans. The term robot originates from theCzech word robota, meaning compulsory labor. It was first used in the 1921 play R.U.R.

(Rossum's Universal Robots) by the Czech novelist and playwright Karel Capek. The word robothas been used since to refer to a machine that performs work to assist people or work thathumans find difficult or undesirable.

(MSN Learning & Research. 2002)

American Heritage Dictionary: robot (rbt,-bt) n.

1. A mechanical device that sometimes resembles a human being and is capable ofperforming a variety of often complex human tasks on command or by beingprogrammed in advance.

2. A machine or device that operates automatically or by remote control.3. A person who works mechanically without original thought, especially one who responds

automatically to the commands of others.

Webster:

1. a : a machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts ( aswalking or talking) of a human being; a similar but fictional machine whose lack ofcapacity for human emotions is often emphasized b : an efficient insensitive person whofunctions automatically.

2. a device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks.3. a mechanism guided by automatic controls.

(Robotics Introduction. 2002)

The robots in the movies are portrayed as fantastic, intelligent, and sometime dangerous artificiallife. But robots are really working for people and performing tasked for them and tasks that maybe dangerous. And in the future robots will show up in schools, homes and even in parts of thebody. As technology advances we are finding more ways to use robots and greater ways to usethem.(The Tech. 2001)

Back to Top

HISTORY

In the early 1800s mechanical puppets were first built in Europe, just for entertainment value.And these were called robots since there parts were driven by linkage and cams and controlledby rotating drum selectors. In 1801 Joseph Maria Jacquard made the next great change andinvented the automatic draw loom. The draw loom would punch cards and was used to controlthe lifting of thread in fabric factories. This was the first to be able to store a program and controla machine. After that there were many small changes in robotics but we were slowly movingforward.(UK Robot. 2001)
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The first industrial robots were Unimates developed by George Devol and Joe Engelberger in thelate 50s and early 60s. The first patents we by Devol but Engelberger formed Unimation whichwas the first market robots. So Engelberger has been called the father of robotics. For a whilethe economic viability of these robots proved disastrous and thing slowed down for robotics. But

the industry recovered and by the mid-80s robotics was back on track.(Dowling, Kevin. 1996 )

George Devol Jr, in 1954 developed the multijointed artificial arm which lead to the modernrobots. But mechanical engineer Victor Scheinman, developed the truly flexible arm know as theProgrammable Universal Manipulation Arm (PUMA).(MSN Leaning & Research. 2002 )

In 1950 Isaac Asimov came up with laws for robots and these were:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to cometo harm.2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders wouldconflict with the first law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict withthe first or second law.

(Robotics Introduction. 2001.)

Mobile Robotics moved into its own in 1983 when Odetics introduced this six-legged vehiclewhich was capable of climbing over objects. This robot could lift over 5.6 times its own weightparked and 2.3 times it weight moving.(UK Robotics 2001)

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Image from

http://robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/groups/rv/homepage.html
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HOW ROBOTS WORK

The inspiration for the design of a robot manipulator is the human arm, but with somedifferences. For example, a robot arm can extend by telescopingthat is, by sliding cylindrical

sections one over another to lengthen the arm. Robot arms also can be constructed so that theybend like an elephant trunk. Grippers, or end effectors, are designed to mimic the function andstructure of the human hand. Many robots are equipped with special purpose grippers to graspparticular devices such as a rack of test tubes or an arc-welder. The joints of a robotic arm areusually driven by electric motors. In most robots, the gripper is moved from one position toanother, changing its orientation. A computer calculates the joint angles needed to move thegripper to the desired position in a process known as inverse kinematics. Some multi-jointedarms are equipped with servo, or feedback, controllers that receive input from a computer. Eachjoint in the arm has a device to measure its angle and send that value to the controller. If theactual angle of the arm does not equal the computed angle for the desired position, the servocontroller moves the joint until the arm's angle matches the computed angle. Controllers and

associated computers also must process sensor information collected from cameras that locateobjects to be grasped, or they must touch sensors on grippers that regulate the grasping force.Any robot designed to move in an unstructured or unknown environment will require multiplesensors and controls, such as ultrasonic or infrared sensors, to avoid obstacles. Robots, such asthe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planetary rovers, require amultitude of sensors and powerful onboard computers to process the complex information thatallows them mobility. This is particularly true for robots designed to work in close proximitywith human beings, such as robots that assist persons with disabilities and robots that delivermeals in a hospital. Safety must be integral to the design of human service robots.(MSN Learning & Research. 2000.)

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USES FOR ROBOTS

700,000 robots were in the industrial world in 1995 and over 500,000 we used in Japan. About120,000 in Western Europe and 60,000 in the United States and many were doing tasks todangerous or unpleasant for humans. Some of the hazardous jobs are handling material such ablood or urine samples, searching building for fugitives and deep water search. And even somejobs that are repetitive and these can be run 24hrs a day without getting tired. General MotorsCorporation uses these robots for spot welding, painting, machine loading, parts transfer, and

assembly. Assembly lines are the fastest growing because of higher precision and lower cost forlabor.(MSN Learning & Research. 2000.)
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Image from

http://www.kipr.org/robots/tm.html

Tin Man I

The Tin Man was built by KISS Institute; it is a robot wheelchair which can automate some ofthe navigation and steering for someone with extreme disabilities. It can find its way throughdoorways, follow hallways and do limited reckoning navigation.(Kiss Institute. 2002.)

EDUCATION

Image From

http://www.robotfactory.com

The Howard County Sheriff's department of Kokomo, Indiana, purchased a new Buddy Car

in June 1999. Sheriff Jerry Marr said he knew it was going to attract a lot of attention, but when
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he took it to their county fair he said the results were unbelievable! They promote a seat belt

safety program at the fair and of course his robot deputy had his seat belt on! Sheriff Marrpurchased his robot with three different interchangeable characters. He is using Hairy for theyounger children, Edgar Eagle for the older children and he saves the deputy for events like

the county fair. They also have the car custom painted and detailed to match the real Indiana

Sheriff cars. Howard County found an unusual benefit with the robot apart from publiceducation: A 5-year-old girl who had been domestically abused did not want to talk with adultsbut she talked to the robot.(Robot Factory. 2000.)

ENTERTAINMENT

Image From

http://www.robotfactory.com/edu.htm

Since buying an animated Hairy with piano way back in 1993 we have played every gig

imaginable. Hotel functions, corporate events, shopping malls, many parties and manyfundraisers. Not only did the units pay for themselves within 18 months, but we had to buyanother piano unit a few years ago due to the high demand for Hairy's performance. So thanks,The Robot Factory. You changed our lives. Keep doing it! Alan at Animates in Scotland. (Robot Factory. 2000.)

ADVERTISING
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Image From

http://www.robotfactory.com/edu.htm

The Zamboni robot has added excitement & helped developed fan loyalty from the ice andconcourse. It has also been very effective in our off site educational and promotional activities.

Our robot has proved to be a great investment.(Robot Factory. 2000.)

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IMPACT OF ROBOTS

Robotics produces higher quality and lower cost to the manufacturing industry. But this cancause loss to the unskilled jobs but create new jobs for skilled people in software and sensordevelopment. These machines will have to be maintained and people will have to be trained onthere repair. So you could loss unskilled jobs and maybe train these same people in skilled andthe overall loss may not be that bad.(MSN Learning & Research. 2002.)

Robotics on the production line takes away many job that were done by humansAnd this is less cost to the company but lost jobs for paid labor workers.(Doyle, Joshua. 2000.)

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FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGIES

Perhaps the most dramatic changes in future robots will arise from their increasing ability to

reason. The field of artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from university laboratories topractical application in industry, and machines are being developed that can perform cognitivetasks, such as strategic planning and learning from experience. Increasingly, diagnosis of failuresin aircraft or satellites, the management of a battlefield, or the control of a large factory will beperformed by intelligent computers.(MSN Learning & Research. 2002.)
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SchoolNet Robotics-Future Project

Rhino Robot which would be a robot you controlled over the internet and learn abouttele-operation.

Mobile robots which would run around outside the class room but be controlled by thestudents in the class.

Hydroponics Garden which would be a living, growing garden controlled by robotics. Scanning the Skies which you could set times and locations for pictures from these

robots, sent to you over the computer.

All these and more information can be found at SchoolNet Robotics 2001.

Technology of the Future: Teleportation

We've all seen on "Star Trek" how the dudes are beamed to and from the Enterprise. Nowscientists have figured out how to do it in the lab. Sort of. What they've "teleported" is a photon,or particle of light. If I understand it correctly, the photon wasn't exactly teleported. You won't beable to teleport to Hawaii or out of math class anytime soon (give it a thousand years). But thetechnique could be used in encryption, moving nano-scale objects, and especially quantumcomputing. Email is fast, but consider being able to teleport information to the opposite end ofthe globe instantly. It could happen. For more information, read about IBM's research.(TechTv. 2001.)

Technology of the Future: Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the business of studying, manipulating, and piecing together very small

things. How small? The standard measurement of nanotechnology -- one million nanometers --could fit on the head of a pin. We're talking about molecules, DNA, atoms. What good is it?Doctors could send tiny probes into your body to diagnose and perhaps repair problems.Satellites and spy-probes could be the size of a thumbnail. Unbelievably efficient solar panelscould be produced using DNA molecules, potentially assisting us with an energy crisis that in alllikelihood will only get worse going forward. How serious is it? Last year President Clintonendorsed $495 million in funding to the National Nanotechnology Initiative. You can learn allabout nanotechnology, and about what the federally funded scientists plan to do with all thatmoney. On a recent show, Brian Hubert from MIT visited us. He's a nanotechnologist, and hehas a great article about nanotechnology.(TechTv. 2002.)

Technology of the Future: Data Storage

Scientists have been working on using holographs as data storage media for forty years.Holographic memory has the potential to store trillions of bytes of data on a piece of crystallinematerial the size of a compact disc. Because the basis of holographic storage is light, data can beretrieved far faster than will ever be possible with magnetic storage (microseconds as opposed to


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milliseconds for magnetic storage). How does it work in detail? Refer to this excellent article inScientific American.(TechTv. 2002)


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Documents

A Brief History of Robotics