The history of robotics is intertwined with the histories of technology, science and the basic principle of progress. Technology used in computing, electricity, even pneumatics and hydraulics can all be considered a part of the history of robotics.
The timeline presented is therefore far from complete. Robotics currently represents one of mankind’s greatest accomplishments and is the single greatest attempt of mankind to produce an artificial, sentient being. It is only in recent years that manufacturers are making robotics increasingly available and attainable to the general public.
1954 :George Devol designed the first truly programmable robot and called it UNIMATE for “Universal Automation.” (US patent 2 998 237) Later, in 1956, George Devol and Joseph Engelberger formed the world’s first robot company “Unimation” which stands for “universal automation”. As a result, Engelberger has been called the ‘father of robotics’. Unimation is still in production today, with robots for sale.
1957 :History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world’s first autonomous, artificial satellite was 22.8 inches in diameter and weighed only 183.9 pounds.
1960’s :One of the first operational, industrial robots in North America appeared in the early 1960’s in a candy factory in Kitchener, Ontario.
1964 :Artificial intelligence research laboratories are opened at M.I.T., Stanford Research Institute (SRI), Stanford University, and the University of Edinburgh.
1965 :Carnegie Mellon establishes the Robotics Institute.
1968 :The first computer controlled walking machine was created by Mcgee and Frank at the University of South Carolina. 1968 The first manually controlled walking truck was made by R. Mosher. It could walk up to four miles an hour 1968 SRI built “Shakey”; a mobile robot equipped with a vision system and controlled by a computer the size of a room.
1969 :Victor Scheinman created the Stanford Arm, which was the first successful electrically-powered, computer-controlled robot arm. 1969 WAP-1 became the first biped robot and was designed by Ichiro Kato. Air bags connected to the frame were used to stimulate artificial muscles WAP-3 was designed later and could walk on flat surfaces as well as climb up and down stairs or slopes. It could also turn while walking.
1973 :V.S. Gurfinkel, A. Shneider, E.V. Gurfinkel and colleagues at the department of motion control at the Russian Academy of Science create the first six-legged walking vehicle. 1973 Ichiro Kato created WABOT I which was the first full-scale anthropomorphic robot in the world. It had a system for controlling limbs, vision, and conversation! It was estimated that it had the mental ability of a 18 month old child. 1973 Cincinnati Milacron released the T3, the first commercially available minicomputer-controlled industrial robot (designed by Richard Hohn).
1974 :Intel (Integrated Electronics) produced the first batch of second-generation 8080 general purpose chips.
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