18 Defining Moments In The History of Robotics
Happy National Robotics Week 2018! To celebrate the world’s eye turning to the industry we so love, we’ve put together 18 defining moments in the history of robotics to see just how far we’ve come!
1. 320 BCE: Aristotle
The first recorded musings on automation come from Greek philosopher Aristotle:
“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.”
Aristotle’s hypothetical suggestion strikes at the heart of a number of modern day anxieties surrounding the role of robots in the workforce. Ultimately, however, many consider his statements optimistic about the role automation would play in the lives of humans 2,300 years later.
2. 1495: Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mechanical Knight
We would have to wait almost 2,000 years to take our next steps towards robotic automation. Leonardo Da Vinci’s years of anatomical research allowed him to develop plans for a humanoid automaton resembling a medieval knight. With an anatomically correct jaw, and working movements ranging from standing, sitting, and moving its arms independently, the plans have since been developed into a working robot.
3. 1913: Henry Ford’s Assembly Line
While automatons continued to be produced during the 18th and 19th centuries, our next defining moment takes us to the point in time when such progress was made to further commercial potential for the first time. Henry Ford’s assembly line revolutionised automotive and manufacturing industries — two realms still highly tapped into the progress of robotics today. For the first time, a Model T could be fully assembled in around 90 minutes. The result; automation was welcomed into a number of manufacturing industries, paving the way for future innovations in robotics.
4. 1920: Karl Capek’s “Rossums Universal Robots”
Rossums Universal Robots presented the first use of the word Robot. Czech playwright Karl Capek coined the term to describe an army of humanoid machines that would ultimately come to rule over the humans of his play. The word was derived from the Czech ‘robota’, translating as forced grunt work. Even from their very conceptualisation then, robots have generally been associated with anxieties surrounding their potential!
5. 1932: Lilliput
For a while, however, robots as we have come to know them today, remained an otherworldly implausibility. In 1932, the first toy robot was created in Japan, bringing with it the canonical rigid, stocky aesthetic they’ve come to be associated with. The Lilliput was a 15cm tall tin figure with the ability to walk on a wind up mechanism.
6. 1942: Isaac Asimov’s “Runaround”
Asmov’s Three Laws of Robotics have been ingrained deep into public consciousness without many of us noticing. The safety-oriented rules were designed for Asimov’s legendary fiction series’ in order to set a precdent for the proper use of robotic technology by its creators. They form an underlying principle that stands as warning against the misuse of such technology through demonstration of such dangers in the stories’ villains.
The three laws are as follows, and can still be traced to our own understanding of the limits we must apply to technological innovation:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
These laws were first introduced in Asimov’s 1942 short story ‘Runaround’, as part of the I, Robot collection, and have since been widely adopted and modified.
7. 1950: The Turing Test
Following his incredible innovations in World War 2, Alan Turing devises a test to discern whether a computer’s artificial intelligence is developed enough to think for itself. In order to pass, a computer must hold a conversation which must be indistinguishable from that of a human.
8. 1954: Unimate
As computers and machinery are brought into the workplace more and more, robotic development returns to the automotive field for another defining moment in the history of robotics. Alongside Joe Engelberger, industrial robotics pioneer George Devol creates the first programmable robot, later put to work on the General Motors assembly line in 1961. The machine features a programmable arm that allows it to perform dangerous and repetitive tasks and represents an unprecedented innovation in industrial robotics.
9. 1956: Unimation
Riding off the success of the Unimate robot, Engelberger and Devol found the first dedicated robotics company, Unimation. The company would continue to innovate in such a way as to completely transform the landscape of the automotive manufacture industry, with Chrysler and Ford integrating Unimation tech into their facilities. The company would iterate on their original Unimate design to ultimately create the PUMA (Programmable Universal Machine for Assmbly).
10. 1966: Shakey
Experimentation and development continues, with new uses and requirements of robotic technology arising. The world’s first mobile robot, Shakey, is created at The Artificial Intelligence Center at Stanford. Shakey is able to see and understand its environment and can be controlled via a computer, albeit one that fills a room. Shakey represents the strides taken towards mobile robots capable of traversing alien landscapes that have become critical to our understanding of other planets.
11. 1979: The Stanford Cart
Development continues on Shakey the robot as interest in mobile robotics continues to increase. The Stanford Cart considerably improves the stability of movement and comes equipped with a full television camera for vision. Shakey’s successor completes an obstacle course by navigating a path through chairs and programming its own course. It becomes one of the defining moments, not only in robotics, but in artificial intelligence as well. Robotics begins to expand beyond industrial manufacture and science fiction oddity with the level of intelligence and ability we take for granted today becoming ever more possible in the eyes of the public.
12. 1993: Dante
Robotics technology continues to expand into other industries over the next 20 years with refinements making new variants applicable to a number of real life situations. As a result, Carnegie University are able to start sending their 8 legged robot Dante into volcanic environments for research and exploration. The potential for robotic exploration of potentially harmful environments becomes immediately obvious, and the world ushers in a new era of research and analysis.
13. 1999: Sony Aibo
After their successful entry into the entertainment and technology market in the 90s, Sony celebrates the end of the century with a landmark release in consumer robotics. The Sony Aibo offers users a robotic pet dog with learning and communication potential. While it sets users back a cool $2,000, Aibo christens a revolutionary drive in consumer robotics and technology with more affordable iterations appearing throughout the next decade. Christmas hitlist toys such as Teksta, Furby, and 2-XL owe their technological developments and inspiration to Sony’s initial push. While offering nowhere near their full potential, robots begin to enter the homes of everyday consumers.
14. 2000: Honda ASIMO
In 2,000 Honda unveiled the result of decades of research and development on humanoid robotic assistants. The ASIMO offered a 4ft 3 walking and interacting robot with the ability to recognise objects, body language, faces, and sounds and autonomous navigation. The robotic dreams of the past century are realised and work begins to further develop humanoid machines.
15. 2002: Roomba
Robots finally make their way into the domestic space for good with the advent of iRobot’s Roomba. The robotic vacuum cleaner proves the public’s interest in assistive robot technology in the home, and willingness to pay for such progress. By 2008, the Roomba has become the most commercially successful domestic robot in history and the idea of a robot in the home becomes rapidly normalised.
16. 2012: NASA’s R2
With development on humanoid robots proving successful over the past two decades, NASA sends their R2 Robotnaut to the International Space Station on the final mission of Space Shuttle Discovery. With a near-human range of movement unprecedented in humanoid developments so far, NASA will depend on its R2 machines to complete tasks unsuitable for human astronauts as we delve further into space.
17. 2012: Toyota Prius and Google
As robotic technology becomes more ingrained in the lives of everyday consumers, trust begins to steadily form. While there is still a long way to go, this trust is put to the test as the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles issues the first driving license to a robotic self-driving car. Google have developed the tech inside the car, and a Toyota Prius model is chosen as the first recipient of the license. With future refinements and public attention, self-driving cars will continue to develop both in their safety and technological capabilities and the trust they receive from consumers.
18. 2015: Sofia
Sofia the robot has become a global celebrity after being activated in 2015 and making her first public appearance in 2016. The humanoid robot is the first to receive citizenship to a country, and was named the United Nations Development Programme’s first ever Innovation Champion for Asia and the Pacific in 2017. Appearing on TV talk shows and addressing audiences as a speaker at a number of industry leading events and the UN. While the quality of Sofia’s consciousness and ability to pass the Turing Test has since been questioned, her unveiling prompted a number of cultural questions surrounding the position of robots in a 21st century society. Questions of rights, consciousness and morality have exploded around Sofia’s development and public rise to fame, leading us into a brand new era of understanding a robot’s place in our world.
