A Brief History of Robots
Robots have come a long way in a short period of time. The word “robot” is only about 100 years old, and while there were a few developments in robotics prior to 1900, most advancements in robotics — everything from automatons like Elektro to advanced humanoids like ASIMO — occurred relatively recently.
Before the development of robots and even before the word “robot” was coined, automatons were developed all over the world. In Mesopotamia around 1150, Ismail al-Jazari developed several automations, all of which could perform different tasks. Some of his works include a humanoid automaton that could serve drinks and another automaton that was capable of playing music. About 350 years later, Leonardo da Vinci designed a human knight automaton. Although he never actually built it, da Vinci intricately planned the mechanics and design of his automaton. In France in 1738, Jacques de Vaucanson developed three automatons, most notably a mechanical duck that could crane its neck, flap its wings, and even swallow grain. Before the 1900s, many people like al-Jazari, da Vinci, and de Vaucanson were pioneers in the field of robotics.
The 20th century saw huge leaps and bounds in the world of robotics. In 1920, the word “robot” was coined by Karel Čapek in his play Rossum’s Universal Robots. The word “robot” is derived from the Czech word “robota” meaning forced labour or worker. Rossum’s Universal Robots was a grim prediction for the future of robots, for the robots in the play kill the people who made them. Luckily for the future of robotics, many people saw a more positive outcome of building robots. Alan Turing started the computer revolution in 1937, with his novel On Computable Numbers. In his proof in novel format, Turing wrote about several paradoxes and beliefs he had about both computers and robotics. His work was popular, leading to a growth of interest in robotics. In 1940 at the New York World’s Fair, Westinghouse Electric Corporation introduced Elektro, a robot with a humanoid appearance. Elektro stood at 7 feet tall and weighed 265 pounds. Elektro could walk when commanded, speak a few words, smoke cigarettes, and move its arms and legs. Although Čapek had warned people about the dangers of robots, Elektro was quite a popular attraction.
Perhaps stemming from the debut of Elektro, Issac Asimov released his short story “Liar!” in 1941. “Liar!”, which would later grow into the novel I, Robot, introduced the three rules of robotics. Asimov wrote these rules to prevent the terror of Rossum’s Universal Robots from occurring. The rules Asimov proposed were the following: 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, 2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law, and 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. Through his three laws, Asimov hoped to control the danger some thought robots could propose to humanity. The release of Rossum’s Universal Robots, the debut of Elektro, and Asimov’s “Liar!” forecasted the developments of the 1950s.
In 1954, George Devol invented UNIMATE, the first industrial robot. It was a 4000 pound mechanical arm that could be programmed to complete specific tasks. It was used first at General Motors, where the robot completed dangerous labor. UNIMATE revolutionized manufacturing, but it was not the only industrial robot of its time to do so. KUKA, Keller and Knappich Augsburg, made an industrial welding robot. It was used in the production of items such as refrigerators and washing machines. The invention of UNIMATE and KUKA’s welding robot paved the way for the invention of more industrial robots in the 1960s.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the development of many robotic arms including the Rancho Robot Arm, the Tentacle Robot Arm, and the Silver Arm. All of these arms and the technology behind them would influence later robotic development. In California in 1963, the Rancho Robot Arm was invented. The Rancho Robot Arm was the first prosthetic arm that could be controlled by a computer. Six years after the development of the Rancho Robot Arm, Victor Scheinman developed the first electrically powered, computer-controlled robot arm. His initial invention led to the development of the PUMA series in the 1980s. PUMA, which stands for Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly, was an industrial robot arm used to assemble various products. The Tentacle Robot Arm, developed by Marvin Minsky in 1970, was yet another robotic arm made during this time period. Using hydraulics, the Tentacle Robot Arm could lift the weight of a person. While all of the previous robotic arms had the ability to move, David Silver’s Silver Arm was the first to be able to perform assembly with such precision that it mimicked the movement of human fingers.
Aside from the major developments in robotic arms, robot vision was developed during this time period. Robot vision, a combination of camera hardware and software that allows robots to process visual data, was built into several robots, including Shakey the Robot, Hitachi’s bolting robot, and the Stanford Cart. In 1970, Shakey the Robot was developed by Stanford Research. Shakey was the first robot considered to use artificial intelligence and robot vision. It could perform tasks that required planning, route-finding, and rearranging objects. Hitachi’s bolting robot was inspired by the many industrial robots of the 1950s and 1960s. Using its robot vision and line tracking, Hitachi’s bolting robot was able to tighten or loosen bolts on a moving model. Unlike Hitachi’s bolting robot, the Stanford Cart was not an industrial robot; rather, it was used to demonstrate the power of robot vision. The Stanford Cart was a major advancement in the world of robotics, for, in 1979, the Stanford Cart successfully wheeled itself through a room with obstacles without human intervention. The Stanford Cart used robot vision to plan its route throughout the room.
The advancements of robotics pre-1980 set the stage for robotics as we know it today. As technology rapidly developed, the applications of robotics grew. Robots were developed to go where people were unable to — Carnegie University’s Dante III collected samples from a volcano in 1994, and one year later, NASA’s Mars Pathfinder landed on the Red Planet. Robots were also developed for security and warfare. In 1995, the MQ-1 predator drone made history as the first robot used in combat. In 2002, DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, invented centribots, which were completely autonomous robots capable of mapping a location and finding an item of interest. At the same time, humanoid robots became even more advanced. In 2002, Honda developed ASIMO, a humanoid robot that could walk, climb stairs, and change directions after detecting an obstacle. Joining ASIMO, Atlas was developed in 2013 by Boston Dynamics. Atlas had human-level agility, and while it was originally designed to be a search and rescue robot, Atlas was capable of activities such as parkour and dance. Medical robots also became popular with Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci single port surgical system, which was developed in 2018. The system could make precise incisions and help surgeons work on deep tissue damage. The innovation helped
As we look to the future, we can expect even more exciting advancements in the field of robotics, all stemming from the progress made by pioneers from times before our own. Every aforementioned invention was built due to the progress of previous pioneers. Using the technology and knowledge from the building of Elektro all the way to the invention of Atlas, robots and robotics will progress. In the mere hundred years since the coining of the word “robot”, we have seen much progress, and we will continue to see much more development as time goes on.
