HISTORY OF ROBOTS

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
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.
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.
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.

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
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
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
A RoboTuna is designed and built by David Barrett for his doctoral thesis at MIT. It is used to
study the way fish swim.

1996
Chris Campbell and Stuart Wilkinson turn a brewing accident into inspiration at the University
of South Florida. The result is the Gastrobot, a robot that digests organic mass to produce
carbon dioxide that is then used for power. They call their creation the "flatulence engine."

1996
Honda debuts the P3, the fruit of its decade long effort to build a humanoid robot.

1996
The third annual Robot Wars event is held at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA.

1997
The first node of the International Space Station is placed in orbit. Over the next several years
more components will join it, including a robotic arm designed by Canadian company MD
Robotics.

1997
The Pathfinder Mission lands on Mars. Its robotic rover Sojourner, rolls down a ramp and onto
Martian soil in early July. It continues to broadcast data from the Martian surface until
September.
1998
Tiger Electronics introduces the Furby into the Christmas toy market. It quickly becomes "the
toy" to get for the season. Using a variety of sensors this "animatronic pet" can react to its
environment and communicate using over 800 phrases in English and their own language
"Furbish".

1998
LEGO releases their first Robotics Invention SystemTM 1.0. LEGO names the product line
MINDSTORMS after Seymour Papert's seminal work of 1980.

1999
LEGO releases The Robotics Discovery Set, Droid Developer Kit and the Robotics Invention
System 1.5.

1999
SONY releases the AIBO robotic pet.

2000
Honda debuts new humanoid robot ASIMO.

2000
The Battlebots event is held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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.

This is obviously not an exhaustive history. If you have a great moment in robotics history that
you would like to see added to this list please send it to: robothistory@megagiant.com

What is Robotics?
Robotics is a branch of AI, which is composed of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering, and Computer Science for designing, construction, and application of
robots.
 Aspects of Robotics
 The robots have mechanical construction, form, or shape designed to
accomplish a particular task.

 They have electrical components which power and control the machinery.

 They contain some level of computer program that determines what, when and
how a robot does something.

Robot Locomotion
Locomotion is the mechanism that makes a robot capable of moving in its environment.
There are various types of locomotions −

 Legged

 Wheeled

 Combination of Legged and Wheeled Locomotion

 Tracked slip/skid
Legged Locomotion
 This type of locomotion consumes more power while demonstrating walk, jump,
trot, hop, climb up or down, etc.

 It requires more number of motors to accomplish a movement. It is suited for

rough as well as smooth terrain where irregular or too smooth surface makes it
consume more power for a wheeled locomotion. It is little difficult to implement
because of stability issues.

 It comes with the variety of one, two, four, and six legs. If a robot has multiple
legs then leg coordination is necessary for locomotion.

The total number of possible gaits (a periodic sequence of lift and release events for
each of the total legs) a robot can travel depends upon the number of its legs.
If a robot has k legs, then the number of possible events N = (2k-1)!.

In case of a two-legged robot (k=2), the number of possible events is N = (2k-1)! =

(2*2-1)! = 3! = 6.

Hence there are six possible different events −

 Lifting the Left leg

 Releasing the Left leg

 Lifting the Right leg

 Releasing the Right leg

 Lifting both the legs together

 Releasing both the legs together

In case of k=6 legs, there are 39916800 possible events. Hence the complexity of
robots is directly proportional to the number of legs.

Wheeled Locomotion
It requires fewer number of motors to accomplish a movement. It is little easy to
implement as there are less stability issues in case of more number of wheels. It is
power efficient as compared to legged locomotion.

 Standard wheel − Rotates around the wheel axle and around the contact

 Castor wheel − Rotates around the wheel axle and the offset steering joint.
  Swedish 45° and Swedish 90° wheels − Omni-wheel, rotates around the
contact point, around the wheel axle, and around the rollers.

 Ball or spherical wheel − Omnidirectional wheel, technically difficult to

implement.

Slip/Skid Locomotion
In this type, the vehicles use tracks as in a tank. The robot is steered by moving the
tracks with different speeds in the same or opposite direction. It offers stability because
of large contact area of track and ground.

Components of a Robot
Robots are constructed with the following −

 Power Supply − The robots are powered by batteries, solar power, hydraulic, or
pneumatic power sources.

 Actuators − They convert energy into movement.

  Electric motors (AC/DC) − They are required for rotational movement.

 Pneumatic Air Muscles − They contract almost 40% when air is sucked in
them.

 Muscle Wires − They contract by 5% when electric current is passed through

them.

 Piezo Motors and Ultrasonic Motors − Best for industrial robots.

 Sensors − They provide knowledge of real time information on the task

environment. Robots are equipped with vision sensors to be to compute the depth
in the environment. A tactile sensor imitates the mechanical properties of touch
receptors of human fingertips.

Computer Vision
This is a technology of AI with which the robots can see. The computer vision plays vital
role in the domains of safety, security, health, access, and entertainment.

Computer vision automatically extracts, analyzes, and comprehends useful information

from a single image or an array of images. This process involves development of
algorithms to accomplish automatic visual comprehension.

Hardware of Computer Vision System

This involves −

 Image acquisition device such as camera

 a processor

 a software

 A display device for monitoring the system

 Accessories such as camera stands, cables, and connectors

Tasks of Computer Vision

 OCR − In the domain of computers, Optical Character Reader, a software to
convert scanned documents into editable text, which accompanies a scanner.

 Face Detection − Many state-of-the-art cameras come with this feature, which
enables to read the face and take the picture of that perfect expression. It is used
to let a user access the software on correct match.

 Object Recognition − They are installed in supermarkets, cameras, high-end

cars such as BMW, GM, and Volvo.

 Estimating Position − It is estimating position of an object with respect to

camera as in position of tumor in human’s body.

Application Domains of Computer Vision

 Agriculture

 Autonomous vehicles

 Biometrics

 Character recognition

 Forensics, security, and surveillance

 Industrial quality inspection

 Face recognition

 Gesture analysis

 Geoscience

 Medical imagery

 Pollution monitoring

 Process control

 Remote sensing

 Robotics

 Transport