-
1400
Ctesibius
The clepsydra, a clock that measures time using the flow of water, is created by the Babylonians. It is considered one of the first robotic devices in history. For centuries, inventors will refine the design. A Greek inventor, Ctesibius, became famous for a water clock with moving figures on it. -
1495
Ancient Times - Precursors of Robotics
1495: Leonardo da Vinci sketches a humanoid robot known as "Leonardo's Robot" or "Mechanical Knight," able to sit, wave arms, and move its head. -
Wolfgang von Kempelen
Wolfgang von Kempelen, a Hungarian inventor, builds “The Turk,” a maplewood box with a mannequin, dressed in cloak and turban, protruding from the back. The device was evencapable of playing games! -
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. -
Karl Capek
Czech writer, Karl Capek, popularizes the term “robot” in a play called “R.U.R. (Rossums Universal Robot).” The play ends with robots taking over the earth and destroying their makers. -
Isaac Asimov’s “Runaround”
Asmov’s Three Laws of Robotics have been ingrained deep into public consciousness without many of us noticing
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 any orders given to 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. -
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. -
George Devol and Joseph Engelberger
George Devol and Joseph Engelberger form the world’s first robotics company, Unimation. In the 1960s, it is purchased by Condec, which was later bought, in part, by industrial manufacturing giant Eaton. -
George Devol
Industrial robotics pioneer George Devol files a patent for the first programmable robot and coins the term “universal automaton.” -
General Motors
Unimate, the world’s first industrial robot, goes to work on a General Motors assembly line. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
NASA 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. -
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. -
Perseverance proyect
The Mars 2020 mission hopes to answer that question. The mission will send a rover very similar to Curiosity to explore the rocks, dirt and air on Mars. Like Curiosity, the Perseverance rover is the size of a small SUV. The new rover has a different goal and different instruments. It will directly search for signs of past life on Mars.