History of Household Robots

Dishwasher

1886

Josephine Garis Cochran invented the first useful dishwasher in Shelbyville, Ill., and received patent # 355,139 on December 28, 1886. Cochran, a wealthy woman who entertained often, wanted a machine that could wash dishes faster than her servants, and without breaking them.

Unimate

1954

In 1954 George Devol invented the first digitally operated and a programmable robot called the Unimate.

iBot

1990

iRobot was founded in 1990 by three roboticists named Colin Angle, Helen Greiner, and Rodney Brooks. The company was originally dedicated to making robots for military and domestic use. The Roomba wasn't the first robot vacuum, but it was the most successful, selling up to a million units in 2004.

Electrolux

1996

The first ever robotic vacuum cleaner appeared in 1996. It was made by Electrolux, Swedish household and professional appliances manufacturer and was called “Trilobite”.

Vacuum

1996

The first ever robotic vacuum cleaner appeared in 1996. It was made by Electrolux, Swedish household and professional appliances manufacturer and was called “Trilobite”. Because of its novelty it appeared on BBC's science TV program, Tomorrow's World.

First used

2000

The first uses of modern robots were in factories as industrial robots – simple fixed machines capable of manufacturing tasks which allowed production with less need for human assistance. Digitally controlled industrial robots and robots using artificial intelligence have been built since the 2000s.

iRobot

2002

iRobot launches the Roomba® floor vacuuming robot.
The iRobot PackBot® is deployed with U.S. troops for the first time.
iRobot and the National Geographic Society develop a robot that searches the Great Pyramid in Egypt.

Roomba

2004

The Roomba is an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner, though it is not the first: The Electrolux Trilobite hit the market a year before. By 2004, a million Roombas had been sold.