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1700 BCE
mechanical duck
Between 1700 and 1900 a number of life-sized automatons were created including a famous mechanical duck made by Jacques de Vaucanson that could crane its neck, flap its wings and even swallow food. -
Lilliput
Karel Capek coins the word robot to describe machines that resemble humans in his play called Rossums Universal Robots. The play was about a society that became enslaved by the robots that once served them. -
programmable robot ‘arm’.
George Devol and Joe Engleberger design the first programmable robot ‘arm’. This later became the first industrial robot, completing dangerous and repetitive tasks on an assembly line at General Motors -
IBM 360
The IBM 360 becomes the first computer to be mass-produced. -
robotic and space technology
The U.S. successfully use the latest in computing, robotic and space technology to land Neil Armstrong on the moon. -
LEGO based educational products are
The first LEGO based educational products are put on the market and Honda launches a project to build a walking humanoid robot. -
robotic dog
Sony releases the first version of AIBO, a robotic dog with the ability to learn, entertain and communicate with its owner. More advanced versions have followed. -
The robot helicopter
Epsom release the smallest known robot, standing 7cm high and weighing just 10 grams. The robot helicopter is intended to be used as a ‘flying camera’ during natural disasters. -
robotic vacuum cleaner
After being first introduced in 2002, the popular Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner has sold over 2.5 million units, proving that there is a strong demand for this type of domestic robotic technology. -
Robonaut
built out of a collaboration between NASA and General Motors, is a dexterous humanoid robotic testbed designed to accelerate t
