History Timeline of Robotics

History Timeline of Robotics


1920
Czechoslovakian playwright Karel Capek introduces the word robot in the play R.U.R. - Rossum's Universal Robots. The word comes from the Czech robota, which means tedious labor.

1938
The first programmable paint-spraying mechanism is designed by Americans Willard Pollard and Harold Roselund for the DeVilbiss Company.

1942
Isaac Asimov publishes Runaround, in which he defines the Three Laws of Robotics.

1946
Emergence of the computer: George Devol patents a general purpose playback device for controlling machines, using magnetic recording; J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly build the ENIAC at the University of Pennsylvania - the first electronic computer; At MIT, Whirlwind, the first digital general purpose computer, solves its first problem.

1948
Norbert Wiener, a professor at M.I.T., publishes Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal, a book which describes the concept of communications and control in electronic, mechanical, and biological systems.

1951
In France, Raymond Goertz designs the first teleoperated articulated arm for the Atomic Energy Commission. The design is based entirely on mechanical coupling between the master and slave arms (using steel cables and pulleys). Derivatives of this design are still seen in places where handling of small nuclear samples is required. This is generally regarded as the major milestone in force feedback technology.

1954
George Devol designs the first programmable robot and coins the term Universal Automation, planting the seed for the name of his future company - Unimation.

1959
Marvin Minsky and John McCarthy establish the Articifical Intelligence Laboratory at MIT.

1960
Unimation is purchased by Condec Corporation and development of Unimate Robot Systems begins.
American Machine and Foundry, later known as AMF Corporation, markets the first cylindrical robot, called the Versatran, designed by Harry Johnson and Veljko Milenkovic.

1962
General Motors purchases the first industrial robot from Unimation and installs it on a production line. This manipulator is the first of many Unimates to be deployed.

1963
John McCarthy heads up the new Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University.

1964
Artificial intelligence research laboratories are opened at M.I.T., Stanford Research Institute (SRI), Stanford University, and the University of Edinburgh.

1964
C&D Robotics founded.

1965
Carnegie Mellon University establishes the Robotics Institute.

1965
Homogeneous transformations applied to robot kinematics - this remains the foundation of robotics theory today

1967
Japan imports the Versatran robot from AMF (the first robot imported into Japan).

1968
Kawasaki licenses hydraulic robot design from Unimation and starts production in Japan.

1968
SRI builds Shakey, a mobile robot with vision capability, controlled by a computer the size of a room.

1970
Professor Victor Scheinman of Stanford University designs the Standard Arm. Today, its kinematic configuration remains known as the Standard Arm.

1973
Cincinnati Milacron releases the T3, the first commercially available minicomputer-controlled industrial robot (designed by Richard Hohn).

1974
Professor Victor Scheinman, the developer of the Stanford Arm, forms Vicarm Inc. to market a version of the arm for industrial applications. The new arm is controlled by a minicomputer.

1976
Robot arms are used on Viking 1 and 2 space probes.Vicarm Inc. incorporates a microcomputer into the Vicarm design.

1977
ASEA, a European robot company, offers two sizes of electric powered industrial robots. Both robots use a microcomputer controller for programming and operation.

1977
Unimation purchases Vicarm Inc.

1978
Using technology from Vicarm, Unimation develops the PUMA (Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly). The PUMA can still be found in many research labs today.

1978
Brooks Automation founded

1979
Sankyo and IBM market the SCARA (selective compliant articulated robot arm) developed at Yamanashi University in Japan

1981
Cognex founded.

1981
CRS Robotics Corp. founded.

1982
Fanuc of Japan and General Motors form joint venture in GM Fanuc to market robots in North America.

1983
Adept Technology founded.

1984
Joseph Engelberger starts Transition Robotics, later renamed Helpmates, to develop service robots.

1986
With Unimation license terminated, Kawasaki develops and produces its own line of electric robots.

1988
Stäubli Group purchases Unimation from Westinghouse.

1989
Computer Motion founded.

1989
Barrett Technology founded

1993
Sensable Technologies founded.

1994
CMU Robotics Institute's Dante II, a six-legged walking robot, explores the Mt. Spurr volcano in Alaska to sample volcanic gases.

1995
Intuitive Surgical formed by Fred Moll, Rob Younge and John Freud to design and market surgical robotic systems. Founding technology based on the work at SRI, IBM and MIT.

1997
NASA's Mars PathFinder mission captures the eyes and imagination of the world as PathFinder lands on Mars and the Sojourner rover robot sends back images of its travels on the distant planet.

1997
Honda showcases the P3, the 8th prototype in a humanoid design project started in 1986.

2000
Honda showcases Asimo, the next generation of its series of humanoid robots.

2000
Sony unveils humanoid robots, dubbed Sony Dream Robots (SDR), at Robodex.

2001
Sony releases the second generation of its Aibo robot dog.

2001
Built by MD Robotics of Canada, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) is successfully launched into orbit and begins operations to complete assembly of International Space Station